Is there anything that I can apply to a properly cleaned engine block that will allow new paint to adhere properly. I am rebuilding the engine at present and the block has been hot tanked so all grease etc. will be gone.

The best stuff Ive used(and scary too-cough,cough,hack,hack) is emron paint.Acid base then wet on wet sealer then spray spray spray

blm...

good question and I hope you don't mind me adding to it.

Is it best to paint before or after assembly?

Also there are 2 schools of thought on engine painting that I see.

1.) Coat the engine with just a dusting of paint to color it well. This leaves all the little 'pimples' but is said to help the cast metal of the block 'breathe'.

2.) Coat the crap out of it with the higher build type primers then paint to create a smooth (easier to clean) high gloss surface.

Which is the best way to go?

To reply to your question, blm...my paint guys have told me to use a DTM (Direct To Metal) type primer, then paint. Sorry I don't know much more, I usually just tell these guys what I'm doing and they fix me up.




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Mick
1965 El Camino
TC# 1965

Moderation is great... as long as there is plenty of it!

I put lacquer thinner in a small spray gun and sprayed one small section at a time wiping the thinner before it dried.If you let it dry it isn't getting the contanimates out of the steal. Then I painted it with Plasti-coat Chevrolet Orange.It's looked great for years...

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Bill Rose...68 Before restoration
68-SS396 (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/71SSBB/1968chevelle.jpg)
71-SS454 (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/71SSBB/1971ss454.jpg)
68 Chassis (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/71SSBB/68chassis.jpg) | 68 Body (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/71SSBB/68body.jpg)
ACES #04039

[This message has been edited by 71SSBB (edited 02-02-2003).]

The best way is to prime with an epoxy primer,if you want to smooth the block,you can sand it and recoat it.Then paint it with a single stage urethane.Heres a pic of my Camaro engine. I painted it with Dupont Chromaone,the color is Hugger Orange.
------------------ http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/ochrisl/vwp?.dir=/Camaro+68&.dnm=Back+in+and+painted.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t
http://photos.yahoo.com/ochrisl
Updated 8/20 PAINT!



[This message has been edited by 70isfine (edited 02-03-2003).]

I agree with 70isfine, expoy prime then paint with single stage urethane. Did my 350 in the 72PU around 5 years ago used PPG dp40 then painted with ppg single stage. Had the paint shop color match a smaple of orange engine paint and turn it into DCC which is a PPG single stage. You must make sure that the block is spotless, i first used lacquer thinner then wiped it clean with PPG dx330 which is a surface cleaner.

The color formula I got matched is as follows for chevy orange:

Base / Parts / Cumulative
dmc900 / 31.0 / 31.0
dmc932 / 6.0 / 37.0
dmc903 / 6.6 / 43.6
dmc905 / 68.0 / 111.6
dmc909 1384.0 1495.6

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1970 chevelle
1970 chevelle SS455 not a typo its a BUICK BABY
1949 and 1972 chevy trucks
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/sevt_chevelles

[This message has been edited by sevt_chevelle (edited 02-04-2003).]

[This message has been edited by sevt_chevelle (edited 02-04-2003).]

Back from the dead......:D
Anyone else tried sevt_chevelle recommended mix?

I put lacquer thinner in a small spray gun and sprayed one small section at a time wiping the thinner before it dried.If you let it dry it isn't getting the contanimates out of the steal. Then I painted it with Plasti-coat Chevrolet Orange.It's looked great for years...


:thumbsup:
I use laquer thinner to wipe down my engines after all the machine work and final "hot tank" cleaning were done...

After the final cleaning/ blow drying, I make sure its "warm", wipe it with laquer thinner, followed by some, high-adheasion primer. Once the primer is dry, I give the block a few coats of high quality engine paint, effectively sealing the pores BEFORE the assembly... With the block all sealed up, it was easy to wipe off any oil from the assembly process...

After break-in, I also pulled one engine, wiped it down, scuffed it lightly, made sure it wasn't too cold and sprayed it with some more primer and some of the exterior body paint (custom job)... Looked great for a long time...

When painting anything, cleanliness is the key to longevity.

Clean with lacquer thinner, then BC/CC. Been doing it this way for yrs with no issues. No primer necessary unless you want the smooth custom look. single stage enamel works good too.

If you want to avoid a spray gun, wipe it down with lacquer thinner, let it dry and hit it with plasticote VHT primer and the color of your choice. Did mine years ago and it still looks great. Also used the same procedure on a couple of turbo engines and it held up to the heat as well. Like was stated above cleanliness is the key to a good paint job whatever method you use to apply the primer and paint.