My Willys 3A and 3B Community

TECH FAQ SECTIONS => BODY and trim => Topic started by: Chuck W. on September 19, 2019, 08:43:40 PM

Title: Headlight Bucket color
Post by: Chuck W. on September 19, 2019, 08:43:40 PM

I am almost to the point of starting the teardown on my 1964 Kaiser CJ3B. This jeep is in really great original zero rust condition except for the awful paint job! My goal is to return it to the original 225 Spruce Tip Green Poly. After a lot of soul searching, I have decided to remove the body tub so that it can be completely cleaned and properly painted inside and out, top and bottom.
One question I have been unable to answer is: what color were the headlight buckets? It appears that they may have been silver or even galvanized. Anyone know for sure? Thanks!

The "before" image!
(http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/500/CAM00066.jpg)

Title: Re: Headlight Bucket color
Post by: Rus Curtis on September 19, 2019, 09:34:08 PM

Chuck,
As best I can tell, they are all the same no matter the year.  To me they appear zinc or cadmium plated but I've only seen a few up close.  Here are some images.

Doug Anderson's 1960:
http://cj3b.info/Photos/Owners/1960/Anderson60/Anderson60EngineLeft.jpg

Michael Langner's (was Adam Charnok's/Ed Surjan's) 1963:
http://cj3b.info/Photos/Owners/Charnok/AllenPhotos/CharnokEngineLeft.JPG
http://cj3b.info/Owners/Charnok2.html

Lawrence Wade's 1955:
http://cj3b.info/Photos/Owners/Wade/CurtisPhotos/GrilleBrace.JPG

Scroll down near the bottom of Marty's post and see a red Radiator Guard with buckets:
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/cj3b_bulletin_board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2828&p=24137&hilit=radiator+guard#p24137

Title: Re: Headlight Bucket color
Post by: duffer on September 19, 2019, 09:49:21 PM

I don't think I've ever seen any that were factory painted.  Galvanized steel or raw aluminum.

Title: Re: Headlight Bucket color
Post by: Chuck W. on September 20, 2019, 06:27:08 PM

Thanks for the replies. I checked my buckets, they are steel, not aluminum, so I chipped some of the horrid green house paint off and they do appear to be galvanized. I was going to media blast and paint, but now I think I will try some paint stripper and see if I can recover the original galvanized finish without damaging it.

Title: Re: Headlight Bucket color
Post by: Chuck W. on September 22, 2019, 08:52:58 PM

I removed the buckets today and started cleaning. The paint was so thick, I wound up having to use the blast cabinet. I gave them a coat of Rust-Oleum cold galvanizing paint, looks ok, I guess.
(http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/500/CAM01092.jpg)
I also decided it was time to start getting rid of this paint job, so the hood, fenders and grill are off now.
(http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/500/CAM01090.jpg)
I had the windshield frame powder coated gloss black last year as a test and I have been very happy with it, si I think I will have all the other black pieces powder coated, too.

Title: Re: Headlight Bucket color
Post by: Dinesh on September 23, 2019, 10:10:57 AM

The çj2a buckets were supposed to be painted dark brown.