Im ready to paint the case of the 8r that ive refurbished from the wreck of a tent etc in Scotlands Knoydart earlier this year. QUESTION :- Do I need to use a high temperature paint? I imagine the case gets fairly hot due to the proximity of the burner ?? Thanks, Jack
@Jack Ryan Some would advocate authenticity and a close match to the original Optimus colour. That would be difficult to obtain in a HT paint. With my now-ancient ‘Rustbucket’ Optimus 111 project I went for a colour match and that wasn’t HT paint. However many years on, the paint I used looks as well as it ever did, and the stove’s been used often. The part of the case under the burner gets the worst of it - conducted heat from the burner and priming flames, spilled priming fluid, hot soup maybe (!) - and I doubt any paint finish would remain pristine there, HT or not. If colour authenticity isn’t your thing, go for a HT paint (usually matt or satin at best) or even stove enamelling if that takes your fancy. @Tony Press and others have ‘baked’ whatever paint they’ve used to harden it off quicker. I’ve not got around to allocating a suitable oven or hot-box to do that, but Rustbucket doesn’t seem to be the worse off for it. John
@Jack Ryan Here is my two cents ... We have a paint here in the US that's a really good match for the Optimus 8r. Electrolysis and stoves?? Coleman 500 and Optimus 8r I used high heat engine enamel.... Fuel and heat resistant. We have this on Amazon... Not sure if you can get this here... But it's super close to the original
@Jack Ryan If you require replacement case labels, you can obtain these from this seller. NB - Julian’s shop reopens on 30th Jan when he returns from a well-deserved holiday. Pharael.
@Remus, Hey, I like that color, and it is a good match for the Optimus color, but I don't think it would stand up to the heat on a set of Heddman headers on my 350 V8.
@SveaSizzler haha...I have no idea but it sounds like the header would get cherry red anyways... The paint is supposed to... And holds on the stove but not sure about Chevy small blocks... There's videos on YouTube
If the engine block gets red hot, something's going wrong. Headers do indeed get hot. I once wrapped a set of them on the '71 Jimmy's Tree Fitty -- kept the engine bay cooler, looked sharp, and it was as quiet as a Cadillac [to a human -- dogs went nuts, and BMW's alarms still went off in underground garages...]. However, even in Arizona, it allowed moisture to collect near the collector, and one of the lower downtubes rusted out anyway. When I went to replace them, I found header wrap voided the lifetime warranty.
@Jack Ryan once you have re-painted it try using a thin sheet of aluminium under the burner to protect it from the heat reflected from the bottom of the pan / kettle when the stove is in use. Cut the top and bottom off a drinks can, cut it vertically then unroll it and trip to size. I think a standard coke can would do for an 8R, something larger like a 111 might need a beer/cider can. Regards John
Just to be cool, I _did_ ceramic coat those headers with a product from Eastwood, that I sprayed on with an airbrush, them baked in my Mom's discarded Hotpoint oven -- jerry-wired in the backyard -- at 500*F for 2 hours. I even shot the stuff inside, hoping that would make them bombproof. Also -- living in Arizona's dry heat -- I downplayed the possibility of corrosion. Then I ''Mummy-Wrapped'' them. It must be the eternal duty of the gods to strike down Hubris in all its forms. Amen.
Good tip John, and if you can engineer an air gap between the ally sheet and the case, even better. It certainly looks good and might even be better than paint for keeping rust away, but there are whole fields of debate about whether it brings down engine bay temperatures or not... and whether coating the inside or outside is best in this regard...
@Blackdog I just remembered seeing a post on here a few years back but couldn't find it this morning. Turns out I had remembered seeing a post by @kerophile that refered to this even earlier post by brassnipplekey. He had scored some cross hatching into the flattened metal to give it some rigidity but i guess that could also create an air gap between it and the paintwork. @Jack Ryan be warned there is a warning in that thread about finding a responsible adult to supervise if worried about the sharp edges. So wag asked where to find one of those and I don't think that has ever been answered within this community of pyromaniacs. Regards John
@Jack Ryan I use 0.9mm thick 430 grade stainless steel (75mm x 75mm) supported & held in place by 4x 20mm diameter x 2mm neodymium magnets (unaffected by the heat). Nice air gap underneath. Pharael.
I imagine 4 neodymium magnets in your rucksack could be enough to deflect your compass needle, if you still use a compass. ....Arch
In the past I've used a ceramic ''bead' under the spirit cup that sits quite well in the small dimple where the cup is screwed to the bottom of the burner to hold the bottom off the case. Seems to work quite well too.
I once discovered the needle on my Silva was off about 90° from north. It took a little head scratching out on the trail with the map to finally realize this. The only thing I could think was the backpack rode in the back seat of my car, apparently close enough to a stereo speaker magnet on the back deck.
