Sombrero bushings - to paint or not to paint
Just installed new sombrero bushings in my '64 crossbeam. They came from LIC - great fit - more on that in a bit. But.... LIC painted them a high gloss black. I removed the paint after installing them. I am now showing very clean, unpainted black rubber.
Question is: Should the rubber parts of the sombrero bushing assemblies be painted semi gloss black like the cross beam or natural (unpainted) rubber?
I will spray the metal parts of the bushing assemblies the same semi gloss black as the cross member.
FYI - I purchased the bushings from LIC. I compared the diameter of the new bushings to my originals, The LIC units were a few hundreds of an inch larger. I coated the sleeves with an anti-seize compound and hammered them in. I placed an oak 1 x 2 (about 10 inches long) in the cup from the top and just hammered down with a 4 pound dead blow hammer. They went in very easy - about an eight to a quarter inch per blow - very smooth - no binding - didn't even break a sweat. They fully seated nicely. I bent the (6) tabs and cleaned up the gloss paint & anti-seize compound that oozed out.
Question is: Should the rubber parts of the sombrero bushing assemblies be painted semi gloss black like the cross beam or natural (unpainted) rubber?
I will spray the metal parts of the bushing assemblies the same semi gloss black as the cross member.
FYI - I purchased the bushings from LIC. I compared the diameter of the new bushings to my originals, The LIC units were a few hundreds of an inch larger. I coated the sleeves with an anti-seize compound and hammered them in. I placed an oak 1 x 2 (about 10 inches long) in the cup from the top and just hammered down with a 4 pound dead blow hammer. They went in very easy - about an eight to a quarter inch per blow - very smooth - no binding - didn't even break a sweat. They fully seated nicely. I bent the (6) tabs and cleaned up the gloss paint & anti-seize compound that oozed out.