Morris Minor Owners Club

I just received 2 new engine towers. These have been painted but as is normally the case, the paint is really only good enough to stop rust between manufacture and delivery. As I have the luxury of time at the moment (engine away for weeks) I can paint these parts. I am inclined to give them another couple of coats of black paint. My obsessional nature nags me that I should strip them and apply a proper anti-rust zinc primer before painting them black.

What do other people do with new parts like this?


Stephen

Great question and one I have too. I'd imagine your towers just need a generous coating of hammerite or tekaloid paint because they don't need to look that pretty. It's more about getting them protected but I really don't know what the accepted practise is.

I bought a couple of new wings and wondered whether they should be rubbed down or just primed and painted? I also wondered whether they should be coated in filler first (my wings, not your towers), as it seems that the crew on Car SOS do that a lot.

The decision is made for me. There were sticky labels on the new engine towers that would not come off. I had to soak the labels in warm water and even then, the labels took some of the paint off. It won't do so I'll give them several coats of black paint. The old ones did rust pretty badly...

Stephen

Here is example of why I consider painting new parts. This radiator was new a few years ago. It is well made but the paint finish is poor. As you can see, the paint has fallen off the brass parts. I presume the paint has failed for two reasons, firstly there is no evidence of an etch primer and the metal is brass (which paint does not easily adhere to) and secondly the heat of the radiator. I will have to strip this back and repaint it properly but I suppose it did look OK for a few years......

It might look nice with bare brass but this isn't original and it would tarnish without some kind of protection....


Stephen

Ideally, strip the paint off and then etch primer, etc. Otherwise, definitely rub down before painting - this black paint often doesn't adhere very well, and it's awfully annoying to find in a year or two that your new panels are covered in rust bubbles (voice of experience here...)

AndyStopford wrote: ↑Mon Feb 10, 2025 9:04 pm Ideally, strip the paint off and then etch primer, etc. Otherwise, definitely rub down before painting - this black paint often doesn't adhere very well, and it's awfully annoying to find in a year or two that your new panels are covered in rust bubbles (voice of experience here...)

It's annoying that there's no primer under the black paint. Some parts, like the engine towers would be very tedious to strip back to bare metal. Mind you, the original parts on the car didn't have any primer either and many of those have lasted very well. The paint was intact on my original radiator for instance (this has since been repaired and is ready to fit back in the car).

Stephen

As regards the engine mount tower I would paint the new part with Fertan rust remover and then rattle can paint it which in my experience is just as good as stripping back the paint and starting again.

Just put some WD40 on the sticky labels (scratch them a bit if they're 'plastic coated' and leave it to soak while you have a cuppa. They come off dead easily and it won't affect the paint beneath.