need some advice and steps on painting an engine block... i see it done on tv and magazines all the time but they never say what kind of paint to use? do you prime it first? what kind of paint to use to withstand the heat? will it peel later? any help would be great, i already did a search but aint find nuffin' .....

 

Go down to your local shop and look for the specific engine paint. Its made to withstand heats of up to 1200*F (if baked) and is made to spray right on the bare block, no primer required.

 

when u say shop, do u mean body/paint shop, local dealer, sears or a pepboys, etc ??? thanks....

 

No particularly special type of paint is required. The temp of an engine isn't high enough to bother anything. A black car sitting in the sun will get almost as hot as an engine block.

You can buy engine paint at any auto parts store.

Personally I prefer to use some marine grade primer (lots of zinc chromate), and/or some POR-15 type of rust treament; then the engine enamel.

The high-temp paints (VHT, barbecue grill paint, etc.) are almost always NOT gasoline resistant. I would not recommend using those.

It will peel if the surface is not clean, or if there's rust. Take it to the quarter car wash early in the morning on a warm sunny day and blast it off liberally; blow it out with compressed air; let it sit in the sun for a couple of hours to dry; then clean it with spray-can carb cleaner or brake parts cleaner; let dry; then paint it. Put a little oil or ATF or something on all the surfaces that you don't want to paint but that shouldn't rust, like lifter bores, cylinders, & main bearing saddles. Then you can put it in a big garbage bag or something to store it.

It's not magic or anything. It's just a big slab of metal.

 

Yes i meant parts store, sorry i should have been more specific.


As for the paint, they do make specific engine paint that will take high heat and is gasoline resistant (why would you have gas all over your block in the first place? )

But you can also go with sofa's way because like he said the block under normal conditions doesnt get very hot except for the exception of the areas around the exhaust ports on the heads. But for a few bucks a can to get the 'right' paint, you dont have to prime and you dont have to worry about baking off the paint on the heads.

 

but how do i match it to the car? can i use the same paint im using to paint my car???

 

IMHO you should paint it when it's absolutely bare. My machinist told me to do it when it's assembled (which looks like crap, then it would be a giant orange engine...). He put in my freeze plugs and whatnot, so now those are orange too. If you paint it bare, then your plugs, heads, etc, are all silver or whatever color. I think that contrast looks nice.

(excust the ugly brackets, those were an "oops".

 

what color is the car?

you can match it, if you want. I think that looks goofy though.

 

You can drive down to the local body shop and they can match up a can of paint very close to your body color. Then you can either leave the block with them to get it painted or just get the can of paint and do it yourself. If your going this route IMO your better off letting them do the paintwork.

 

its gonna be either lite blue (sky or baby blue), or dark blue.... with silver stripes.....

 

I also think an orange engine looks goofy in one of these cars. Doesn't belong.

I couldn't agree more with the "krylon rebuild" approach looking terrible. That's the surest sign of a lazy builder. If they're that lazy with the part you CAN see, I'd be afraid to even guess what they lazed out on in the parts you CAN'T see. I prefer to paint THE PARTS, and then assemble it afterwards; so all the freeze plugs, bolts, gaskets, fittings, and so on, are their appropriate color.

One of the most bizarre colors I've ever used myself, was clear. The motor looked like brand-new cast iron. Very strange. Problem was, it was REAL HARD to find oil leaks. I've used white before, which was good for finding leaks; btu then no matter what you do, it always looks dirty. Nowadays I usually use a dark charcoal sort of color on castings. Not quite black, just a VERY dark gray metallic. I paint the tin & brackets satin (NOT gloss) black.

I once knew an engine builder who used this funky shade of metallic purple. Looked about like a shade of fingernail polish or something. Most of his motors went into sprint cars, where you can see the motor fairly well. It was awful. People hated it. But, it was his "trademark"; if you painted over it, he wouldn't build you any more. Go figure.

 

Painted many blocks / components to match vehicle color.


Just use a single stage enamel WITH a hardener.

 

anyone got any pictures???