Installing a Stainless Steel Overflow Can - 1967 Chevelle
If you’ve followed this build so far, you know that I’m not likely to leave anything alone. This little detail is no exception. While there’s nothing wrong with some nice polished stainless under the hood, I wanted the bits of flash and color under the hood to be very intentional.
I couldn’t resist the natural fit and placement of this particular canister. The tabs it comes with aligned it perfectly to maintain a nice visual line across the top and required just one hole be drilled in the radiator flange. I mocked-up and test fit the parts before painting. If this were going to remain in its polished state, I would have taped the body while working with it, to avoid damaging the finish.
As the car got closer and closer to being able to fire up for the first time, my resolve to finish things the way I wanted them started to weaken. I know myself well enough to be certain that I would never go back and re-do items like this if I didn’t do them properly before I fired it up and made the car driveable. You do you. I just know that I need to follow through on stuff like this, even if it holds things up another day.
I’ve been a rattle can champion for as long as I’ve been allowed to buy it. The key, just like any paint work, is in the preparation. For this part, I went in armed with Seymore high solids flat black and Seymore “Cast Blast” grey. A Scotch-brite pad provided the necessary tooth for the paint to stick.
I like a couple of light, dry tack coats on stuff like this. Then once those are dry, a nice even wet coat. The Seymore paints are impressive. The MRO High Solids paint is advertised as 4 cans in 1. This is due to the high pigment content. This paint covers FAST. So much so that my final coat was really, probably unnecessary. I also found that the Cast Blast and Aluma Blast colors were nicely differentiated from most of the commonly available brands like Krylon and Rustoleum.
I have a hunch that the high solids formula paints might be quite a bit more durable than typical paints too. Time will tell but the early results look pretty good.
