I have seen this many times.  It reminds me of Zinc oxide primer that is
used in the aircraft industry on aluminium.  However why bother wondering
about it?  It didn't work.  If you want to prevent corrosion in your engine
replace the coolant every couple of years or renew it with coolant system
restorer (NAPA).  If you use the new heades made by AMC (that we sell) these
are much more resistant to corrosion than the OE heads.  Just one more
reason to replace your old heads if they have any cracks between the valves.
Also another ready not to use rebuilt heads as they are usually just OE
heads with welded up cracks.

Thanks,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
http://www.vanagain.com
http://www.strictlyvwauctions.com
http://www.eurovan.org
http://www.vwcabrio.org
Phone: (856)-327-4936
Fax: (856)-327-2242 

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Elliot Kane
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 9:14 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: yellow paint on heads?

 I'm redoing the heads on my 88 GL and I've come across the remnants of what
looks like yellow spray paint on the face of the head. Is this some kind of
factory attempt at giving the aluminum a layer of protection from the
coolant? I've searched the web high and low for clues on this but to no
avail...anyone know anything about this?

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