Painting your Carburetor

In my neck of the woods, retailers don't sell the carburetor refinishing kits such as that by Eastwood. I'm looking for an alternative method that will restore the look of my carbs while withstanding exposure to fuel without flaking off and such.

Duplicolor sells Zinc Chromate primer that I thought would promote adhesion. Then their engine enamel should withstand the chemicals...

Any thoughts? What have you done to refinish a carburetor? Were you successful?

I have tried different chromate paints (transmission case) and wasn't pleased with the results.
I've also seen rebuilt carbs painted Silver (no undercoat) and while it held up okay for a short time (6-12 months), the typical gasket seepage would discolor it and it would rinse off with carb cleaner.
If you do decide to paint a carb, make SURE to mask off interior areas so the paint doesn't come loose and plug the passages.

Holley does offer a carb restoration service that reapplies metal finishes, but it is fairly expensive. Plating is not something a DIY'er can do easily except the dark finishes for hardware or bluing typically used on firearms.

Totally, Rod!

What I read about the zinc chromate primer is that it's like etching primer for aluminum... that's why I thought it may work. I'd like to figure something out so I can buy what I need this evening and reassemble my carb before the weekend is out... that means painting tonight I guess.

Keep the advice coming... thanks for any and all opinions.

The Universal Gold Engine Enamel from Duplicolor is pretty shiny for a carb. Oh well, it's done. Actually already did the fuel test... when I tested it last night, there were a couple leaks that I have to tend to. Will all the paint flake off in a couple weeks? Maybe. Oh well, at least I tried. And yet, maybe it will stay nice.



Hopefully, there is a happy ending to come in this story!

I used gold colored wheel paint on my carb about 2 years ago. I found that out from watching Stacy David on Gearz rebuild some carbs. Still holding up except for the screws have some paint chipped off from taking the carb apart to fix the float.

Well, I painted this carb and the Holley 1904. This one didn't work, and I ended up buying a reman'd carb. Because of all the issues with fuel, it did flake, never really got hot on the engine to cure the paint. However, the Holley worked okay on the engine and looks great still. Hopefully when it gets put into permanent service, it will be good.

I will have to look up some Gearz archives to see if I can find it...

eastwood sells a carb paint-or-?? have the parts plated- not chrome -like a zinc dip?/ eastwood i think also sells thart stuff

Aren't they just anodized anyway? Kinda what it looks like.

I painted my Gremlin carb silver, let it set up, then sprayed it with oven cleaner. It dulled the silver to a gray and is holding up to this day. That was over ten years ago. I don't know why this worked, or why I did it at the time, but it still looks good.

look on youtube for zinc plating. it can be colores too. There are some guys there that are doing it very cheaply too -Check it out!