Technical Glyptal paint

I was just looking for some information & opinions on painting the inside of an engine. Thanks!

 

Painted mine with rustoleum black on the inside of the lifter galley...supposed to use the paint you mentioned but didn't have it.

It is supposed to make the oil flow better over the rough surface.

I've read here you can sand down the lifter galley to improve oil flow as well

 

Prep work is the key. The glyptal paint does help keep the oil cleaner, because the oil doesn't pull so much dirt out of the cast iron. Must be bonded good, or will have loose paint causing troubles.

 

Sounds like a bad idea to me. No offense.

 

My dad did a bbc years ago, with no problems. I would not take the dare. I would debur the block and clean up all the oil drainback areas and get rid of any flashing debris.

 

was a drag car thing, with a few doing it for street/Day drivers...
when time allows i/we still do it, usually grind casting 1st, then paint...
the *work V. reward* is not that great for a driver...

 

I just did my 327. I deburred the block nd the lifter galley. I had it out for machine work and I had them clean it twice, then I spent a few hours cleaning the block with solvent, then soapy water. Make sure you fill all the lifter bores and anything that it might run down into.

I did one back in the 80's and when I tore it down it still looked new.

 

Here is a very good Youtube on the process on an OT OHC head. You must bake on the stuff.

 

I've ground the lifter valleyand drain back holes smooth, and epoxies screens into drain back holes twice. Not sure I'll do it again.

It was big on circle track cars where sustained high rpm would drain the pan, the glyptal aided in oil flow back. You can get into restrictions or drain back tilubes to prevent the oil draining on the crank k and force it to the drain back holes.

Its a lot of work to go smooth, a quick deburr isn't too bad.

 

I can't see where it would do any good in anything but a sand cast aluminum engine. A few spoonfuls of oil draining back to the crankcase faster isn't going to make any difference. And there is always danger of paint flaking or peeling and clogging oil passages.

Aluminum sand castings are porous and can leak or sweat. Some stock motorcycle engines are painted inside to seal them.

 

Thanks for all the responses. How long does it take to dry? If anybody has any pictures they'd like to share, that would be cool? The link helped a lot! thanks.

 

Glyptal was developed as an insulating coating for electrical parts, generally motor and transformer windings. When applied right and baked (and it definitely needs to be baked), it's impervious to most oils and high heat. Now, the stuff this guy was applying doesn't look like the 'real' glyptal, the real stuff (like the electrical rewind shops use) is thick and semi-transparent. The theory was that this would fill all the pores in the metal and give a smooth surface without having to grind/sand the metal. It's use was restricted to the lifter valley, it could come off if applied in the crankcase as oil thrown off the rotating parts tended to 'blast' it loose. On anything but a high RPM endurance race motor, it's a waste of time.

 

I used Glyptal in my job for years a Stationary Engineer , ours was always red oxide in color . I used it in many turbine and pump housings . The key is clean before applying . Degrease and soap and water . Once applied , dry with heat lamps and it is a life time coating not painted surface . I did my own Cummins block , inside of rocker covers , inside of the pan , and lifter valley pan , oil stays super clean and does get the normal diesel black on start up . Cast iron is super porous , anyway to seal it is a plus

 

I used it on the last engine I built. I knew it was going to take a few years to build the car after I built the engine and didn't want any rust problems while the engine was stored. It is subjected to heat/cooling cycles that cause condensation .

 

I did my bracket racer block in POR-15, the valley, lower case and timing chain area. It went through a hot tank when I sleeved a cylinder and not a lick of it came off. It was in there for over 400 rounds, and to be fair I also cleaned heavily with lacquer thinner and stiff brushes 1st. Did it help? Couldn't tell ya, but I sure felt good about no casting pieces getting in the bearings. No baking needed but does take over 8 hours to cure, and I used gloss not flat.

 

I ground, polished, and painted the inside of my block on a re-build several years ago. Some of the Glyptal peeled off under the intake, but of course I didn't know that until I needed to have my heads re-work years later. Not happy. The next engine I did was ground and polished only and then I even cut it short by just hitting the areas the oil actually flows. Drain back holes and the like, not the entire block. Like mentioned above, not really needed for a street car.

 

Wow! This looks like one of those " Love it or Hate it " things. The price I got was $46.00 a quart. How much does it take to do the inside of a block? How well does it keep after the can is opened?
I haven't made up my mind yet, but 50 bucks doesn't seem too unreasonable to protect a block. thanks

 

I did it because I wanted to. I know there are probably not a lot of gains to be had, but I wanted the inside to stay clean. It only takes a few ounces to do a block. A quart will do a lifetime of engines. I let mine dry for a month or 2, only because I had time. This is like the radial vs bias argument. Some love it and some always have a story about a guy they knew, his cousin's uncle had one that plugged up the oil pump screen.

 

I use Dem Cote Class f red insulating enamel. it is for electric motors, we used to call it armature paint but that was wrong it is actually for painting the inside of the motor case. Anyway that was what was recommended when I was coming up.

Anyway I am not familiar with glyptal but if @Rocky uses it then it must be good stuff.

 

It's the same thing PnB.

 

Thanks I didn't know before.

When I first used it I was told that it would keep little pieces from popping off and ending up in the oil filter. If you don't polish the devil out of it cast iron will flake off little bits of scale. Then when we started polishing the devil out of them ( yes polished where you can't see it) we still painted them.

 

Hey ChessterD5...I'll send you the left over paint from my paint job for $20 and postage. There's still enough to do about 10 more engines.

 

Thanks, I'll send you a PM. If that would be okay?

 

I have Glyptal'd a few of the engines over the years without any adverse effects. To prevent glyptal getting in the lifer bores I used wine bottle corks. The best part is emptying the bottles... Is it worth the effort, who knows?

 

meticulous prep, baked @400* for 45 min. looks good when your done, don`t think i would ever do it again after a conversation with my engine builder.
tom

 

I haven't used this stuff before. Have entertained the idea but didn't believe it to be worth the time. Last couple engines I built, I just blasted the lifter valley with glass bead then thoroughly washed the lifter valley down.

Probably do the same thing on the 332 stroker project I have planned.

 

Rocky, I just wanted to publicly thank you for the paint. I'll post a picture when I'm through porting & polishing the head along with the block.

 

Chevrolet sealed their Vega aluminum blocks with sodium silicate and some motorcycles used to have the crankcase sealed on the inside. Aluminum is porous and can leak, that is the reason they did it.

 

Earl Gaerte used it in his iron sprint car motors. He said not just oil flow but it sealed the iron so it Didn't keep keep leeching crap out of the iron!

 

You're welcome.