The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop do I need to prime the engine?

Well I received my high temp engine paint from Carter today... do I just brush that paint on or do I need to put some kind of primer on the engine before I brush the engine paint on?

I have the same concern. Is primer required or is it just desired?

Blake, are you planning to brush it instead of spray to keep better control of the mess? It may leave brush strokes so consider adding some thinner to help it flow out. I had that problem with the enamel trim paint in my house and after I thinned the paint it flowed out and did not show the brush marks.

Within the next month I will strip off the blue paint on my 1957 235 to repaint the grey for the 1946 color. I'm sure that I will be pretty frustrated by the time I finish with the stripper and cleaner chemicals.

Please keep in touch with me and let me know how it works out.

I'm not certain, but to my knowledge, priming is a more recent "desired" technique. There have been many blocks painted without the use of primer. I suspect using primer would be the better way to go and will allow your paint to bond better with the metal, but make sure to use a heat safe primer.

Your paint should be intended to spray on. If that is the case, it probably needs thinned, but without seeing it I can't be sure of that. I would consider spraying it, whether you take it somewhere where there is a gun, or return the paint and get cans of the correct color. To me there are too many obsticles to get a nice paintjob on a block. You most certainly will have some "puddles" and brush strokes.

BTW, some paint shops can take container paint and put it into cans. Not cheap, but way better results without the availability of a gun.

Most automotive Paint suppliers sell a universal aeresol spray that has a glass jar that you pour you own paint into. It is small( smaller than a standard spray bomb), has replacable air charge unit and they cost under $10.00. I use one just about any time there is area to small for me to get into with my spray gun or I don't want to do alot of gun cleaning. They emitt low over spray and you can just clean the glass jar and throw away the charge unit. They are perfect for spraying engine enamels and high-temp paints.

No primer needed for engines...Our GM Department had one man on two shifts that did nothing but paint engines using a air-dry special
formula Black....BB

I think your thinking of Preval spray units for doing a small area Paul. Harbor Freight and Hardware stors. Try this thread:
http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=004119

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL