The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Engine Paint

Looking for recommendations on a good engine paint. The stuff Classic Parts sells claims to be "the best", and they claim a sprayed finish look even if you brush it on. Can anyone confirm this?

Want to repaint my blue 235 the original grey color (for '36) before putting it in. Any tips on prep work appreciated as well.

Thanks again guys.

Ron

I did a quick clean up on my 235 engine and used a Rust-Oleum rattle can grey. I think it looks close to the original color.

Jim Carter sells a Grey engine paint, a lot of folks think it is a spot on match for the original GM color.

I used Jim Carter's engine paint color. It's PPG ALK-200 and goes on with spray or brush very nicely. I found a couple spots on my engine with original paint and the color was almost exact.

I've seen a video advocating heating the iron with a propane torch to sweat out any oil, then prep with oil and grease remover. I'm not sure it's worth the effort however.

Craig's rattle can approach is the easy way out and would work well also.

I had just wanted to clean up the engine bay a little. The plan is swap in my 261 this fall, the entire under hood area will get a refresh for that.

I'd prefer to just be able to buy it already in cans to make it easy, but I do want to do a decent job. (Not saying Craig didn't, not implying that). That's why I was wondering if the claims that using a brush looks like it was sprayed are true. Maybe I'll just buy a cheap spray gun, but I don't have a good system to take all the moisture out of my air lines.

Don't be afraid of rattle cans. You can get just as good results with them as you can with a spray gun. Both engine and engine bay were done this way. Rust-O-Leum lasts forever, too.

If Rust-O-Leum is good, and if I can get it in the right color (or at least close), I have absolutely no objections to that, and would prefer it to make things easier.

I used the Bill Hirsch stuff for my '52's 235 because I like the shade, it seems a little darker than most of the engine gray rattle cans I've found. If I had to do it again though, I'd use Rustoleum Charcoal Gray rattle can. It's on the transmission below. Different camera metering indoors vs. out, but I can tell you they're pretty similar, with the RCG being just a tad darker. Very confident the Rustoleum will take the heat of the engine as well. Have had nothing but success with Rustoleum.

FYI, most automotive paint stores can put paint in a rattle can for you. I have done that and they charged about $40. I don't know if they'd do that for you if you brought paint in to them.

Also, I believe the Filling Station sells Bill Hirsch paint in rattle cans as well as pint or quart.

I second or third Bill Hirsch Engine Paint! I've been using it since the 70's and I have always brushed it on using a quality brush, it will lay down like you sprayed it on, even on sheet metal.

Make sure the engine is clean and brush it directly on...no primer needed!

Mike B

After I degrease the block, I apply Ospho and let it do its thing for 24 hours. I then go over it with a Scotch Brite pad to remove the white powdery substance. It is a byproduct of the rust conversion process. If it doesn't all come off. I soak the Scotch Brite with Ospho which dissolves it, then wipe it down with acetone. Since the chemical process has been completed, the white stuff doesn't come back.
Next day I prime with Rustoleum rusty metal primer, then paint with 2 coats of Bill Hirsch dark gray engine paint.
I have done this on 2 engines and they still look like new after 4 years.

Your engine looks fantastic!

Kevin, didn't know Filling Station sold cans. I will check that out. With Mike's "third" for Bill Hirsch, I'll probably go that route. Thanks for the replies gentlemen.

Ron

Will your process work without removing all of the blue paint that's already on the block? It appears to be in decent shape, so I was hoping to paint over top of it. Unless there's a semi-easy way to strip it.

Would a pint be enough to paint the engine and bell housing if brushed on?

I think a pint would be enough. I got a quart and was able to share some with another bolter. I sprayed my engine, but still had more than half of the quart left.

Everything I'm finding online is about painting an engine from a bare block. Having a hard time finding info about REPAINTING an engine. Unless my plan is unrealistic, I'd like to clean/degrease the engine, somehow remove all degreaser, then repaint over the existing paint. Is this doable with good results?

The engine is from a car, so it's blue. I'd like to paint it gray, but maybe I'd be better off sticking with the original blue engine color?

Ron

As long as you take off any flaking paint and the engine is clean and degreased, the existing paint will serve as a good base. First clean it with degreaser, scuff it up with 220 grit paper or red Scotchbright, then clean it with wax and grease remover. You’ll be putting on enough coats to cover the existing paint so the blue won’t show thru.

Don't overthink it. I de-grease and wire wheel everything to the best of my ability and then clean it with soap and high pressure water.

