sway bar finish

[Etienne Kerkhoffs]

According to Neil's book, the sway bar of that T2 was unpainted. I saw at least 1 more picture of a T2 with an unpainted bar. However, an owner of an original 1956 speedster told me that his car had the sway bar painted black.
2 questions:
- Were the sway bars unpainted for particular years only?
- I can't imagine that unpainted sway bars were left completely unfinished. What finish could they have when left the factory?

Hopefully original car owners or older persons with a good memory will jump in.

Thanks!

[Vic Skirmants]

"older persons with a good memory"
Well, I'm one out of two.
In Michigan, they all seemed to be a brown oxide finish.

[Etienne Kerkhoffs]

brown oxide finish: that's a nice phrase too

Coincedencely, I have seen this brown oxide finish in Europe as well, so both European as American cars had the same finish!

There's a theory that these sway bars got the the same treatment as the brake shoes. I don't know the english word for it but it's a kind of paint/lacquer that was put on the brake shoes before going in the oven when the liners were put on the shoes. Its appearance is a brownish colour. Any thoughts about this?

[Tom Scott]

I believe that the 356 A sway bars were either plated or painted which resulted in a dark yellowish/brown finish. This color is very subtle and is a satin finish. The best way to prove this is to located a sway bar in good condition and slide the mounting bushing a couple of inches to reveal the original finish. Perhaps someone who has such a bar can take photos.

Tom

[Etienne Kerkhoffs]

Tom, I agree with you about the yellowish/brown color. What kind of plating gives this finish?

[Etienne Kerkhoffs]

Anyone with pictures or other thoughts? Or maybe a confirmation?
At this moment I think that it should have a brown/yellowish colour (at least a T2 sway bar) but I would like to find out how to achieve this.

[Tom Scott]

Here are some photos of the sway bar color/finished I used on a T1 Speedster I restored last year. I do not know of any plating which will produce this finish and I therefore had paint color matched and sprayed the bar.

Tom Scott

[Etienne Kerkhoffs]

Thanks for the nice pictures Tom! That looks really good.

I have attached a picture of how my brake shoes will look like by the end of next week. They will receive a yellowish/brown finish, like they had when they were new back in those days. I think that this finish is close to the original sway-bar finish. What do you think?

[Alan Hall]

I always thought that the finish on brake shoes and perhaps the sway bars was some type of varnish, that typically has that sort of yellow-brownish transparent cast.
Alan

[Tom Scott]

The finish on your brake shoe seems to be somewhat too light when comparing the finish I used on my sway bar (this was matched to an original section on an old bar). Perhaps you could test a small area by rubbing the bar with a light coating of black oxide soultion and see what results you get. I also suggest that you protect the coating with a thin layer of clear coat which has been flattened. In any event, your color is definitely better than painting the bar.

Tom

[Etienne Kerkhoffs]

Thanks Tom. I either try some things/coatings/techniques or paint it the same yellowish/brown color. Can you confirm that the finish should not be transparant?

[Tom Scott]

The finish should look like any plated part and it is somewhat transparent.

Tom

[Etienne Kerkhoffs]

Thanks for all the information.

[Etienne Kerkhoffs]

I have picked up my brake shoes yesterday. They were treated the same way as the one above (same company, same guy, same finish). I have made a picture under other light conditions and as you can see, they are darker brown as they seemed to be at the first picture. Every little turn in the light gives another shade of brown/yellow. I think that this finish is nice for the sway bar. But I think that the amount of ‘paint’ and the temperature in the oven gave (and give) different results. It will be nice to play with that.