Painting engine block what to use.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 6,362
Likes: 7
From: Brazos TX
Cruise-In IV Veteran
Cruise-In V Veteran
Re: Painting engine block what to use. (BlackRat)
Yes, VHT makes a purple engine paint. You can also just paint it with normal automotive paint. Hot rodders do that all the time to match the engine with the car's color.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,758
Likes: 3
From: Surrey
Re: Painting engine block what to use. (BlackRat)
If the engine is out the car/frame I use spray cans of Sperex engine enamel (don't know if they do purple). Just follow the instructions, but what a lot of people don't know is that the paint needs to cure by being heated. Easy for small parts, as you can put them in the oven for 1/2 hour (it stinks!), but V8 blocks are a bit more tricky :) When the paint cures it goes soft & any dirt/oil on it will sink into it to form a permanent stain (which is how I learnt about the paint softening up - I went for a ride on my bike with gleaming new gloss black cylinders, the paint softened as it cured & picked up all the dust from the road. Got home to find that my cylinders were by then battleship gray!). Sperex engine enamel that has been left to dry for at least 24 hours & is then baked at about 150degrees for 1/2 to 1 hour gives a beautiful smooth, glass like finish. Your next oven cooked meal will taste strange.
My Vette engine was in the car & being lazy (didn't want to spend weeks masking everything up) I cleaned it for a couple of evenings with cellulose thinners & rags to remove all grease/oil/etc. I then used a tin of cellulose brushing paint & a 1/2" brush & got a really good result (put on several coats). As the block is a cast finish I used flat (satin) black & it looks good.
:cheers:
My Vette engine was in the car & being lazy (didn't want to spend weeks masking everything up) I cleaned it for a couple of evenings with cellulose thinners & rags to remove all grease/oil/etc. I then used a tin of cellulose brushing paint & a 1/2" brush & got a really good result (put on several coats). As the block is a cast finish I used flat (satin) black & it looks good.
:cheers:
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
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From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Re: Painting engine block what to use. (burners)
Yes, VHT makes a purple engine paint. You can also just paint it with normal automotive paint. Hot rodders do that all the time to match the engine with the car's color.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 14,377
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From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
Re: Painting engine block what to use. (BlackRat)
You can use "ordinary" automotive paint on the engine. A catalyzed enamel (urethane catalyst) works exceptionally well for long durability, a great gloss, and the fact that absolutely any color can be mixed up. I use PPG "Delstar" enamel for all my engines, and even the stuff I painted over 10 years ago still looks like it's brand new.
The surface temperature of the engine block doesn't get above 230 degrees, except in the immediate exhaust port area. This does not require use of "high temp" paints. The stuff they sell in spray cans (including VHT) does not come out nice and glossy, and its durability is poor due to the fact that it's not catalyzed.
You can check out my last purple engine at:
http://home.attbi.com/~blkbelt5/LM1.jpg
It's shot with catalyzed Delstar. The color is late '90s Dodge Neon purple.
The surface temperature of the engine block doesn't get above 230 degrees, except in the immediate exhaust port area. This does not require use of "high temp" paints. The stuff they sell in spray cans (including VHT) does not come out nice and glossy, and its durability is poor due to the fact that it's not catalyzed.
You can check out my last purple engine at:
http://home.attbi.com/~blkbelt5/LM1.jpg
It's shot with catalyzed Delstar. The color is late '90s Dodge Neon purple.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,955
Likes: 2
Re: Painting engine block what to use. (BlackRat)
If you want to use rattle can paint, I have had MUCH better luck with DupliColor high heat paint than VHT, and it is cheaper to boot.
Have a bunch of miles on my '76 Suburban 454 with DupliColor and it still looks great, the Corvette's 350 has VHT which went on alot rougher (more orange peel and clogged nozzles) and is peeling off the pan with about 1/10th the miles.
Go for the Delstar if you can.
Jeff
Have a bunch of miles on my '76 Suburban 454 with DupliColor and it still looks great, the Corvette's 350 has VHT which went on alot rougher (more orange peel and clogged nozzles) and is peeling off the pan with about 1/10th the miles.
Go for the Delstar if you can.
Jeff
