PAINTING THE ENGINE CASE
Edit: 2/7/21. The clear coat that was used, turned yellow and was later re sprayed with the silver only.
So as I mentioned the paint on the engine cases was in pretty sad shape. Yellowed in spots, oxidized in other spots, scratched and stained. My first thought was to spray it with my go to paint, Rustoleum Professional rattle cans. I like that product because it sprays a nice fan shaped spray and goes on nice and heavy , it levels nicely and has good gloss and durability. However Yamadude mentioned this,
I doubt that the Rustoleum will be gasoline-resistant, Bob, unless you get the engine enamel. I think you would be better off with a can of automotive DupliColor gloss silver/aluminum.
Well that caused me to dive into doing some product research, I contacted Rustoleum directly and asked them about my intended use. They responded quickly ( much to their credit) and replied that their product was good up to 200 degrees and could withstand oil and gas , as long as it it was wiped up quickly.
I thought I could do better, so I started reading up. After considering all the high temp engine paints on the market, I came right back to Jeff’s recommendation.
Jim had really good results with Por15 and he suggested a low cost spray gun from Harbor Freight , and I do believe that Por15 is a superior product. But I would not only have to buy a spray gun, but all of the supporting equipment, and then find room for it in my garage. So I kept my focus on spray cans.
My prep was this,
1. Degrease
2. Clean all the nooks and crannies with a Dremel and assorted wire brushes
3. Wipe down with paint thinner
4. 180 grit sandpaper to remove any big scratches or roughness
5. 400 grit sandpaper, followed by 800 grit sandpaper
6. Wipe down again with clear water and cover for the night
7. Next morning right before shooting , wipe down with paint thinner
After three coats of aluminum spray it looked like this.
And after two coats of clear, the final results. It was supposed to be three coats, but I was a little heavy handed and it
ALMOST got away from me and ran. So I stopped at two.
An observation about using this product. There is a great disparity in characteristics between the silver color coat and the clear. The silver drys in a flash, literally by the time you’ve gone all the way around, the beginning point is dry and you can launch right into the next coat. The clear coat (which I think is key to having a durable paint job) is an entirely different animal. It has a syrup like consistency that drys much slower. I’m sure that’s what gives it , it’s great self leveling characteristics and gloss. But it also makes it easier to run if you’re not careful. Overall, I’m very happy with the results. My one critique would be , I wish the spray tip gave a more fan shape pattern instead of just a circular shape direct spray. I hope the clear coat doesn’t yellow, that’s always a fear of mine with clear coats.
One more thing, a quality paint like Por 15 that has a catalyst in it would be able to be handled in something like 24 hours. Whereas I have no intentions of touching the cases for at least a week to give the paint a chance to harden up. Our humidity is low and my garage is an oven so it should cure nicely. So in the meantime, I’ll work on other things!