The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Steps to paint a motor?

Forgive me if this belongs in the mechanical forum but here goes:

Want to paint the motor in my 1950 3800 but want to do it "right". The last motor I painted looked like garbage after a few months of running.

Whats the proper way to prep/paint a motor:

1) clean, clean, then clean again I assume.
2) Do I apply a Primer? If so, is there high-temp primers?
3) Sealer? Is a sealer necessary?
4) Paint? I picked up some ceramic and an activator from Dirty Harry, it sounded good in the advert, but am open to other suggestions.

Advice? I'd like to keep this motor looking atleast decent for a couple of years.

Thanks team!

Not sure if its "proper", but here is what I did. I too have painted engines in the past that didn't last. Make sure the engine is clean of all grease and grime, I then used a wire wheel and stripped all the old material off. I then cleaned with thinners, "blew" the engine all off with air compressor. When I was certain it was clean and dry I applied an etching primer to cover the bare metal. When it was dry I scuffed with a scotchbrite pad to ensure the base coat adhered. Then I appied 3 coats of clear. I was quite happy with the results, Mine has been run @ operating temp many times and a few short drives with no issues as of yet. I did not use a sealer it might be a good idea? Couple pics in my photo bucket of the finished product.

i used por-15 engine paint...Ibrused on three coats,it self levels....the shine is awesome......dave

Geez 65, had to put on my sunglasses there was so much shine on that truck.

Did you use a special etch-primer? I'd be concerned that a regular primer would burn underneath the paint, causing it to bubble. Maybe because its covered with other paint its effectively insulated.

I don't think there was anything special about it... just stated etching on the can. I just used that because of the bare metal. So far no bubbling. I'm no chemist by any stretch, if you know another product that will stick to bare metal but better take the heat I'd certainly use that instead.

POR-15 system, (Eastwood) pricey but will last forever if you buy the entire pre clean and paint system and follow the instructions.

WishekBruce I used Eastwoods Brake caliper two part paint. I preped by degreasing and using a wire brush and small buffer. Then cleaned with brake clean and degreaser. Mixed the epoxy caliper paint and brushed ot on,it leveled very nice. I decided to use it because of the ability to withstand heat,as brakes do get pretty warm. Just another idea. It has worked fine for me. My 63'

biggest prob i have had in past is trying to get the engine completely oil free on sand cast blocks thats difficult if you have access to a steam cleaning service "for engines" and if your engine is disassembled thats the most effective way other than the headers a high temp paint isn't that critical your engine gets over 500 degrees paint is going to be the least of your worries

Ditto, looks great and so far so good......

Like bartamos recommends I used the entire clean and prep set-up from POR-15 as well.