Painting lifter valleys, what did ya use?

It also seals possible hidden pockets of sand left over from the casting process. My machinist of 30+ yrs showed me tiny pockets of sand with a dental pick in a couple blocks in his shop

 

we dont get dirt and other things in the valley .if you look at some of the later posts ,points were made about heat and risk versus gains .all good points ,my engines run at over 8 grand for several minutes at a time in one night we put more time on our engines than a good drag car of same hp would in a year or more .that said the cam and lifter valley looks like a blender with out a lid . the most important thing is to debure and open drainage holes at both ends of the block if this works for long sustained high rpms then a mild street or drag car would be fine with out the risk of human error with paint or epoxy .never forget the kiss program .c

 

Another point to ponder-
If a block is 'seasoned' then it is oil soaked. I don't care how many times you hot tank it or steam it or rub it down with alcohol or thinner or gas or whatever you choose to burn your shop down with, you will NEVER undo what exposure to oil and thermal cycling has done. I have lit the insides of bulk crude oil storage tanks on fire after they had been cleaned and cleaned and cleaned- the oil is soaked into the metal. This on 30-40 year old tanks that only see thermal cycling of ambient temperatures- thermal cycling in an engine block is far greater.
Also, as has been mentioned- this also would defeat the cooling provided by heat soaking the oil on bare metal. Even a thin layer of paint has a pretty hefty insulation value to it, particularly when you're talking about a liquid.
On a brand new block that has never been in use? Sure, at that point I would put Glyptol into the 'it might be benign' bucket. On a used block? Not on mine.

 

Here's an old Clifford Performance - Six' :​

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Probably 'Glyptal ?.
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Oversize valves, ported and polished etc...​

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Interesting points.

 

Taking Lux Blue's builders points and some of the others with cooling control and the like, makes me wonder if most of the painting being done is like the lady who always cut the ends off her ham before putting it in the pan. When asked why she did it, she said because her mom did. Her mom pointed out that she did it because HER mom did it. When Grandma was asked why she did it, she said because her pan was too small to put the whole ham in and she cut the ends off so it would fit. Just cuz someone else did it once upon a time, doesn't necessarily mean everyone needs to do it.....

 

Another vote for Glyptol. I have it on my heads and lifter valley in the Olds/Packard and it's going in the Flathead this week. Good stuff!

 

I agree with everything Curly said in this thread, and pretty much everything Sam Kinison ever said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_VURr6jnWQ

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

 

Is that a good thing? You know Sam Kinison was a damn genius

 

Maybe, I will just leave it unpainted.

This all started by massaging the outside of the block so that it would be easy to keep clean and well....things got out of hand.

 

I've used rustoleum for over 20 years, but the biggest single thing is to paint it bright so's you can look down into the lifter galley and see if anything is amiss. Red primer oxide, glyptol etcetc leaves it dark and with a film of oil on it it'll be like looking in the black hole of calcutta.
The first time i painted the lifter galley i did it with glyph and pulled the motor right back apart to repaint it. I think about any paint will live, it is cast iron and very porous so's paint'll stick like crazy as long as you have it clean and don't worry about the heat etcetc it'll be fine. Just keep it out of the lifter bores, they're a pain to clean afterwards.

 

I will agree with the drain back gains and as curly stated the use on pourous castings.I have painted many a harly motor myself.
Another thought is do you let your car/race car sit for any length of time?
In newengland we have damp and cold winters,if your shop is heated or you occasionally start your car the heated motor cools down quick and forms condensation.I have seen rust under cylinders around the pan rails from this.
Just for the added corroision protection alone its not a bad idea.
I painted a wisconsin motor recently durring a rebuild for a cement mixer,sat for the winter season then self distructed when put back in service from rust.

 

all I have to offer is my opinion..I wouldnt bother on an already used engine. New one, maybe. But one that has already had oil in it and run..forgetaboutit.