Then I rattle can it with Rust-O-Leum or Bill Hirsch. It pretty much lasts forever.

I haven't even met you yet, and you already seem to know me.

Hahaha! Hey, I overthink everything, too - especially something I've never done before.

Thought I'd post a few pictures to conclude this thread. I spent the time wire wheeling the entire engine down to bare metal. I used the Filling Station paint mostly because I like the darker gray. I have no idea if that's really closer to the original color as they claim, or if the lighter gray is the original, but doesn't really matter to me.

I brushed the paint on, but if I were to do it all over again, I'd just buy spray cans. And if I did brush paint an engine again, I'd either use better quality brushes, or use sponges. I bought cheap brushes because I wanted to just throw them away when done, but I ended up picking loose bristles out of the paint. That's what I get for going the cheap route I suppose. Also, they claim the paint gives a "sprayed on" look even when brushing. That's true on the rough surfaces, which is most of the engine, but not so much on the smooth surfaces. Either that or I just suck at painting, which could be the case. I did buy a can of spray paint to re-do those areas. The valve cover was especially bad, so I completely re-stripped that and sprayed it. Turned out much better being sprayed.

Anyway, here are a few pics. Everything is stock except for the older style water pump with pre'68 Dave's water pump plate, fan, YF carb, balancer, thermostat housing and my extended front motor mount adapter that I made. New gaskets, seals, and core plugs. Generator all cleaned up and rebuilt. Finally ready to start putting everything back together.

Next time use sticky tape on the bristles. It will pull off the loose ones before you dip into the paint. I use the cheap chip brushes this way.

Came out looking very nice! One of the projects on my list to with my ‘55.

Thanks for the tip!

Regardless on your method, your engine looks great!

That does look nice. The color will hide the oil leaks

The warmer the paint and ambient temperature, the better the paint flows and hides brush strokes.

Interesting location for the voltage regulator. I've never seen that before. I assume that's where GM put it?

No, I put it there. That's where the 6V regulator is on a 6V generator, or at least it was on mine, so the truck wiring was a one-wire hookup at that location. So I just put the 12V regulator there rather than on the firewall or somewhere else.

I didn't know it was converted to 12v.

Was the original 6v regulator a small cube like that? I'm used to seeing the GM 6v and 12v regulators being fairly large rectangles.

That one looks like a 1960s Ford 12v regulator.

My 6V regulator was a fraction of the size of this one, but yes, it is just a small rectangular unit mounted on the generator. Not sure what application this 12V regulator was originally for. I bought it from the shop that rebuilt the generator. It already had a curved base, so I didn't even need to bend the flanges to mount it.

Pretty neat.

Here is a picture of my original 6V regulator. Or at least what was on it when I bought the truck.

That's one pretty engine. You'll find, though that the paint on the exhaust manifold will be burnt off pretty quickly. I went with Calyx on my exhaust manifold. Different color but it stands up to the heat nicely.

BTW, talking about regulators is off topic in this thread. Try to stay on the subject, Otto.

Kevin, the exhaust manifold is actually black 2000 degree paint. I know it looks like engine paint, but it isn't. I did paint the intake with the engine paint, though. If the exhaust manifold high heat paint doesn't hold up, I guess that's fine, or maybe I'll try what you used if it bothers me.

Ron, That exhaust manifold sure looks like the same color as the rest of the engine, but if it's 2000 degree paint, it should hold up well.

BTW to add to the talk about prep, I've seen where a guy recommended using a propane torch on the cast iron to get oil out of it. I used oil and grease removal after a good bath with a pressure washer and citrus based detergent in that.

I think any oil that may be in the exhaust manifold would have been burned off long ago with the 400 plus degree heat of the exhaust itself.

I've also been using calyx for several decades and can attest to its effectiveness on cast iron manifolds. It also does a good job on cast iron master cylinders. Apply it with a toothbrush

I've seen the propane torch suggestion as well, but I drew the line there. I degreased the heck out of it, pressure washed the snot out of it, then wire wheeled the whole thing, then acetone. Sure did a lot of work, so I hope it holds up!

Regarding exhaust manifold treatment:

Somthing I’m trying on a non-Stovebolt engine in my life….graphite spray line. I don’t recall where I got the idea (probably YouTube). It’s cheap, available at any hardware store, and easy to touch up.

I can’t report any results just yet as this engine has yet to fire. But in raw form I think it looks really good.