2 questions on Universal Clear.

roger1

roger1

Member
1. Thinking about painting my cast iron brake master cylinder with it (over some cast iron color rattle can paint. Will the clear protect it from brake fluid? I'm pretty sure brake fluid would eat the rattle can paint pretty fast if I don't clear it.

2. I'm restoring an original steering wheel for my '55 Bel Air. Is Universal Clear a good choice over the Pro-Spray base color for this? I figure putting on 4 coats or so to account for wear.

Edit:
Question #1 - Never mind, I did it. 4 coats of UC. We'll see how it holds up to brake fluid. It looks pretty cool. This rattle-can is gray Plasti-Kote Cast Finish I let that dry overnight before clearing. It's got a lot of metallic in it. The UC also seems to be compatible with it.

BrakeMaster.jpg
 
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The brake fluid will eat any automotive paint, you could switch over to DOT5 silicone fluid and not have to worry but it does take a little more pedal than dot3-with power brakes it isn't very noticeable. Anytime you switch fluid you need to flush the system with alcohol first and blow it out with compressed air.
 
i hate brake fluid.......................... of any kind. and don't think it wont eat powder coat .
 
Yesterday morning, I baked the master at 120 degrees for 20 minutes.
In the late afternoon, I mounted it, bled it and the rest of the brakes (used DOT3 /4). I got a little fluid on the master as just can't be avoided. I used 409 and a paper towel on it to remove the fluid and it didn't seem to hurt the clear. Still looks nice and shiny today.

Here's also another thing I did just for fun:
I found a rubber plug that I used in the spark plug holes when I painted the engine quite a while back (so it's fully cured). It had SPI gray primer /rattle-can chevy orange/ Universal Clear on it. I peeled it off the rubber and soaked the chip brake fluid last night. So, this chip was attacked by the fluid from both sides.

This morning, I messed with this chip while still in the brake fluid with a small screwdriver. The orange de-laminated from the epoxy and then the orange dissolved leaving the UC still there intact and seemed to be still hard. The epoxy was intact but seemed very soft. The epoxy would fold like a wet noodle but if I tried to fold the UC, it would break.

My conclusion is that UC is at the least very resistant to brake fluid.

BrakesDone.jpg
 
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Interesting test. maybe it'll be OK but I would have bet otherwise. I have never seen a paint hold up to brake fluid.
 
on an off-topic question... What EFI system are you running on that car?
 
Absolutely.

I've used Universal clear on several different kinds of rattle can paint for different projects. Outside lights, patio furniture and stuff like that. I've also done it on some car parts. I've even put it straight over epoxy primer on a few things.

I've used it over Krylon, Rustoleum and PlastiKote brands. The only time I had a compatibility problem was with a green color Rustoleum where it wrinkled it. So, it's best to do a test with it first.

Here's my '55 dash. The black on the panel surrounding the gauges is Krylon rattle can under Universal Clear. The dash itself is Pro-Spray base in original '55 Regal Turquoise and Universal Clear.

bezel.jpg


Dashtop1.jpg
 
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