Finish on Leaf springs

[289ACE]

I am working on redoing some original style 289 suspension springs and after dis-assembling them I am unsure of what their finish should be before re-assembling them. It looks like they may be a natural finish (ie no paint) for most of the length of each leaf and then painted at the ends. Were the leafs painted before re-assembly and the paint has worn off on mine, or do they get assembled and then painted after assembly? Also when re-assembling, should grease be applied in between the leafs or do you let the grease get in from the Denso tape that they are wrapped with?
Thanks,
Jay

[Mark IV]

Who could tell what color they are, wraped as they are in the nastiest, most foul stuff ever created! I had the last NOS Mk II springs from AC/Autokraft for a customer and the smutz stuff got all over.....me, the shipping wrapper, the car Angliss shipped them in, my car, the parts department, the house two doors down and my wife after sex! Did I say this stuff was nasty?

[289ACE]

Based on your description of the tape "smutz", I'll probably forego using it which makes the painting questions more pressing. BTW, if I don't use the tape, are you and your wife interested in it? I don't think my wife will go for something that came from my parts boxes.

[Mark IV]

I would guess the springs were natural trated spring steel, i.e. a dark gray/black color.

And that was nasty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kris-kincaid]

Jim Maxwell found the correct wrapping smutz when he was freshening up CSX2149. Might be worthwhile to contact him.

[Jim Maxwell]

Denso tape from The Complete Automobilist in England is the stuff to use. The springs appear to be painted to me. restorers have told me that a sheet of teflon between the leaves of the spring will work wonders. If you don't wrap the springs, water will get inbetween the spring leaves and cause corrosion. That's the reason for the slimy grease wrap, which I can testify is truely messy but not all that hard to apply, if the engine is out of the car. The rear springs would be really tough to do unless the interior and gas tank are out of the car.

We have a local truck spring rebuilding facility here in Greensboro NC that can rebuild those springs if needed. When I get around to restoring CSx 2401 I will have them redo those weakened springs on the car. I already have my Denso tape ready for the job!

[289ACE]

Thanks Guys,
I rebuilt the front ones today using marine grease between the leafs and painted them after re-assembly. I wish I would have thought about the Teflon as that sounds like an excellent final solution to all potential problems. I will probably incorporate that into the back ones when I rebuild them next weekend, and may go back and redo the fronts after the paint dries. Since MarkIV didn't want my roll of Denso tape, I will probably use that on the rear springs, but I never really liked the look of the tape on the front ones when the hood is open, so the Teflon is sounding good.
Thanks again,
Jay