Just gota vent !!!!!

i had a ALLIS CHALMERS hyd. cylinder that i bought new in 1981 with a new 2300 disk the disk is long gone but i still have the cylinder it looked like new the decals were like new also but needed new packing i took it to a hyd rep. shop went to pick it up today and thay painted it a coal black. painted over all the decals it made me sick if i would of wanted it painted i would do it myself----guess i will now!!! sorry just had to vent. Tom

Don't blame ya for being mad. Darrel

That would p*ss me off to!!! Why would they paint it?? Is it their company policy?? Ryan

i tried that it also took the writeing off of the decals

Sorry to hear that.  Have you tried pressure washing it?  Sometimes that will make the top coat of paint peel off without hurting the undercoat, especially if it wasn't cleaned all that well before painting.

As a rebuilder myself, I also paint the items I rebuild. Mainly so they don't flash rust and look like crap by the time they reach the customer. My starters and Gennies are usually black, my carbs a natural cast color unless the customer says otherwise. Also, a nicely detailed piece whatever it may be after all the work performed looks much nicer than one that has jaw marks on it and is still slimmy & crappy from the work done. Makes the customer think "did he do anything on this for what I was charged"? You guys know when steel, or especially cast iron items are glassbeaded to bare metal, it doesn't take long for that rust to start. As long as there's air and moisture, we're going to be dealing with rust. In your case, you should have mentioned to the rebuilder that you didn't want it painted, and while they were rebuilding it, try not to mar the cylinder or decals up. he probably would've tried his best to do so. Its tough not to do that, especially when it comes to rebuilding a hydraulic cylinder. I do that type of work on our bucket trucks at work. When you're trying to break a packing loose on a long cylinder, its a bitch not to spin the cylinder in the vice (or vices) while trying to remove a packing that's been on since it was new. Especially, when you have a GIANT packing wrench on the end of it for the leverage factor to aid in the packing removal. Its unfortunate that happened, but most rebuilders do not look at the "details". They get the job done and move on to the next job. Guys like us that do the restorations on our Tractors or classic cars look at it from a different angle. When I'm at work doing an outrigger cylinder or spool valve for a bucket truck, I sure as heck ain't lookin' at making sure this thing is nice lookin' when its done! I do clean em' up with a scotchbrite pad, dust them with a little paint sometimes, but it ain't detailed like the pieces I rebuild for our customer's at my shop. Now THAT, is a whole different story there, and that's the other part of the angle.... "Details"   LOL!

I did not say anything to the man. what good would it of done? the damage was already done . but i will know next time to tell them "DONT PAINT IT!!!!!!"
Thanks for all the feed back. just another life lesson. TOM