01MGGT

Ok so I have all my crap apart to replace a timing chain guide and have been trying to clean the crap out of everything I can get to now. The front timing cover is coming clean pretty easy but my crank pulley/harmonic balancer is rusted as hell and is going to look pretty crappy in an otherwise tidy bay. Is it ok to clean off the rust with like a wire wheel on a drill and then paint it with just some black krylon or something? It may sound dumb but I just didn't know if it would effect it doing it's job in anyway.

cliffyk

Paint it, mask the bore and sealing surface of the hub of course...

01MGGT

Thanks cliffy. So is it ok to hit it with a drill and wire brush to give a good surface to put the paint on?

from6to8

how did it work out for ya?

I am wanting to do the same thing

cliffyk

I am curious as to why anyone believes wire brushing and painting the balancer would affect anything--at all--other than make it look better?

Here is a photo of the Steeda UDP set and a stock balancer (happens to be a 2006 set, but that's irrelevant); note that the Steeda pulley/balancer is painted. Ford's is not only because it's cheaper to not paint it...

from6to8

I'm not sure I get what you are explaining or asking.

I merely want to get rid of the rust and make things under the hood cleaner, look better while i have it all apart.

cliffyk

I am asking "Why is anyone concerned that cleaning and painting the harmonic balancer might create some problem--any problem?"

What possible difference could a coat of paint--probably adding an evenly distributed whopping 0.005% to the balancer's mass (and less than that if the rust layer is removed, offsetting the mass of the paint) make in the balancer's ability to dampen crankshaft harmonics?

I have for many years believed that there no such thing as a stupid question; nonetheless asking "Is it ok to clean off the rust with like a wire wheel on a drill and then paint it with just some black krylon or something?", as did the OP over 4 years ago, is pretty damned close to being one.

from6to8

i was pretty much asking as to anyone maybe having done before and having a bad experience maybe like paint chipping or something. I wouldnt have thought along the lines of a weight factor

cliffyk

I had not considered that as part of the question--of course it will chip eventually, sooner rather then later if you do not prep it properly.

After wire brushing the damper clean/degrease it with denatured alcohol, 2 or 3 three times (you can wash it with dish washing detergent and hot water first, when dry use the alcohol once or twice).

I have found Krylon's Rust Tough to be about the best there is for painting things like the engine pulleys--beating out RustOleum's Stops Rust by a long shot.

Apply 3 or 4 coats to do it right. If using the Krylon you need to apply additional coats within 20 minutes to 2 hours; or wait 48 hours if you miss that window.

Do it like that and it will look good for several years...

from6to8

cool sounds good