I'm wondering if anyone has used POR15's Engine Painting Kit and how they liked it. I'm looking for a more durable finish than what I get from say, Plasti-Kote Engine Enamel. I tried powdercoating my last block and heads and the durability was great, but there were a couple of gotchas that convinced me not to do it again. Would POR15's product be similar to the durability of the powdercoating? Is the finish really nice looking (Chevy Orange of course!)?

Thanks guys.

------------------
Stan Hanek
'71 SS - 454 4 sp.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Stan3.jpg] (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Stan3.jpg)

Going to do this very soon on my 383. Will take pictures of EVERYTHING and post it.

------------------
Joe Y.
68 malibu (http://www.mindway.com/~drone)
Bloomington/Normal, IL

I painted my ZZ4-350 with the Por15 Engine Paint in Orange. Took the black stuff off and it took 2 coats to get it on there nice & thick. 14,000 miles so far and still 100% without any gotcha's!

I didn't paint the Aluminum heads or intake, they are still au naturel! Check out my web site and see for yourself.

------------------
Steve Soltesz
Something about me & Canadian Car's....
Team Chevelle Gold Member #37
64 Malibu SS (ZZ4/TH350, Show'n Go)
68 Beaumont (396/TH400 Street/Strip)
69 Beaumont (307/TH350)
80 Camaro (Mrs.64's 355/TH350 Show'n Go)
WebSite http://www.magma.ca/~ssoltesz (To be Updated Soon)

[This message has been edited by Canuck64ss (edited 10-16-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Canuck64ss (edited 10-16-2000).]

So, Steve, how do you rate the durability and the look of the finish?

How do you get to the engine pics?

Randy, Here is a link that will let you see the underside of the engine, in car. Too much aluminum up top to really see anything.

Engine Underside (http://www.magma.ca/~ssoltesz/images/64ssdone/64ssc26.jpg)

Stan, I find the finish and durability excellent. The Chevy Orange stayed the right shade of orange has has taken a bit of abuse without failure. The paint seems to be as tough as the normal Por. I keep my engine clean & tidy so I always have good opportunity to see bad stuff.

I bought an extra can of the engine paint figuring I would need it for touch up's etc... I will be painting another engine with it cause I have it and it's great. Like I said though, it needs two good coats because it does go on quite thin.

Hope it helps

------------------
Steve Soltesz
Something about me & Canadian Car's....
Team Chevelle Gold Member #37
64 Malibu SS (ZZ4/TH350, Show'n Go)
68 Beaumont (396/TH400 Street/Strip)
69 Beaumont (307/TH350)
80 Camaro (Mrs.64's 355/TH350 Show'n Go)
WebSite http://www.magma.ca/~ssoltesz (To be Updated Soon)

Thanks, Steve, that's just the endorsement I was waiting for!

Anybody know if it can be used on exhaust parts or maybe even headers? Might be a good way to keep that nice silver look.

Markcord, they have special exhaust manifold paint for that. I believe it comes in gray, silver, and satin black. I just used the gray manifold paint on my manifolds and could not believe the high quality results. I used a good quality 1-inch brush and I can't see a brush-mark anywhere and I haven't even put them on the car yet so that they can properly harden and cure (which is supposed to make the brush-marks go away).

------------------
Stan Hanek
'71 SS - 454 4 sp.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Stan3.jpg] (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Stan3.jpg)

I used the complete POR engine system on my engine. What a nightmare! The mistake was using the black regular POR15 that came in the kit. When it dries it is so slick, nothing sticks to it. Not even the orange top coat. I followed the directions exactly. They said to wait till the black is a little more than tacked up. If the black comes even close to drying, the orange paint will run right off. If I had it to do over again, I would clean the hell out of the block using their marine clean, skip the metal ready, skip the black POR and use just the orange. OR I would use the Bill Hirsch paints. He sells concourse quality perfect match paints, very similar to POR. OR I have heard of but never tried this - paint the engine with quality two part urethane. I heard this works OK although the paint is obviously not designed for this. Good Luck. Remember, skip the black base coat.

I bought a pint of POR-15 Chevy orange for "touch up".Well,it got more involved http://www.chevelles.com/forum/biggrin.gif
I ended up cleaning the motor very,very thouroughly and repainted the whole motor,in the car,with the accessories,hoses,headers,etc. removed.Came out damn nice! It sure beats trying to mask everything off and worry about overspray.I did 2 coats on mine.No black base coat,just the engine paint.Best $20 I ever spent.

------------------
1970 Chevelle SS396/L78/M21/4.10 My 70 SS396 (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/mr4speed70SS1)
1972 Olds 442 convertible(455,W25,M40) My 72 442 convertible (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/mr4speeds442conv1)
1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass 350 Olds,TH350(daily driver)
"Be aware of the possible ramifications of the potential outcome"
Chris Corwel,the man from the too much taxes and over priced gas state of Connecticut
TC Member 785

Just be sure to use Metal Ready on the smooth sheetmetal like the pan and valve covers. Someone mentioned that they had problems with the Por engine kit when they applied it to the oil pan. I suspect they didn't use Metal Ready to prep the surface.
I've also had good luck using a fish eye eliminator for enamal paints when finishing smooth surfaces with Por. I put a couple of drops in with the Por and it has reduced the fish eye problems I've had from time to time. You can pick up a bottle of fish eye eliminator at any body shop supply store.

[This message has been edited by Randy Mosier (edited 10-18-2000).]

By the way, Steve, that's a good looking engine.

Because I knew I was going to paint the oil pan and chrome valve covers I got the silver por-15 cause I thought the extra roughness would help the paint stick. Will give everybody a heads up and post some pics when it is done. (next weekend)

------------------
Joe Y.
68 malibu (http://www.mindway.com/~drone)
Bloomington/Normal, IL

I have had excellent luck with Dupont Imron .clean parts thoroughly then use self etch primer which is thin and promotes a good adhesion and prevents rust. You can use ageneric activator to save money . this paint is very durable resists gas etc it will hold up for years if properly applied

I painted my Buick motor with the POR kit, and my Chevy BB with DuPont Variprime and Chroma One. I definitely prefer the DuPont results, but it's such a pain to prepare the surface that I'd only recommend it if you're starting with a clean, hot tanked motor. The POR kit worked OK for my Buick, but it was hard to make the engine paint stick to the black POR undercoat. I ended up applying the topcoat too heavy to try to cover the thin spots, and it dried with wrinkles where the paint pooled. Not the greatest looking. This was mainly on the rocker covers, which I plan to strip and chrome anyway. It's definitely a lot more user friendly on cast parts, where it sticks better, rather than on sheet metal parts like the oil pan, valve covers, etc.

I used both the standard black POR and the orange engine paint on a hot tanked engine. Looks great after 1300 miles, but there are two things about it that you should know. The gloss is more than factory, and after a second brushed on coating on the valve covers and pan, I could still see brush marks, so I sprayed it on these parts (diluted with POR thinner) to get a good finish. No problem on the rough cast surfaces though.
Rich

I painted my 427 engine block and heads with the Chevy Orange POR kit. They sent the silver "primer" not the black. I first removed the old paint, used the metal ready, put on two coats of silver and then two coats of orange. The engine came out absolutely beautiful. The durability has not yet been tested, as the engine is still on the stand. I can e-mail digital pics if you would like. sneal46@hotmail.com