[DeTomaso] ZF polishing

Tue Dec 22 11:42:08 EST 2015

The paste I used ages ago was called Rub’n Buff”. Available on Amazon and from Michaels craft stores in North America.

http://www.amaco.com/products/rnb-silver-leaf-carded?taxon_id=324

It works really well but does need to be re-applied avery few years to keep everything looking great. It has a wax component which helps. I found that once the whole case was done that I only really needed to “touch-up” the top surface periodically.

Mark Charlton
pantera01826 at rogers.com

On Dec 22, 2015, at 11:08 AM, Charles McCall <charlesmccall at gmail.com> wrote:

> As a poor man's solution, there exists a tube of silver-colored paste that was recommended on the Forum a few years ago. I bought a tube at the time and it cleaned up the ZF quite a bit. I can see what the tube looks like but don't remember what the name was. 
> 
> It doesn't look like a professionally polished ZF case, but it looks a lot better than stock. And if you drive your Pantera any distance, or in the rain, it's probably more practical
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces at poca.com] On Behalf Of Cullen McCann
> Sent: martes, 22 de diciembre de 2015 16:45
> To: Michael Shortt
> Cc: Mike Drew; DeTomaso Forum; ace595 at hotmail.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] ZF polishing
> 
> Michael, you mentioned the aluminum jelly through amazon... my ZF is in
> good working order, but the PO painted it black and now the paint is
> flaking off. Id like the case to be natural aluminum, not polished or
> painted. I also don't want to disassemble the ZF, but it is out of the car
> right now. I've heard that 3M makes some stripping products that are gentle
> enough that the ZF rebuilders use them with good results, that are safe for
> the ZF case.
> 
> I can of course test it on an inconspicuous area but would this aluminum
> jelly be the right product for my application?
> 
> Cullen
> Yukon, OK
> 
> On Tue, Dec 22, 2015 at 5:50 AM, Michael Shortt <michaelsavga at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>>   Cleaning the case is best done with a degreaser first, then either
>>   Aluminum Jelly ( amazon sells it ) be careful getting it on any
>>   anodized parts, it will discolor them. I fonishing touch is a
>>   specialized acidic Wheel cleaner.
>>   I have had great success with Eagle One for Mag Wheels that are porous
>>   and unpolished.
>>   After this three step treatment and a little brush action, your ZF will
>>   look almost white.
>>   Then spray it with WD40.
>> 
>>   Michael Shortt
>> 
>>   On Dec 22, 2015 12:20 AM, "Mike Drew via DeTomaso"
>>   <[1]detomaso at poca.com> wrote:
>> 
>>     A  A In a message dated 12/21/15 11:44:19 AM, [2]ace595 at hotmail.com
>>     writes:
>>     A  A  A ?ZF polishing
>>     A  A  A Can anyone give me the approx cost of having my ZF polished?
>>     A  A  A Is there someone in the northeast
>>     A  A  A That does this
>>     A  A  A Thanks
>>     A  A Tom,
>>     A  A It's horrendously expensive, because it's normally only done at
>>     the
>>     A  A same time that the gearbox is being rebuilt.A  As far as I
>>     know, those
>>     A  A who specialize in such things will not consider polishing a
>>     complete
>>     A  A gearbox, although I don't know the specific reason for this.
>>     A  A Instead, while you're getting your $5000 gearbox overhaul, if
>>     you want
>>     A  A to spend an extra $1500 or so, they will arrange to have the
>>     bare cases
>>     A  A polished.A  It's something that is normally subcontracted out;
>>     the
>>     A  A pieces are either given to a polishing company, or the shop
>>     hires a
>>     A  A temporary worker who does it on-site.A  It's a very
>>     time-consuming
>>     A  A thing, taking many, many hours to do properly.
>>     A  A I don't know of anybody doing ZF work in the northeast; Guy
>>     Trigaux in
>>     A  A Simpsonville, SC is the nearest ZF expert to you, I think.A
>>     He's not
>>     A  A much for unnecessary bling, and he may not offer polishing
>>     service.
>>     A  A In short, if your gearbox was falling apart and needed to be
>>     rebuilt,
>>     A  A polishing is something you might consider while you're at it,
>>     but I
>>     A  A would never advocate taking apart a good gearbox just to shine
>>     it up.
>>     A  A It takes a LOT of maintenance to keep it looking decent; if you
>>     are
>>     A  A going to drive your car at all (especially in the northeast
>>     where the
>>     A  A climate is often far from ideal), I'd urge you to just leave it
>>     alone.
>>     A  A Lloyd Butfoy advocates cleaning the case, then spraying it with
>>     WD-40
>>     A  A which both makes it look good, and is easy to clean when it
>>     gets dirty.
>>     A  A Mike
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>> References
>> 
>>   1. mailto:detomaso at poca.com
>>   2. mailto:ace595 at hotmail.com
>>   3. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
>>   4. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
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