The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop front suspension paint factory or not????

Hello all, I've checked back on a lot of old post's but couldn't find an answer that I need. I just steam cleaned my frame and the suspension. Most of the suspension parts, (pitman arm, springs,front axle and spindals) looks like it was origionally painted gray, with the frame black. Does anybody know if the factory painted it this way or was it done after the fact, down the 60 year old road??? I want to keep it as origional as possible, and make any corrections before I put it all back together again. Thanks for your time. Jim

That's a good question, Jim, and I wish I could give you a correct answer.

Keeping your truck original is a worthy endeavor.

I'm in the process of reassembling the Blue Funk (see my signature), after it was totalled, disassembled, and the frame straightened. I took the tact that if I had to remove a part and clean, repair, or replace it, I was also going to paint it. Once a part is off and cleaned, painting it isn't that big of a deal. Besides making a part's lifespan longer, it makes the part look better; cooler; more aesthetically-pleasing. Also- if you're doing a true restoration, your end result shouild be a truck which is better than when it rolled off the showroom floor. If you are following the restoration philosophy, perhaps you should decide to paint.

I used the KBS Rust Protection System for the Blue Funk's frame, leaf springs,front and rear axle, pitman arm, etc. Some Guys prefer POR-15, or I think Eastwood, or similar products. When I was planning on painting my frame, I just put "frame paint" into Stovebolt Search and came up with all sorts of threads.

Good Luck to you, Jim. And keep us apprised of your progress.

No, the front axle, tie rods, drag link, pitman arm, steering box and steering knuckles were
shipped bare steel. As was the rear axle, drive shaft if it had one and transmissions.
Haven’t found documentation on the frames. Some feel that they were painted black but
I’ve not seen evidence of that in protected areas such as under the bed or cab.

Denny G

Everywhere there was years of grease, I found black paint underneath.
My front axle, steering knuckles, steering arms & frame were all black. I also found evidence of red oxide primer under some of the black. My steering box was covered in grease, after cleaning the grease off, & found the steering box was bare cast iron.
Ive also found evidence of red oxide primer on my rear axle.
But my truck is a 45, and it's a GMC. Your 53 could be different .

I do know that most frames were painted black, if they weren't they were covered in cosmoline.