today i heard from a bud at work that i should paint the inside of my engine block(in the valley portion) with rustoleum paint. and brush it on with two coats. has anybody ever heard of this? and what are the bonuses of doin' this? does it got to be heat resistant paint? thanks...
supposed to help oil drainback, and keep "pores" closed, therefore keeping stray casting sand out of the oiling system. Don't know about rustoleum, but VHT makes a paint specifically for this purpose....
If i was gonna do this... I'd be ultra careful with the prep work so that there'd be no chance of the paint coming off.
I think that's supposed to be the advantage to the VHT stuff. I imagine it has some of the same qualities as a self-etching primer.
Yup, I did it in my deuce. And for both of the above reasons. Make sure you have the valley completly clean first. It's an old racer trick.
My machinist says he loves guys that use this trick...gives him more business with paint-plugged pickup screens and oil passeges, leading to really bad stuff that costs lotsa money.....just his take on the whole thing when I asked him about it.
Yep, I'd always heard that Glyptol was THE shit to use for that! Our old auto shop teacher taught us that trick back in high school and had some of it on hand for our Engine Rebuilding class. Goes on and STAYS on!!
Rocky has the right info, paint is no good for internal engine applications. This is WAY old-school, there are many high-tech engine coatings available today that can be easily applied and will improve the oil flow back to the pan much better than paint. Here is one manufacturer that I found on the web, http://www.sandstromproducts.com, there are many more. This subject was discussed about six months ago on the HAMB so there should be a thread available that you could read...good luck.
I was talking to an old timer one time, he stopped me in a parking lot cause he saw my car so we started talking. he was telling me about his days racing and what he told me they did wash polish the valley till it was damn near shiny he said, till you could see your self in it. This way the oil would just run off back into the pan. Guess that would eliminate the worry of paint in the oil system and create a similar effect. Anyone heard of this?
A local powder coating shop does the insides of engines with a special coating. It is also supposed to allow faster "drain back" of the oil. The coating is "fused" on by baking in the ovens.
Would polishing the lifter galley and smoothing out the drain-back holes do just as well without worry for those who aren't willing to paint it??? Might be alot of work, but nothing would flake off!
Yeah, have you tried polishing cast iron? It's a PITA!!! I'd pay to caustic dip, bake, paint or powder coat the engine before I broke out the tools to start grinding all that cast iron INSIDE the engine. Cleaning up the flashing and a few other spots is one thing, but to start polishing large areas is hard.
Hello H.A.M.B. 'ers, When I build my little motors I first have the block hot tanked then they go into the shot blast cabinet for the ultra finish... When I bring the block home I bust out with the die grinder and a good mask! The inside of my motors are completely polished..... I don't care for the paint trick, but I know it works if applied correctly! Paint or no paint one should always clean the flashing off of the block! On a SBC there are two openings in the back of the valley area straddling the distributor. Believe it or not these are really the only good oil returns from the top to the bottom! Yes I know there are holes over the top of the cam and that there are Large Holes up by the timing chain, etc, etc. The problem is that these drain backs are heavily effected by windage and therefore SUCK for oil drain back! If you clean the flashing out of the rear returns your little motor will be in much better shape! After that start in with the polishing if you have the time.... If not do whatever! The also work just fine if you leave them alone.... Later, THE-SYNDICATE
I have always deburred and removed any existing flashing before sending the block out to be hot tanked. I then paint the valley and the timing chain galley with Rustoleum primer, after I wash the block with bottle brushes and soapy water. The purpose is yes, to allow the oil to return to the pan a little quicker, but more importantly, it seals the pores of the cast iron and allows the oil to stay much cleaner. I've never had any problem with paint coming off and neither should anyone else, if the block is prepped properly. Glyptol was used in days gone by, (I guess that's traditional), and is certainly as good or better then paint. Glyptol is used on electric motors somewhat like an insulation as well as a protective chemical coating. If you have a place that rewinds electric motors in your town, they'll probably dip the field windings and armature in Glyptol prior to reassembly. I really don't know where else you could buy it these days. Shoe
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