1969 Brake Line Retainer Clips - Finishes

[Edgemontvillage]

I'm working on restoring (if possible) the brake line clips on my 69 Z/28 project and want to see if I can duplicate the original, translucent blue finish often seen on the 3/8" clips (as well as the finishes on the other clips). From threads I've read it seems many have tried however I haven't run across a product or technique that comes really close to the original translucent blue so I'm going wade in. When I disassembled my car I didn't take photos of the translucent blue clip finish which is sometimes preserved and appears on the inside of original clips. If anyone has photos - please post them here. Below are the clips available from Camaro parts vendors. The 3/8" clips appear to be an opaque phosphate blue finish or ? and I haven't previously come across a green clip on the cars I've worked on? For the black open hoop clips I'm interested to know if they are were originally painted (semi-gloss black) or finished with black oxide? Would appreciate your photos and input.

[firstgenaddict]

Lloyd,
The olive colored clips appear to be OLIVE CHROMATE CONVERSION OF ZINC - Olive chromate is the most durable chromate conversion of ZINC.

I used TESTORS OLIVE GREEN - it was a semitranslucent color...
With the Blue I used blue toner mixed with some clear in order to make it translucent like the originals appear.

[Edgemontvillage]

Thanks for posting James, do you have any photos of the translucent blue clips?

[firstgenaddict]

That's the 5/16... you can only see traces on the photos here... I do not think I have photos after they were refinished.

[ZLP955]

Lloyd there are some photos showing blue on the protected areas of original clips in this post, scroll down past the body mount pictures to see the clips:
http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=16303.msg160787#msg160787
Looks more of a solid color than a translucent.

[Edgemontvillage]

I had another look through my brake parts from the disassembly and located a single brake clip that shows the blue finish. In this example its translucent.

[Edgemontvillage]

Lloyd there are some photos showing blue on the protected areas of original clips in this post, scroll down past the body mount pictures to see the clips:
http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=16303.msg160787#msg160787
Looks more of a solid color than a translucent.

Not the best photo however here is the photo of the blue clip from the 11C Norwood car you referenced. Definitely closer to a solid color and a different shade of blue than found on my car (2B Norwood):

[Edgemontvillage]

Here's my first attempt.

[Hans L]

Lloyd - First, I found the reproductions clips to be way off, so I returned the lot .  I tried several different finishes, including Dykem Steel Blue.  While not perfect and probably not the right material, I found Testors Transparent Blue to be the closest to the factory finish for the clips:

Original Clip:



Refinished Clip:



All the clips:



Used this product - just a light dusting is all it takes:



I'm out this weekend, but when I return, I'll upload an image with the clips installed.

[firstgenaddict]

Here's my first attempt.

THAT LOOKS GREAT!

[R68GTO]

Here's a comparison of an original fuel line clip off a 15,000 mile car and the retros from HBC.

[Edgemontvillage]

Here's my first attempt.



THAT LOOKS GREAT!

Thanks James, I'm using a solvent based metal dye applied with an airbrush. The photo was taken after 3 medium weight coats allowing 10 minutes between coats. I'm going to try again with light coats for coverage however more translucence.

[68camaroz28]

Looks good Lloyd but how much shine does it produce. Several years ago I had experimented with good old machinist Dykem Bluing and that seemed to work well with very little work. Easy touch-up if needed also.

[Edgemontvillage]

Looks good Lloyd but how much shine does it produce. Several years ago I had experimented with good old machinist Dykem Bluing and that seemed to work well with very little work. Easy touch-up if needed also.

Thanks Chick, it's a matte gloss with no top coat. What gloss if any are you suggesting?

[68camaroz28]

Sorry for delay Lloyd but would guess matte would be my first choice.