Painting My Speed Demon Carburetor

Indycars

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Decided that my carb was looking a little rough and it needed to be painted. Eastwood has several
paints for carburetors, but I decided to use the Por-15 Detail Paint. Except for the body and that
was painted with Krylon. Both paints had the better nozzles that shot a fan shape pattern instead
of the usual cone shape.

https://www.eastwood.com/paints/underhood-paints.html

As I started disassembling the carb it became very apparent that I would need a kit because the
gaskets were dried up and were being destroyed when the pieces came apart. I have always kept
bowl and metering plate gaskets on hand, but not the base-to-body gasket. I purchased the carb
in December 2012, so it's 8 years old now and time for a rebuild anyway.

FP01_PaintCarburetor_01887.jpg
FP01_PaintCarburetor_01892.jpg

No doubt I will need a complete set of gaskets to put this carb back together.

FP01_PaintCarburetor_01898.jpg

I used Chem-Dip carburetor cleaner and soaked the bowls and metering blocks over night. For
some reason the blocks were fine, but the bowls were effected negatively by the Chem-Dip. It left
a coating on the surface and you could not just wipe off, I had to use Scotch-Brite (Red) to remove
this film.

In the photo below you can see where I could not get the float bowl complete submerged in the
Chem-Dip. The photo is also after cleaning with Scotch-Brite. There was no room for the body, so
that was soaked in PSC 1000 solvent.

You probably can't tell, but I went around the carb removing any sharp edges, paint just will not stay
on a sharp edges with the slightest bump from anything.

FP01_PaintCarburetor_01903.jpg
There were lots of holes and surfaces to tape off or add an extra screw to keep paint out. For this
reason I decided NOT to paint the base plate and metering block. Besides they had a different
finish from Demon that has held up better than the rest of the carb.

FP01_PaintCarburetor_01911.jpg
FP01_PaintCarburetor_01913.jpg
FP01_PaintCarburetor_01919.jpg

Much nicer finish now, but only time will tell if it holds up any better than the
original finish.


FP01_PaintCarburetor_01922.jpg

I'm going to wait a day or two and let the paint cure before I re-assemble the carb.
.
 
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I found this on the Berryman's website, which explains what happened to my carb.
https://www.berrymanproducts.com/question/soaked-carburetor-long/

I soaked my disassembled carb in this product for nearly a week. Oops. Now the carb is very dark grey but does not appear etched. What happened to the carb?

Question Tags: carburetor|soaked too long
1 Answers
0 Vote Up Vote Down
chemtooler Staff answered 5 years ago
Berryman Chem-Dip Carburetor and Parts Cleaner (part #0996) is safe on for use on plastic, rubber, and most paints and metals, but it can react with some grades of aluminum and aluminum alloys. For that reason, we recommend on the container that soak times be limited to 15-30 minutes per dip with a total soak time not to exceed 4 hours for aluminum and aluminum-based parts, which is what your carburetor is made of. The darkening you see is caused by the surface formation of aluminum hydroxide and/or aluminum oxide (reaction products from extended soaking). Typically, the carburetor simply looks different but will still continue to function normally.
 
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What have you done to keep gaskets from sticking ?

I've read where using anything from Marvel Mystery Oil to Vaseline or Grease to keep them
from sticking. Would be nice not to replace gaskets when I need to remove the float bowl or
metering block.
 
spray carb bowl gaskets with this if you want non-stick

you do know gaskets are cheaper purchased in bulk
https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Fuel-T...t=&hvlocphy=9012039&hvtargid=pla-818040162475

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I generally just spray and install, its not foolproof but it sure helps
 
I went with Mineral Oil and soaked the gaskets for a couple of hours. Then let them drip
for 1/2 an hour and pat dry with a paper towel.

FP01_DemonCarbGasketSoakOil_01926.jpg

While I'm waiting on the gaskets, might as well put a little wax on for protection.

FP01_DemonCarbCarnaubaWax_01925.jpg

The accelerator pump diaphragm extended too far into the float bowl so I trimmed it.

FP01_DemonCarbFloatBowlObstruction_01928.jpg
FP01_DemonCarbFloatBowlObstruction_01929.jpg

Before completing the project, during assembly there were a couple of things to do. One
was using Anti-Seize on all the threads and getting the squirters square so the fuel enters
the venturi at the same location.

FP02_ThreadAntiSeize_01934.jpg

FP02_SquirterAdjustedSquare_01960.jpg

Carburetor is complete and ready for installation back onto the engine.

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.
 
Wanted to update this thread with my findings.

I am surprised that the POR15 Detail Paint didn't work when subjected to fuel. When I set
the float level that means you are going to get some fuel on the top of the float bowl. Within 20
seconds I tried to blot the fuel up in a rag and the paint was already soft and sticky. The Por15
has been drying for 2-3 weeks so that's not the problem.

Hopefully the black Krylon that's on the carburetor body is OK, it was painted with the Krylon
Rust Tuff Enamel. The other silver parts should be easy to remove and paint again with
something else. Might try the Eastwood carburetor paints.

FP01_PaintCarburetor_01919.jpg
 
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