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alternator question. painting- coils?

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Old 11-11-07, 03:34 PM
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alternator question. painting- coils?

ok so. my alternator is pretty old. and its pretty tarnished and dull. my whole engine bay is all done up with engine paint. black and red.
i'd love to paint the alternator at least silver. like a brand new one looks.
nothing fancey. just paint it.
would the enamle damage the coating on the coils.
and no. i really really dont want to pull the front and back off the alternator. i dont want to pop the bearings.
Old 11-11-07, 04:27 PM
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Originally Posted by fc3schick87
ok so. my alternator is pretty old. and its pretty tarnished and dull. my whole engine bay is all done up with engine paint. black and red.
i'd love to paint the alternator at least silver. like a brand new one looks.
nothing fancey. just paint it.
would the enamle damage the coating on the coils.
and no. i really really dont want to pull the front and back off the alternator. i dont want to pop the bearings.
I pulled mine apart, its pretty easy. When you pull it apart, heat up the bearing areas on the housings.. it'll pop right out. Be careful with everything though.

here's how it came out:
Old 11-11-07, 04:49 PM
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I've gotta say thats one sexy looking engine. How are the painted fan blades holding up?
Old 11-11-07, 04:52 PM
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I painted them out of ****'s and giggles.. I also haven't ran that engine yet... Still sitting in my garage waiting for my paint to dry.

I don't plan on running that fan... and if I do, it'll be interesting to see the paint chip off and I'll have to blow out the engine bay with compressed air to get the chips out. I might just go e-fan. Who knows..

--Micah
Old 11-11-07, 05:09 PM
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New alternator's aren't that expensive, and they're clean.

But it shouldn't be a problem if you paint yours,
I've seen it done many times before.
Old 11-11-07, 08:04 PM
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It wont last long if you paint the alternator with high temp paint, powder coating is the way to go for a part like this
Old 11-11-07, 08:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Noel Caraballo
It wont last long if you paint the alternator with high temp paint, powder coating is the way to go for a part like this
i'm talking about painting it with out taking it apart.
and yes. high temp paint does last. my whole engine is high temp. with the acception of the red anadized. the black doesnt chip. the anadized only chips when i am hardcore rough with it liek the ic rubbing ect.





so if i paint enamle paint on the surface and it happens to get on the coils. it wont damage the coating causing problems. thats the question
Old 11-11-07, 08:54 PM
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Most people disassemble the alt to paint it. If you get paint on the windings, it may or may not hurt anything, but it will start flaking off pretty quickly and look like absolute ****. Believe it or not, those windings actually vibrate at a high frequency (ever heard it whine when under a load with the lights on?) and paint won't adhere very long. And yes powdercoating or polishing is best.
Old 11-12-07, 02:45 AM
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Originally Posted by scrip7
Most people disassemble the alt to paint it. If you get paint on the windings, it may or may not hurt anything, but it will start flaking off pretty quickly and look like absolute ****. Believe it or not, those windings actually vibrate at a high frequency (ever heard it whine when under a load with the lights on?) and paint won't adhere very long. And yes powdercoating or polishing is best.
hmm. very interesting. well its only going to be black and i aint going ot TRY to get it on the coils.....
just a what if.
that is very interesting though.
its an alt thats not going to last long any way. but there is a car show coming up and i want it to match my engine in the mean time.
Old 11-12-07, 08:18 AM
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Be sure you post up some before and after pics
Old 11-12-07, 12:53 PM
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Just take the alt. apart. Our family owned business does nothing but Starters and Alternators. While the alt. is apart clean all the contacts and take a look at the brushes and change them (if worn) while you've got a chance! Usually what we do to these kind of alts. is we just blast the housings and paint the pully. If it's going on a show car we'll either order chrome housings or paint the housing to a specific color! As for the Stater and no i'm not saying starter we usually clear those or use a tinted clear, looks real cool inside there.
Old 11-12-07, 02:23 PM
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ok ok ok . we're going to go out there today and take apart a dead alternator. lets see if i break it
Old 11-12-07, 07:10 PM
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Don't forget the 200W soldering iron to take it apart. That's 10 times more power than your common soldering iron, btw. I forget which part but something needs to be heated before it will slip off.
Old 11-12-07, 07:21 PM
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I figured everybody had one of those... http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...26+Accessories

thats what I have.. cheap and works great!
Old 11-12-07, 07:52 PM
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dude it painted my alternator as your describing to do with 600 degree paint and it started peeling off especially when you try to wipe the dust off after a while of driving it. Good luck
Old 11-12-07, 08:29 PM
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Originally Posted by ericgrau
Don't forget the 200W soldering iron to take it apart. That's 10 times more power than your common soldering iron, btw. I forget which part but something needs to be heated before it will slip off.
We usually use a 400w to 450w soldering iron! That'll do it fast!
Old 11-12-07, 09:57 PM
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Originally Posted by ericgrau
Don't forget the 200W soldering iron to take it apart. That's 10 times more power than your common soldering iron, btw. I forget which part but something needs to be heated before it will slip off.
what would i need to sauder. i am only removeing the metal back and front. i am not taking apart the whole alternator. i have a torche for the bearing . is that ok?

Originally Posted by Noel Caraballo
dude it painted my alternator as your describing to do with 600 degree paint and it started peeling off especially when you try to wipe the dust off after a while of driving it. Good luck
did you 100% clean the alternator free of all waxes, oils, grease, grime, and oils from y our hands?
did you rough up the surface?
if you forget to do this. you'll have your paint chipping off
also
duplicolor makes a high temp engine enamle primer. if you dont use a high adhesive paint. it wont stick.
Old 11-12-07, 10:00 PM
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just brush paint it.
Old 02-21-08, 07:35 AM
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i know this post is old but instead of posting the same thing i thought ill ressurect this one to be finished off....so what needs to be saudered to make it come apart? any springs or **** that will go flying when i pull it apart. i have a brand new alt so im not trying to mess anything up on it just needing it to match rest of engine..
Old 02-21-08, 08:30 AM
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Don't worry about resurrecting an old thread...it keeps the info together.

The high wattage soldering iron is used to heat up the back of the alternator where the bearing is. Because of the different thermal properties between the bearing race and aluminum alternator housing, it allows the bearing to come out easier. See the FSM in my sig. - I think it shows it somewhere.
Old 02-21-08, 08:50 AM
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Be warned...
The alternator grounds through it's housing for ground reference.

I would at least grind to bare metal where the alternator case contacts the engine or any brackets.


-Ted
Old 02-21-08, 10:39 AM
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Originally Posted by RETed
Be warned...
The alternator grounds through it's housing for ground reference.

I would at least grind to bare metal where the alternator case contacts the engine or any brackets.


-Ted
Grounding is KEY, like Ted says.
Old 03-26-08, 10:13 AM
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someone should ad a picture tutorial on the best method of disassembling an alternator for painting or powder coat. ..

How about it risingsunroof82?
Old 03-26-08, 10:55 PM
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Haha, I would love to but as for me putting pictures on the computer......... I switched computers and my new one is confusing as to how to upload pics. Then I have a hard time putting pics onto this site. But hey, who knows we'll see!! What specific alt. do you guys wanna see done?
Old 03-27-08, 07:26 AM
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I use Photobucket....it's free and easy to upload pics.


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