I have a book that recommends using an epoxy paint on the lifter valley, in the timing chain area, and even in the heads to help control sludge and promote quick oil drain back.

It shows a pic of Appliance Epoxy paint and I picked a can up at Wal-mart but it says not to use this on anything over 200 degrees.

Has anyone done this before and what should I use if this stuff I have won't work?

 

I've never used that.

I use either electric eqpt varnish (you can get an enormous variety of these from anyplace that sells electric motor or transformer rebuilding supplies), or just regular engine enamel.

The top of the heads gets REAL HOT. In fact, at the center right above the 2 exhaust ports together, is the hottest spot in the whole crankcase. Anything you can do in any way that either gets the oil out of the valve covers quickly, or keeps any more than absolutely neccessary from getting there in the first place, will lower your oil temp.

 

I didn't do my aluminum heads but my lifter valley and timing chain area are painted with Tremclad enamel rust paint. A 1" brush was used to get into all the areas. I used white paint and took 3 coats to get a good covering.

Around the exhaust ports will exceed 200* but the heads themselves have coolant running through them and should stay at roughly whatever your coolant temperature is. Under the rocker cover is already bathed in oil dissipating heat from the top of the head.

 

I was thinking of doing this on the last engine i built.

Then i figured nah, with my luck it would all flake off and plug my oil filter and kill my engine...

 

My worries exactly. So, will this appliance epoxy hold up you all think? Would it be a good idea to do this? (my oil filter bypass is plugged)

 

prep prep prep. It's all in the prep. Use a really good primer. Brush everything on, that eliminates the overspray. Toss that can of walmart paint.
Bake it on if you can, in the sun at least.

 

i use rustolium on a block that's been tanked. never had a problem

 

Epoxy Paint in Lifter Valley? OOps sorry I thought that this was a new Western coming out!

Sounds like a good idea, not sure I would try it though ... you go first, let us know.

Dave

 

Well since I had all the metal from my oil pump shaft rubbing I'll go ahead and get it tanked again.

I was told not to use primer since primer wouldn't adhere as well as the epoxy. What's wrong with spray paints compared to brush on (minus the overspray)?

ede...what type of rustolium have you used? They make every kind of paint imaginable.


BTW...does getting the block tanked require new freeze plugs (or can these stay in for the tanking)? cam bearings are getting replaced due to the metal in the oil.

 

Here's what I would recommend:

Have the block give you your block back after tanking, with the cam bearings and every single plug out of it. I mean, the freeze plugs, the cam bearing plug, the screw-in oil galllery plugs, the plug in the vertical passage between the rear main cap and the oil pressure sending unit fitting, EVERY SINGLE ONE.

Load it up in your truck along with a rag and all your favorite rifle, pistol, and shotgun cleaning brushes; and stop by the parts store and pick yourself up a couple of cans of the engine cleaner that's just diesel fuel in a spray can. Take it to the quarter car wash, and use the rifle brushes and the engine degreaser on on every single hole you can find. You'll be amazed at how many there are. There's one from every cam bearing down to every main bearing; 3 that go all the way from the front to the rear of the block; the one I mentioned that goes from the rear main cap up to the intake surface, where the OPSU screws in; and a handful all around the oil filter. Scrub them all out real good with the brush, then blast them ALL, every one, with the wand. Wash the cyl walls with hot soapy water and the rag.

Then take it back to the shop, and have them tank it again and put all the plugs and cam bearings back in it.

The reason your motor blew up this time, even though it LOOKED like you were doing everything right, is very likely because there is trash in the passages, left over from a motor blowing up in that block before you got it, and the tank not cleaning it out. Which of course it won't; the tank solvent doesn't dissolve metal shavings. Any trash that's left in those passages, only has ONE WAY TO GO to get out: right directly through your fresh new bearings. You MUST get rid of it, if you want your motor to live. And of course, if you found metal shavings in it this time, then there's fresh new ones all in there too, from this blow-up, to go along with whatever is left over from the last one.

If you decide not to do this, you are risking a very high probability of being right back where you are now, again. You might get lucky, and it be OK anyway; but I'd bet not. I know for sure I wouldn't get lucky, so after ONCE of being where you are now about 30 years ago, I have taken EVERY SINGLE block I've ever built to the car wash and done just what I described. And miraculously, I haven't lost a single one since I started doing that. Not one in all these years.

 

Eastwood Company: Auto Tools, Body Repair, Classic Car Restoration, House of Kolor Paint, Powder Coating has a coating called Glyptol that is designed specifically for this use. promotes quicker oil return

 

Back from the dead...

Time for final clean and paint on Saturday then I'll be on my way to get it running again by winter!

This is what I have. In the book "How to Build a Small Block Chevy for the Street" by Jim Richardson it shows him using a can of Appliance Epoxy. Can anyone attest if this will hold up in these three areas? It says on the can not for continous water submersion of a surface that exceeds 200 degrees F.

 

I don't know about the appliance paint; I'd expect it would be OK though, considering that alot of surfaces in appliances get A WHOLE LOT hotter than an engine block.

Glyptal is nothing more and nothing less than a GE trade name for their product line of electric motor varnish. It's not a "thing", it's a brand name. I Happen to know that because I worked at a dealer of electric motor rewinding supplies about 25 or 30 years ago, and we carried that product line. But as far as that goes, electric motor paint works quite well for the purpose at hand, because the requirements are pretty similar.

Everybody that doesn't know anything about that sort of thing loves to spout that brand name without having any clear idea of what it actually is, ever since some one of the hot-rodding books published it back in the early 70s. Starting not long after that, we'd get calls from that type of people, but then when they found out how much they had to buy to get it from us (smallest put-up we carried was 55-gallon drums.... after all, we weren't exactly a retailer) it pretty much ended right there.

GE has since spun off that division.

Glyptal Home Page

On the appliance paint, if it's rated for use INSIDE ovens, then it'll be fine. Otherwise, go to any place that rewinds industrial electric motors or sells supplies to them, and get what they use for totally-enclosed farm-duty motors; for example, if there's a Tennessee Valley Electric Supply in your town.

 

I've always polished the lifter valley with a die grinder, to promote drain back.

 

Yea my buddy did that with my old 305 to go in his truck but I guess ill just leave it alone.

 

I'll throw my experiences in here...

First! The info about cleaning is the most important. When you think you got it clean... clean it again and again!

Outside of block: I use a SELF-ETCHING primer and put a light but complete coat on. Then I load up my small paint gun and spray single stage enamal or high quality exterior car paint (there are many varieties). It holds up good and this way I can match the color of the car or the secondary color on the car (Haven't done a clear coat (2 stage) yet because a friend said his turned yellow with age...).

On a hot sunny day, how hot do you think a dark colored car gets while sitting in the shopping mall parking lot?

Personally I would never paint any inside area (lifter valley) because it might flake and is too hard to inspect. I do polish the valley and all the oil drain back holes in the head with a die grinder.

I also inspect every inch of ALL cast parts, inside and out. I want to make sure all the casting sand is gone. This is the stuff that looks very rough. It looks like cast iron with a crappy mold. It is usually in corners and little nooks. I don't want any of this stuff coming loose... Sometimes I can scrape it out with a screw driver or chisel, sometimes I use the die grinder.