blakecharles

I recently got a 98' LS1 and T56. I'm looking to paint them, but I don't know where to start.

How do I clean and prep them? What kind of paint should I use?
What brand has a decent selection of colors??? Has anyone ever done this before? Have any tips? Can you post any pics?

Here is a LQ4 painted (in a 1st gen). I'm looking to do something like this:

1ADan

iTrader: (4)

shouldn't require anything special that you wouldn't be already doing to a regular sbc. prep work is where it's make or break. scrub it down and make sure there's no dirt/grit/grime/etc. i'd say go for it if you had an iron block (like myself), but the LS1's are all aluminum - show it off! clean and clear coat it.

blakecharles

I have never taken apart an engine before. The most I have ever done is remove the intake for cleaning (was not hard). But what paint should I use? Thermo/engine paint on both the engine and trans? I want to go black.

Everyone out here has the aluminum look, I wanna be different.

This is my engine and tranny

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

I would recommend, if you've never taken an engine apart before, not to make this one your first. Especially not for something as trivial and useless as that.

Instead of getting all wrapped around the axle about what color it is, spend all that motivation and energy on making it run as good as it can and be as reliable as possible. A cute color paint job on something that doesn't have the slightest need for paint in the first place, isn't worth a whole helluvalot while you're sitting by the side of the road waiting for a tow truck. Besides, the people (Mudstain drivers and such as that) whose only view of your engine will be looking at it through the back bumper and tail lights, won't be able to see what color it is, anyway. It'll be too far in front of them for them to even tell.

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The engine's color AIN'T the main thing.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

yeah you definitely should put your needs before your wants with any engine. you need it to be reliable and start everytime you turn that key, your want is that it looks good, and without any engine building experience its gonna be hard to paint it. if it were me id strip that down replace bearings, gaskets, and redo the whole thing. once its stripped down to the block then you can paint it, but if your not gonna go that far i say dont worry about it at this point in time. allthough i am curious as to what kind of engine enamal people are using and as to what step they are getting the block ready for paint

White'89

iTrader: (8)

I don't know what engines you guys are working on but the LS engines are actually pretty simple. This is not a bad time to disassemble your first engine. Just take before and after pics of as many angles as you can just in case you cant do it by memory. But just note if you go as far as removing the intake manifold and valve covers you should replace the gaskets.

clean it VERY VERY well with engine degreaser and get in all the little corners, make sure the surface is free of chemicals, mask it and paint! When painting an iron block use dupli-color engine enamels, and for the aluminum blocks I like polish and clear....but the EASTWOOD COMPANY sells aluminum paints.

Never a bad time to learn!.....in this instance.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

your right any chevy v8 is quite easy to take apart and put back together, but theres quite a few things to look out for when your going through it and things you need to specifically remember exactly. and if your gonna do it all right you should hone cylinder walls and all that jazz, new rings-bearing-gaskets all can do wonders

White'89

iTrader: (8)

Well I posted what I did because he just wants to paint the motor. Which normally just involves taking off the intake manifold, valve covers, and accessories like the pics he posted. I would never go as far as removing the heads just to paint a motor...that would just be a waste of money having to replace the head gaskets when they were perfectly fine.

OP is already working on swapping an LS drivetrain...I would venture to say he is not an idiot.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

i wouldnt either i actually admire him because i wouldnt know what to do when it came to the wiring aspect. im just sayin that if you were to rip apart a whole engine in order to redo it and impreove it that would be a great time to paint it, but yes remove intake tape things off and remove accesories and your golden

blakecharles

Hey guys,
Sorry about the late response. I have been busy all weekend. I won't lie, my main reason for doing this is because I can. lol. Everyone I know has tried talking me out of it mainly because these are things that will rarely be seen by anyone but me. They also said the same thing about the LSx swap all together (there was absolutely nothing wrong with my 305 and I don't know jack about cars). They also said that I would not be able to smooth the firewall and doors (this was my 1st time welding)... Thus far, nothing has been as hard as anyone has made it out to be.

I have used only knowledge learned in the treads from this site. YOU GUYS GIVE TONS OF GOOD INFO THAT HAS NOT STEERED ME WRONG THUS FAR. lol.

here is how far I got.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...wap-pic-3.html
I will be painting both LS1/T56 before they go into the car.

Good advice everyone!

blakecharles

I agree,
for instance, I admire a nicely restored under body. I have gotten so much negative feedback from ppl that think cleaning up the under body is useless. My car was stolen (it was to be crushed, I got it salvaged). All the wires are cut, instead of getting the factory harness from another car, I got the painless 18 circ. I have never wired a car before, but I am a computer engineer (the wiring is what I understand the best). I know what you mean...

blakecharles

I have taken nearly everything off the top end and some of the accessories. The harness was easy to remove too. I tried taking the top off the 305 and found it to be harder.

blakecharles

I have been looking at the Eastwood website for a while now... Has anyone used the paint they sale for aluminum?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Spray-bombing something is not "restoration".

IMO one of the crappiest looking things in all of the hot-rodding hobby is a fully-assembled engine that somebody just squirted paint all over; bolts, freeze plugs, and all.

Those of us who have been doing this for a while call that a "Krylon rebuild". It is the sure sign of (a) a novice, or (b) a rip-off artist trying to sell an engine as "new". Not sure which one of those you are proposing to advertise yourself as? Mostly, experienced people laugh at it when they see one like that, because it's so poseur.

Again IMO, I think it is not only a waste of time and energy to paint an engine like that, but in fact is a negative feature.

Now, painting the various parts of a DISASSEMBLED engine, particularly the iron (but not aluminum) castings BEFORE putting it together, is a different matter.

For bare aluminum castings I prefer to use wheel clear-coat.

And once again IMO, the best thing to do is to just take it to the quarter car wash and clean it up. Use the "wax" setting at the end, to leave some degree of corrosion protection on it.

blakecharles

I don't see what the big deal is. I just want a black LS1.
The car will never be for sale. I have already spent more money then the car is worth, that means I'm doing this for me.

89 camaro conv (salvage) - $1300
LS1/T56 - $1700
new front end down to the bolts - $800 (some replica parts)
Painless 18 circ - $400
K-member + TQ arm - $700
suspension upgrades - ???

the list go's on and on.....

So nobody here has painted an aluminum block? All I can find are LQx paint jobs.

FYI: novice is accurate, that's what I am. lol! Been doing good so far though!

blakecharles

fyi: that is by no means a novice build... That camaro was @ SEMA and it's VARY nice
I care about what my car looks like underneath and under the hood. I realize that engine painting is old news, but I still like it.

cuisinartvette

Hey go for it, most the stuff under hood is black anyway why follow the crowd?

Think if you pay attention to detail it will look sharp.