Alternator restoration

My alternator is original. It works fine but looks terrible. Was it originally painted, plated or bare metal?
I know I can probably paint it, but it does'nt look like it had paint on it to start with.

Thanks for any suggestions
Neil

Hi,
You are right, the alternator was not painted originally. I have seen spray paint that very closely resembles cast aluminum. Most Vette catalogs carry this type of restoration paint. If the alternator works well, it might be your least expensive solution to just spray paint it.
cheers,
Tom

Eastwood (www.eastwood.com) carries paints for this purpose as well. You can check and see if their price is better or not.

Mine was original and looked pretty bad too. All I did was put it on a wire wheel, It turned out great. Give it a try before you try to paint it with something. I was very sceptical before I did this.
GOOD LUCK

Putting it to a wire wheel is good, but it should have a coat of some type of sealer if not restored otherwise. It can dull very quickly after being polished and brushed and not sealed.

Do you plan to disassemble it?I did and it came out great.Had it cleaned at the local armature shop and then painted it with the stuff mentioned above.I have even heard that some people have buffed the surface to a great shine but I didn't go that far.
Jules

Wire wheel sounds like the way to go for me.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Rgds