BP J-Head Thick Paint

[furpo]

What kind of paint or filler was used on a 1974 BP J-Head?
I’m striping and repainting. The paint or filler on the head is loose and cracking and pealing.
Whatever it is it is about 1/16” thick. The rest of the machine is normal paint but I’m pealing about 1/16” off the head.
Thanks

 

[Chuck K]

BPs have a lot of body filler to smooth out the castings. It's nice to be able to leave it and just prime and paint over it....but often it is loose and has to be removed in places. It sounds like that's what you're up against. I stripped and repainted an Index mill. It was basically the same deal. The filler was loose in a lot of places. I ended up grinding it all out and just priming and painting the rough castings. It didn't look real smooth on close inspection, but as much time as I had invested in it I didn't want to spend more time applying and sanding filler. I've often wondered about the amount of labor that went into the original finish on these machines. Somebody had to spend a lot of time filling and sanding the castings. It's not like they just spread it on and painted over it. They finished them real well. I guess they were a lot more efficient at it than I am. You can replace it with bondo if you're so inclined.

Chuck

 

[Tony Wells]

You can use spot and glaze putty instead of regular Bondo. Dries quickly and is easy to put on and work smooth. I've done several sandblasted cast machines and they turned out very smooth, like the factory. Another option to consider is a high solids primer. A couple of coats of it will fill in minor imperfections. Perhaps a combination of both would be best. Fill the large holes, then build it up with primer and paint it. Be like new then.