964RS

Hi Guys,

Well i blew the engine last month on the racetrack and since it's all apart I'm trying to shape it up a bit. I'm doing the usual painting of the impeller and was thinking of getting the fan housing re-plated. The problem is, as i t is magnesium, that I cant find any nowledge on how to do this or even less someone to help me with the job.

Anyone who has a clue of the process used?

Best regards
Anders

jimq

I did mine in powder coat at a friends house. Its held up good so far.

J richard

The powder coating is the best option, it will give you the painted look but is really tough and wears well. You can anodize magnesium, but it takes a special process, the aluminum process turns the peices black, and unlike the nice colors you can get with aluminum you're limited to some pretty dull colors, tans and browns.

cobalt

The fan and housing are painted not plated. They used a color called Zermatt Silver. Magnesium is tricky and there have been a number of threads. Some have had decent results with just paint or powder coating but it will eventually crack or chip on the edges. Since magnesium is a very porous metal there are a number of conversion coatings or processes that are recommended prior to painting. This helps seal the surface and prevent corrosion. However this seems to be too costly and time consuming for most to bother with.

If you car is garaged most of the time painting should last for a number of years without issue. If not you might want to inquire about some treatments to prevent corrosion from occurring. the problem with powder coating and painting without proper treatment first is moisture can work its way under the coating and start the corrosion process damaging the fan long before it is ever noticed or the coating begins to flake off. So whatever you do keep a close eye on it and if it shows signs of corrosion re paint or powder coat again to prevent it from fracturing or splitting.

Wachuko

humm...

cobalt

Wow how stupid can you be. They are lucky they didn't kill themselves. That amount of magnesium can blow up a house if your not careful and putting water on it is the worst thing you can do.

I deal with magnesium fires quite often and as little as an ounce under the right conditions can kill someone if in an enclosed container.

Magnesium fires need to be smothered. Sand works best if you don't have a metal class D fire extinguisher. You must suffocate the fire. If that were powder it would have blown up in their faces.

IDIOT's

jimq

I should have done that with my old fan

Indycam

Penetrol .

cobalt

Flood makes some great products and i have used penetrol to aid in painting old aluminum siding but it will do nothing to aid in painting a magnesium fan.

You can coat the magnesium, make a protective coating like powder coating or use a product that is designed for rusting metals. These will only make a cap over the magnesium and eventually will chip on an edge and then the problems begin all over again.

964RS

Thank's for the answers guys, some funnier than others

Nope, the impeller is painted in silver as you write but the fan housing is not painted but anodised in a dark grey almost black finnish.

I don't want it powdercoated or painted, I want it just like it left the factory, anodised.

Any more suggestions?

Kind regards
Anders

cobalt

You are correct the 964 3.6 liter fan is different than the earlier cars and my turbo which although it is a 94 still used the older parts which are all painted. the n/a 964 fan housing is a chemical conversion like I had mentioned. IIRC it is similar to what Porsche used on the 935 and 917 wheels which was an anodic coating like Dow 17 followed by an organic coating or inorganic sealant. The Dow 17 process does not give it the black coloring it would be the sealant or organic coating that makes it that color. This does differ from regular anodizing processes as we know it.

There are metal finishers that can do this for probably a minimum setup charge.

964RS

Thanks for the good answer. The metal finishers I talked to cant do Magnesium only aluminum, it seams to be a very toxic process.

Anyhow this is the finish and color I'm looking for.

Kind regards
Anders

Indycam

Have you ever painted metal with pure peretrol ?

"When used by itself, Penetrol ...provides protection against rust on metals ."

ducnine

So is the 964 fan made from Magnesium then?

Anders, what did you finally wind up doing? any pics?