Painting Engine Parts and Springs

[fishunterx]

Hey,

I'm going to be pulling my engine apart and was thinking about painting it, Headers, head, and Valve Cover mainly, Dont know if I will do the block.

Does anybody know how to paint them, what paint to use. Also, is it possible to paint the springs?

 

[gotmudd]

most parts houses carry a full line of spray paints specifically made for painting any part of your motor, even including exhaust, my recomendation would be to look at the heat rating of the paint and get the highest rating possible for durability. you can pretty much paint in any position but standing your parts on end seems to work best for me. that and don't get the can too close to the part you are spraying, they recommend at least 12-16 inches but i found out with a little experimenting 16-20inches if you are out of the wind works good. don't spray too heavy or it will run and look bad. it's better to apply alot of coats REAL THIN and let it dry 3-4 minutes between coats as long as its still tacky, you want it to get tacky before the next coat is applied. after you get 3-4 light coats on let it dry a couple hours then do it again untill you like the results

 

[fishunterx]

Thanks, Does anybody have any pictures of their painted engines to help me get an idea for a color scheme?

 

[2ranger87]

Thanks, Does anybody have any pictures of their painted engines to help me get an idea for a color scheme?

It's a little small, but check my avatar. That's a 4.0, and I used high-temp paint specifically fo painting engines.

I'll try to get a better picture up.

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

VHT makes a good engine paint.get it at the zone.
dupli color is also good..........both about $7 a can.
alot of thin coats works best as pointed out before.

 

[MAKG]

If you use the Dupli-Color stuff, a lot of thin coats will look like CRAP because you have to finish in 15 minutes between first coat and last or it cracks.

If you want to put a second coat on after 15 minutes, you have to wait a couple of days.

Dupli-Color makes 400 deg stuff and 1200 deg stuff. The 400 deg stuff looks better, but will bake off of exhaust ports and manifolds.

When I painted my 2.9L, I painted the block, heads, pan and valve covers "Ford" baby blue, didn't paint the intake manifold at all, and painted the exhaust manifolds and accessories black (the manifolds with the 1200 deg stuff; accessories with 400 deg).

When I painted the 250 I-6, it's Chrysler red (looks much better than GM orange IMO), plus the black exhaust manifolds and accessories. The intake manifold is red as well (it's cast iron instead of aluminum).

That 1200 deg stuff also works nice on brake drums and calipers.

 

[86freebie]

the main thing is make sure it is all really clean. and i always use the little propane torch before hand to get the part i am painting warm for at least the first coat. i think that helps stop the orange peel affect. i have painted whaite spoker rims black, the inside of my 66 bug. and got many compliments.... TAKE YOUR TIME.

 

[BlackBII]

Yeah, very clean!

Sandblast it then wax grease remover, should work great

Here is my xs1100 motor, duplicolor 1200'
I used a gloss black

I used a satin 1200' on the exhaust(motor is a little dusty)

 

[fishunterx]

So would I be ok to paint my Springs, Calipers, Frame? Will the paint hold with the flex of my springs?

 

[Mark_88]

The Frame and Springs you can use regular rust paint...best to sandblast it first if possible...there is special caliper paint too...

The springs I'm not sure about, depending on how much flexing they do whether rust paint with stick without baking it on...never seen springs painted to be honest, but I'd use rust paint myself...and if it chips off then paint again...

The only caution I would give is caliper and engine paint is extrememly toxic and you should wear a mask and ventilate well...and don't use pink paint...lol!

 

[fishunterx]

...and don't use pink paint...lol!

Well so much for my pink and purple color scheme......

 

[lil red]

Yeah, very clean!

Sandblast it then wax grease remover, should work great

Here is my xs1100 motor, duplicolor 1200'
I used a gloss black

I used a satin 1200' on the exhaust(motor is a little dusty)

what she said^
o and where did you get those clip ons, and tail section?
im stealing your front fender idea tho

 

[Mac]

The most important thing when painting anything is to make sure it's clean.
Dave

 

[hades]

Yeah, I totally agree about making sure everything's clean before you paint. This is to avoid greater problems in the future.

Anyways, what colors are you planning to use?

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[fishunterx]

I was thinking about red, or blue, or maybe something metalic. That's why I wanted to see some peoples color schemes. I have a 2.3L so I was wondering what would look good.