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Advice For Painting An Engine


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#1 mailman

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Posted 26 October 2017 - 06:57 AM

Hey Guys,

I'm looking for a bit of advice. I'm in the midst of an engine build and I'd like to paint the engine BMC Green.

I've got the block assembled as a short block with timing cover in place but no ancillarys. I've got some engine enamel professionally mixed, as well as the etch primer and degreaser recommended by the paint shop.

I've started masking off some of the gasket faces and covering the crankshaft. Now as I prepare to paint the parts I want I am unsure as to exactly how to do it.

Should I wait until my cylinder head is back from machining (which will also need painting) and paint the engine and head assembled? Or am I better to mask the block and head faces and paint them separately?

My concern is whether or not paint could somehow interfere with the head gasket?



What are your thoughts?

#2 WillCarter

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Posted 26 October 2017 - 07:55 AM

I painted the two separately as I wanted them different colours (red block, black cylinder head), so I took the cyclinder head off, masked everything I didn’t want painting and then just painted it, no problems at all. My spark plugs were old so i left them in whilst painting and replaced them when it was dry as that seemed the best way of blocking those holes. Then I just painted the cylinder head by itself.

However if you want to do a proper job then I’d wait for someone who does it at least semi-compitently to reply. However I haven’t had any issues since.

Also BMC, good choice, think I’ll do that with my next engine.

#3 Homersimpson

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Posted 26 October 2017 - 06:54 PM

I painted the two separately as I wanted them different colours (red block, black cylinder head), so I took the cyclinder head off, masked everything I didn’t want painting and then just painted it, no problems at all. My spark plugs were old so i left them in whilst painting and replaced them when it was dry as that seemed the best way of blocking those holes. Then I just painted the cylinder head by itself.

However if you want to do a proper job then I’d wait for someone who does it at least semi-compitently to reply. However I haven’t had any issues since.

Also BMC, good choice, think I’ll do that with my next engine.

If you want the engine and gearbox all the same colour I would wait until its built then paint it, the only things I do are mask off the gasket faces for the manifold, heater valve and thermostat, use the old plugs to block the spark plug holes and use an old rocker cover to cover the head and then paint the rocker cover separately.



#4 Northernpower

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Posted 26 October 2017 - 07:39 PM

I always paint the parts seperately, that way you can tell the engine has been apart and it doesn't look like a quick makeover. It also enables you to split it at a later date and not crack paint on the joints and/or head bolts ect.



#5 mailman

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Posted 28 October 2017 - 06:22 AM

Thanks for your input everyone.

I ended up making a start and painting the block separately.

Attached File  IMG_20171028_154725.jpg   49.62K   4 downloads

#6 SolarB

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Posted 01 November 2017 - 08:28 AM

I'm with Northernpower, separately looks so much better if you can.



#7 johnR

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Posted 13 November 2017 - 09:09 PM

Apparently warming the block before painting it makes for a longer lasting finish - my engine builder showed me a block from a rally Volvo Amazon that he'd painted 17 years before and still had most of it's paint.



#8 imack

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Posted 14 November 2017 - 05:37 AM

I'm with Northernpower, separately looks so much better if you can.


As above, painting the parts separately and then assembling looks so much better in my opinion. I hate bolts and gaskets that have been painted over although I think that the engines painted bmc green might have been done that way if my memory serves me correctly.

#9 Steve220

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Posted 14 November 2017 - 09:24 AM

If advise doing as much rust prevention as possible, mine lasted a month in the garage before the rust came back.

#10 mailman

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Posted 17 November 2017 - 06:13 AM

Attached File  IMG_20171117_190907.jpg   52.52K   4 downloads




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