todd74

I received my heads back from the machine shop. They were pressure tested and cleaned. It will be while before I do anything more with them. I would like to prevent them from rusting. I was thinking of painting the inside top with glyptal. My thinking is it will help prevent rusting and when they are ready to be installed, the glyptal will help with oil return. The outside painted with chevy engine orange, since it will eventually all be painted. Any other exposed bare metal will have WD-40 applied to it.
Does this sound like a good idea, or is there a better solution?

Thanks

7t9l82

i have used glyptal for over 30 years. if applied properly it does what you said. i have seen the stuff survive a dip in the hot tank

harveyhalabookie

Good idea, but after you paint and spray with WD-40, put the heads in thick contractor-grade trash bags in a cool dry place. We used to store all kinds of parts like that in the engine shop I worked at and never had any rust issues.

scottyp99

i think the trick here is a controlled temperature environment. Temperature changes cause condensation, condensation causes rust.


Scott

birdsmith

With a stock oil pump you will never have any drainback issues, and all you need is for a couple paint chips to float off the inside of your cylinder heads and into an oil passage where it blocks the oil flow to a bearing....CLANK! Not worth the risk IMO...

ezobens

I've always worried about painting a surface that exists in such a harsh environment. Unless the surface is pristine when applied, I'd always have nightmares of the stuff coming off and filling the motor with crap.
I'm sure people have used it with success but for a street motor, I struggle to see the benefit over the risk?
Elm

billla

Two thoughts.

I have painted every engine I've ever built with Glyptal in the cam valley and never - ever - had an issue. It does help with drainback...but honestly only if you've also done the deburring around the drainbacks.

This is a mild 355 I built in 1997 for my '72 C10 "rusty but trusty" pickup that I'm pulling to do a top on. Many, many miles on that Glyptal! Won't be seeing more of this top as since it's for my truck, I don't expect it's all that interesting



I wouldn't bother doing this for the heads IMHO. Just hit 'em with WD-40...

Just one guy's opinion.

TheSkunkWorks

Never had issue with Glyptal either, and have already done the next block I'm building up for myself. Yep, spent a few hours deburring (inside and out). I'd get WD-40 on everything that isn't going to get paint immediately, and paint everything else ASAP.

7T1vette

Whatever happened to just wiping them down (or spraying) them with a light oil and bagging/sealing them? And when did WD-40 (a water dispersant) become an 'anti-corrosion' substance?

Red 71

And consider that WD-40 will evaporate over time.

birdsmith

I have an engine block that's been sitting up on end with a trash bag over it in my garage for over four years now...not a spot of rust on it. If you just gotta put Glyptal inside your motor, well then I guess you just gotta do it!

Steve2147

Engine and transmission manufacturers have been using glyptol for a very long time, on engines that are not termed "throw aways" (diesels with replaceable liners) with absolutely no issues. I've seen it in engines that are older than I am (long past the sunny side of 50) without a flake anywhere.

In the extremely low chance some did come off it would have to be small enough to get through the screen in the pickup for it to do any damage. Again, haven't ever heard of a case of that.

Gotta agree on the WD40. Marketing. What a wonderful thing.

Steve g

Indiancreek

Make a mixture of 25% motor oil and 75% mineral spirits. Shake it up and spray it on fresh metal. It drys looking wet but is the best anti rust stuff I've ever uesd. Comes off with Dawn dish washing soap or brake clean. I've used it on fresh machined parts for a long time. Cheap and works well.

billla

Heads that come assembled by the shop will already have a light coating of oil on them. The heads are cleaned after machining and all the components should have been lubed by the shop that did the work. A little WD-40 is just extra insurance and is quick and easy to spray on and gets into the springs, etc.

The shortblock parts are another matter - they don't come ready to assemble, but require cleaning first. Everyone has their own approach, but I use a bunch of brushes along with a mixture of hot water, solvent and detergent. So what to do with a wet - but clean - block, crank, etc? Use a water-displacing, penetrating and rust-inhibiting lubricant to get a good film of light oil on everything while pushing away the water. WD-40 works perfectly for this, which is why many engine builders use it. Sprayed on - either aerosol or manual - it works really well to get everywhere. Many engine builders tend to use WD-40 as a general purpose light lubricant.



WD-40 doesn't evaporate, but it does get gummy over time - for long-term storage something like LPS 3 is a better choice

Everyone has what works for them, but WD-40 works very, very well for many

7T1vette

WD-40 is made from petroleum products, and it says that it "inhibits corrosion and lubricates", but I think that's stretching it a bit. The 'film strength' of WD-40 is probably less than water...


Wow! I'm thinkin' that some folks think more highly of WD-40 than they do of DUCT TAPE! {But, I have yet to see any booklets written about the "1001 Uses for WD-40".}

billla

Here you go - 2000+ uses

http://www.wd40.com/uses-tips/

Do you have a recommendation? What do you use after washing a freshly-machined crank?

vettehardt

Talk to a industrial supplier and find some VCI film. That stands for Volatile Corrosive Inhibitor. It is a film or bag that is impregnated with a corrosive inhibitor to stop rust. You should be able to get a bag that the head will slide into and then close off. It will keep parts from rusting for quite a while. This is stuff manufactures wrap parts in when sending them overseas so the salt water air will not rust them. You may have seen parts wrapped in plastic when you buy a new bearing hub, rotor, caliper, etc. That is usually a VCI impregnated plastic.
For reference:
http://www.daubertcromwell.com/vcifilms.asp

We use a self adhesive VCI film at my work to wrap any bearings or other exposed metal parts of our printing press rollers.

The only thing you need to do to prep the piece before it goes in the bag is make sure it is very clean. This includes finger prints. You may end up with finger print shaped rust spots.

Steve2147

Oil. That's all I've ever seen the machine shops use. It's cheap and most effective. I like the idea of thinning it with mineral spirits tho for ease of application. It cleans up fine where it needs cleaning and if it's bagged right away doesn't need to be washed again. The cranks I've gotten back in recent years all came off the lathe, were bathed, dried, oiled and bagged. They went from the bag into the engine. They can sit a lot longer in an oil film than wd40 before needing washing again if sealed in plastic.

Steve g

billla

Everyone finds what works for them

Practices surely differ from shop to shop, but I've never recieved a crank (or block) that was clean enough from the shop to be ready for final assembly without being thoroughly washed first.

Anyone else want to weigh in on this? We might be getting well off-track from the OP's question.

Steve2147

You may want to rethink who you've been dealing with. The machine shop that does our work also does complete assembly if requested. When I asked about the need to wash cranks and blocks I received from them I was told specifically that if it were being assembled in their shop that's exactly what would happen next. They are ready to assemble. I specifically asked about honing residue, the number 1 cause of premature ring failure and was told that all parts are brush washed before bagging and oiling.

Given that, I think it is not only a waste of time to wash again, but another chance to leave water where it shouldn't be left.


If your shop isn't doing the thorough cleaning before and after their work, what else are they not doing well? How clean were the valve guide bores? If you don't trust them to wash a crank, shouldn't you request the heads back stripped and wash and assemble yourself?

Steve g