Changing the subject a little bit. Ive already decided to go metal color. I was thinking abou tblack but there is no chrome to brak the black. This is what I have in mind: How about this : - block, heads : metal/silver paint. - pulleys, oil pan, intake : semi gloss black - 53' Lincoln valve covers: gloss black sith white/cream lettering. Do you think it might turn out cool ? Diego
Eastwood has that paint that's supposed to look like fresh cast iron. It ought to take the heat fine. That metallic furnace paint might be a lowball solution.
I was picking up some bc/cc at a Sherwin-Williams store today and there was a rack of Dupli-Color rattle cans with high-temp engine paints on display.As best I can remember ,there were several colors of grey that looked very close to "as cast " metal..might wanna check that out...Not sure about clear...but several types of primers,etc Also, I know Seymour makes a rattle-can CastBlast paint that looks like cast iron...not sure if it's Hi-temp tho... Stan
They sell some paint in a color called "cast iron" that looks pretty similar to freshly sandblasted cast iron -- kind of a dull grayish color with no gloss. Paint that's supposed to look like aluminum just usually winds up looking like ordinary silver spray paint.
Mmh, thought about this also but is there such a thing as high temp clear ? I guess paint would a better solution. Would love to see some pics along with some info Thanks guys
I know POR-15 makes a cast metal paint for chassis parts..but I'm not sure if it's a high heat paint..search POR-15...they do have high heat paints on the website in other colors..
dupli color high temp engine paint cast iron gray, painted a top loader 4 speed with it looks just like cast iron , have had many people ask how i keep it from rusting because they think its bare
these are painted with automotive paint an clear always holds up fine as long as everything is good and clean before ya paint!! the one is a charcoal gray and the other is just a common gm silver, all ppg stuff
painting your engine with high heat paint is over kill..as shown above , the regular automotive paint will do the job just fine, as long as the block is clean first.
ALSA Corp makes a really cool chrome looking paint that I think I will try on my 5.0 accessory brackets and transmission. It would look like chrome but not really be chrome. It might be something to consider for your block. Michael
DO NOT USE THE SPRAY CAN "HIGH TEMP" CLEAR!! I sprayed my brand-new aluminum intake with it and it started to turn yellowish/amberish the very first time I drove the car for more than a couple miles. Within a couple months the entire intake looked old, dingy, and greasy. (Meanwhile, the valve covers that I sprayed with regular clear enamel still look like new 3 years and several thousand miles later.) I sprayed my motor with the "cast iron gray" thinking it would look neat. It just looks dark, dull, and boring. I'd recommend something in a medium silver range. My next motor will be silver, not "cast iron gray," to get the look I was after last time.
Keep in mind, engines don't really get more than a couple of hundred degrees pretty much everywhere except the exhaust manifolds. So you don't really need true high temp paint. In fact if you use it, it likely will not get hot enough to actually cure itself properly. Read the labels to check. Most high temp paint has to get really hot to cure and hopefully your engine will never get that hot. To help protect the finish on some alum. parts on my flathead 6, including the finned alum. head itself, I just coated it with some clear indoor/outdoor spray can stuff. I don't recall exactly what I used, but I think it might have been a product called Deft. That stuff is pretty stinky, but dries very fast and super hard and seems to be holding up very well. Be sure to do several coats and get it thick and into all the hard spots. Since it has no color, its hard to tell just how much you might have on and easy to leave it thin. I generally give it a good couple of coats and then a couple more and extra in the hard spots just to be sure. Might not be the professional way to do it, but has worked for me so far on my motor and alum. still looks clean and shiny.
Thanks dave. Did you say valve covers ? you sprayed clear over bare metal or were the covers painted ?
Make it look realistic and let it rust. Just kidding. The cast paint really dosn't do well for rust and color. I have used it for primer. We painted and ran it one time and it didn't hold up. Rust came through, the color went to hell. What's wrong with a little color? It looks cleaner. Jeff
From a die hard techno point of view, paint it flat black, or black. It will run cooler. Black will let the heat out. Silver, polishing, etc., keeps it in. Same with intake, valve covers, etc. Black crinkle, or anodized aluminum is for that very reason Looks come after function, or more properly: FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION. However, the reverse is true for the exterior. Flat black would allow the heat to enter more quickly than white, or silver. A black car in summer is hotter inside than a white one. Check out the engines in race cars. They're function first, and whatever works best wins. I never have figured out why something rusty is cool, or something unfinished. The idea is to make it work right and run like stink, otherwise chrome it, lower it, and call it a 'custom'.
I guess If it didnt hold it wasnt because of the color but the paint quality ? I just cant decide which color to use for the body of the car and I dont wanna screw with the "combo". Metal for the engine with black valve covers and some other black details. I think it would be cool and I cant go wrong with the body later on. Then I can put whatever color to the car..., why not black again ? Im now thinking some sort of creamy white wouldnt be bad. Dirty, thats for sure.
I was using the Goodson brand cast blast. I'm not sure, but I think they use cast iron dust to get the color. If you went to a paint supplyer and had it matched and mixed you would be ok. I didn't mean to sound harsh saying let it rust. Personally I like staying with the original colors. I havn't run into a vintage engine yet I didn't like the original color. What were the 368 engines? Red?
Eastwood paints are garbage I used there "cast look" paint and there header paint both came off after a few weeks..
Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that the manifold was bare cast aluminum and the valve covers were polished aluminum. The clear I put on the valve covers was just some generic clear enamel from Lowe's or WalMart. It's held up great. The clear I put on the manifold was high-temp clear from O'Reilly auto parts, same brand as the high-temp cast iron gray I sprayed on the motor. The gray is holding up really well, it's just that once the car is together the gray just looks dark and dull and boring surrounded by all the black frame, firewall, and inner fenders on my '53 Chevy. A medium silver would have looked much better. At first glance the motor just looks black, and at second glance it just looks dull. (Literally dull, but I guess boring too!)
Dont know really. Its now blue but I guess its not factory páint, It came from a 57' Merc Turnpike cruiser. Older Lincoln y-blocks were cooler. Like this one in the picture. I have this older gold valve covers im gonna use on my engine. Not sure about that original paint combo though, specially cause I still hacent decide tha car's color. What about my combo idea ? D.
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