1968 Power steering pump paint source? (referred to as "dark blue" or "teal")

[admin]

What's the current wisdom on sources for the power steering pump paint? I'm talking the "dark blue" (sometimes called "teal") color. There are several threads here on the forum, but most are several years old.

I've been able to find only 2 options, at least in a spray bomb. Anyone have experience with either?

1. Omni-Pak paint sold by NPD, item AP-PSPE
2. Scott Drake AccuMatch paint (L-17520) sold by a few different Mustang and speed shops

There's a 10 yr old thread where Rick from NPD chimed in saying they were developing a paint specifically matched to some original PS pump paint examples. That appears to be NPD item AP-PSPE, which I would have already ordered, except it's been out of stock for at least the last couple of weeks.


... or...



For reference, below are photos of my PS pump with original paint. Unfortunately much of the paint is gone, so just cleaning it up is not an option. I'll need to repaint.

NOS example photo below taken from an older thread on the subject:

 

[Ruppstang]

Dark blue.

 

[franklinair]

I sent an aerosol can to Mike (speedy02) of NPD's P/S paint. I'll be curious to see the application & opinion.

Neil

 

[admin]

Dark blue

Right. I understand that is the official name. I also included the alternate name "teal" since I've seen it called that several times (maybe to avoid confusion with the Corporate Blue of the engine)

*** I just edited the thread title. I see now how it may have looked like I was asking whether it was "dark blue" or "teal".

 

[Mosesatm]

If I remember correctly the Scott Drake paint is too light.

 

[stangfan]

I seem to remember that these pumps were a "teal green" and it was difficult to find the paint years back.

 

[speedy02]

This is something that I have been working on as well. I am grateful for all the help I have received. I think the NPD color is the way to go. @admin I don’t mind shipping you the can Neil sent. Just PM me your information.

Also, I have found out that NPD has a vendor that makes their AP-PSPE paint and can only sell to NPD. Which is currently out of stock.

Here is the Accumatch from Scott Drake. It's not even close to the correct way to light. I can not believe they even sell it.

NPD AP-PSPE looks pretty much spot on.

 

[franklinair]

I was sure the NPD P/S pump color is correct. Now, if they'd only get it back in stock.
IIRC, isn't the front area (where the shaft is) supposed to be Black?

Neil

 

[admin]

@admin I don’t mind to ship you the can Neil sent. Just PM me your information

Mike, I appreciate it, but I'm not is a huge hurry, so I've give it another couple of weeks and see if NPD restocks. No need to make that one can from Neil a frequent flier just yet.

And thank you for the photos. That's exactly what I was looking for and confirms the NPD color is what I want to get.

 

[admin]

IIRC, isn't the front area (where the shaft is) supposed to be Black?

I don't believe so. I think the entire pump (housing and front area) are all painted the "teal" color. That's how mine is (see my photos in the 1st post)

From my research:

• the entire pump = dark blue (aka "teal")
• dipstick cap = natural (or maybe zinc silver?)
• pulley = semi-gloss black
• bracket from pump to engine = natural aluminum.

I believe the bracket and nuts on the rear (to route the hoses) is natural steel. Photo below:

Photo below of Bob Teets' 428 CJ HCS showing the natural dipstick cap. Looks like the "teal" paint is the lighter blue Scott Drake Accumatch paint as posted by Mike above.

 

[Ruppstang]

My first question is how do you know your pump was blue? Did you find there was some of the original color under the tag? Ford had two suppliers of PS pumps. The Ford Thompson pumps were blue. The Woolridge pumps were SG black. The Ford Tompson pumps have a F on the middle line of the tag. The Woolridge pump has a W on the bottom line of the tag. The Thompson pumps dipsticks were zinc plated and not painted with the pump. The Woolridge were all black including the dip stick. There should be no black paint under the cap of the dipstick as it was painted on the pump/

 

[admin]

My first question is how do you know your pump was blue? Did you find there was some of the original color under the tag?

My pump still has what appears to be original dark blue paint. See my photos in the 1st post of this thread. There was no tag on the back of my pump.

 

[Ruppstang]

I guess with no tag, pick your color. The color on it was wrong, the NOS one color is what you are looking for if you want to go blue.

 

[admin]

Yeah, I just now took the housing off the PS pump so I could clean it better, and there was a lot of clear silicone around the main O ring. I'm guessing the factory did not use sealant. That combined with the missing tag suggests this pump has been rebuilt by the previous owner.

The blue color in my photos above is darker in person than it appears in the photos. And it definitely is a metallic color, unlike say the Ford Corporate Blue engine paint. But yes, it still appears too light compared to the NOS photo.

Was it a 50%-50% chance between the Ford Thompson or the Woolridge tags? It seems that most GT/CS or HCS cars I've seen had the dark blue PS paint, but that's really just from memory and not based on any real research.

I think I will probably stick with the dark blue. My thought is if the pump has been serviced or replaced in the past and repainted, they would have painted it black if the original was black. Much easier. So the fact that it is currently a metallic blue tells me they tried to match what was there before.

 

[admin]

NPD now has that paint back in stock, so I placed an order and will post the results back in a week or so.

 

[admin]

It's been a few months, but I wanted to report back on the NPD power steering paint results. The color looks good to me!

NPD link: https://www.npdlink.com/product/power-steering-pump-paint/143996

Also, I didn't realize there are factory notches in both the pump and the reservoir can/housing so you can clock it correctly on reassembly. Learn something new every day!

 

[Ruppstang]

Yes, that color looks correct.

 

[Mosesatm]

Wow Jon, that's looking great!!