engine paint

Pete. How did you clean off the old paint. Was ut a dremmel job?. If so what tools did you use on the dremmel
Cheers

I used a long Snake Neck Attachment in my electric drill with a softer brass rotary brush (not steel), which allows me to "Get At" every small part of the casings to remove paint.
Its best NOT to press or apply any pressure, just let the rotary brush do its job lightly which takes more time but does not scar the alloy surface.
Dont forget to give the alloy surface a good wash and rub with cellulose thinners then warm it up with a heat gun or hair dryer to make sure its all dried.

Regular Smooth Hammerite is more than good enough and lasts for a long long time if applied to a good clean surface.
I would suggest at least 2 coats.

Pete F
UK

I was going to start a topic called "Engine Paint" and then thought "I'm sure therre  must be a topic on this already" , so I used the Search Engine and sure enough, there it was. 11 years old and the information although pertinent, may not be up to date so........
On my restoration project- I had previously pulled the engine strictly to repaint it and then put it back in. At the time, I believe I used a VHT engine paint color aluminum. Came out ok but didn't look like a really good paint job. Recently, I pulled the engine again to replace the Primary, Secondary, and water pump drive chain, so the engine got split to do the work. When I was cleaning up the gasket surfaces, I used Lacquer Thinner and the engine paint came off, just like it was fresh paint. I was pissed !!!
Thinking that there has to be better paint than the VHT shit, I started investigating. 2 component paint that they use on cars is fairly tolerant to chemical spills but not heat resistant, so that's out. There are heat resistant spray can paints out there but not in the color bright aluminum. Most of the engine enamels available need to be applied over a high heat primer and then heat cured to 300F, so they are out.
Next was to look into "alternative paints" such as brake caliper paint and last but not least, BBQ paint. All of the brake caliper paint I was able to check met the heat requirement and no primer required but still needed to be heat cured at 200F. Finally, I came across "Rust-oleum High Heat Ultra paint" Good to 1200 deg F no primer required, no heat curing, satin finish bright silver and if the cap color is any indication, it looks like it has micro aluminum flakes in it. This could be interesting, so I bought a can and I'm going to give it a try. $28.95 CDN a can. What the Hell happened to the price of things lately?? Rattle cans used to be $7.95. God help us !!


 

Rust-Oleum is a brand with very good products.
For 30 years I have been using "Stop Rust" rusty metal primer as a protector for welding and repairs on agricultural implements.
I once even used it successfully to seal a pore in the fuel tank of an old Massey Ferguson.
Its fish oil base penetrates and stops the progression of rust without having to scrape it off.

 

I'm going to take a look at the product catalog.

Got a chance to finally spray the Rust-oleum BBQ paint which is a satin finish and has a bright aluminum micro metallic in the paint. I started on the bottom of the engine and sprayed most of the bottom. Once it dried, I decided that I don't like it. It's too bright, so back to the drawing board.
Next up, VHT Brake Caliper paint in the color "Cast Aluminum" This one needs to be bake cured at 200 F for 1 hour after the paint dries and the instructions suggest that the heat of the brake caliper when in use can achieve that. So I sprayed the bottom half of the engine again and I like it much better. It has a satin finish and no metallic. Slightly more to the gray side than the aluminum side.

 

 
VHT Caliper paint

 
VHT Caliper paint

 
Rust-oleum BBQ paint

 
Rust-oleum BBQ paint. Too bright for me.

You may find the newly painted finish too shiny.
Inclement weather and the passage of time cause it to lose shine.
It could be the case that after a summer vacation on the beach you end up with the perfect coat of paint.