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Getting ready to paint a 67 big block engine. All parts have been jet washed at the machine shop but there's still some original orange on some areas. That doesn't concern me as much as the correct tint and coverage of paint. A friend of mine who does extremely high end auto restorations told me to use standard auto enamel. He said that instead of an 8-to-1 reduction thin it out to 4 or 5 to 1 to kind of replicate the thin-appearing paint that was applied at the factory. And a few very light coats as it will be thinner. Thoughts?
I used Dupli color 1620 with great results. GM has a few suppliers of paint for engines and I am sure fro
batch to batch they all did not match. Sure they where close though. What ever you do do make it look like a glazed ham if you want a blue ribbon.
I've judged big blocks with gleaming orange valve covers with paint so deep you can see yourself in it. Overdone but if someone is paying big money to a resto shop that's whats expected. Originals were often painted thinly with flat spots runs and misses. You may not want that either. Somewhere in between maybe ?
From: Middle TN by way of KY, OH, VA, IL, CA, FL, NY, SC, HI
Originally Posted by Nowhere Man
What ever you do do make it look like a glazed ham if you want a blue ribbon.
I see what you did there.
Also, be sure to spend thousands on it.
But seriously, the OEM paint was not only thin and had runs, it had lots of missed spots (like behind the water pump), lots of overspray, and was almost a semi-gloss.
I used Eastwoods 2k can and I loved it
I also use it in my air brush for correct over spray and bolt touch up
Use a 2k product vs a 1k - either in a gun or can
You will like the durability of a 2k
I've judged big blocks with gleaming orange valve covers with paint so deep you can see yourself in it. Overdone but if someone is paying big money to a resto shop that's whats expected. Originals were often painted thinly with flat spots runs and misses. You may not want that either. Somewhere in between maybe ?
if your goal is only chapter judging you might get away with over done with a few points lose. If your goal is regional and national you might want to attempt to make it look sloppy. If no judging you can do what you want.
I’m not doing this one with ANY clear. Actually I’m going to try to replicate what I think the paint would look like on a 48k mile engine.....so I may experiment with a few drops of black paint in the mix on sample pieces first.
Most of those high heat Chevy Orange paints, are only good to 550 degrees. So they will burn off the exhaust manifolds. I've never found a C/O paint that is good to 1200 degrees.
I used Dupli color 1620 with great results. GM has a few suppliers of paint for engines and I am sure fro
batch to batch they all did not match. Sure they where close though. What ever you do do make it look like a glazed ham if you want a blue ribbon.
I also used Dupli color. Still looks great years later.
Were big block exhaust manifolds painted or left natural? I was thinking the manifolds were not on the blocks during the paint process.
small block and big blocks had the manifolds on
"supposedly" the line worker had under 30 seconds to paint each block
many times the center of the pan had little to no paint......
From: Las Vegas - Just stop perpetuating myths please.
Don't ya love Eastwood Company. They have something for every task. I love everything I buy from them. Bought my little MIG welder from them and couldn't be happier for a MIG welder. You can beat their price though. If your doing a competitive restoration then go for the specialty supplies. If you just want to protect the block from rust then good old rattle can will take care of it and will get just as grimy over time as the engine specialty paint. IMHO I don't think there is any visible part of the block that gets terribly hot or hot enough to burn the paint. Maybe just small areas around the exhaust ports and the intake heated crossover.
I notice no one ever paints their engine white. You think if you wanted to show off a perfect engine assembly and also make leaks immediately visible white would be a good color. But no one paints them white. The block just gets too grimy too fast to keep it clean enough for white. Maybe that's why all the chevy crate motor blocks are black now. IDK but make it fun instead of difficult is my answer.
I used Eastwoods 2k can and I loved it
I also use it in my air brush for correct over spray and bolt touch up
Use a 2k product vs a 1k - either in a gun or can
You will like the durability of a 2k
Do you have a website (or photos) showing these restorations?
Almost did my engine in white thought it would look awesome with everything polished SS or alum. Coulndt find a paint that would hold up. unless you get leaks everywhere ought to look fine. So went POR-15 Titanium. Had a few ask if the block was alum...I wish
C2 engine paint
