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In the 1930s Elto painted several models water pump housings black.
I know in the early 30s the Super A and the Lightweight WP housing were painted black. It really looks great on a motor that’s almost entirely silver.
I am at a point where I am ready to assemble my 37 Elto Handifour and would like to paint the WP housing if needed. The mag plate is painted black from the factory and some black on the leg would look great.When did Elto discontinue painting WP housings black?
None of my Elto Handifours had black paint on the pump housing. None of the mid ’30s ads I have seen show it. My Elto Super “C” did, and it was a thing of beauty.
It is YOUR motor for YOU to enjoy. I know it will be beautiful. You are not alone. I see many custom finished motors at our meets. I will be the first to admit, the outboards scheduled to be shown at a major Sporting Goods Show like New York and Chicago got special attention. If they spent that much attention on every outboard the prices would have to be much higher. Sometimes a serious collector will get taken in by a fancy finish. I recall telling one serous collector that the displayed Elto was an Evinrude because that model Elto would have a battery ignition and that one obviously had a magneto. Sure, he answered, but you are the only one here today that knows that. Even today An Evinrude Lightfour Imperial belonging to a highly respected collector is being auctioned off as an Elto. Wrong color and wrong decal !
Lower units were polished with Jewelers rouge. The polished surface was thought to be more resistant to corrosion. Drive shafts and prop shafts were “Parkerized” to prevent rust. They later switched to stainless steel. The turn plate material used to stamp out the fuel tanks were treated to resist corrosion. Cast iron was always a problem.Several different paints were tried, and at one point the cylinders were copper plated. More brass was used in the “Salt Water” motors, and some parts were nickel plated. Dad showed me a set of Super C cylinders that were done with a glassy black baked enamel finish with nickel plated ends polished to a mirror shine. They were used at the New York Boat Show.
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