Engine painting advice needed...please!

[sweet_baby_james]

I have all my motor cases and covers back from being soda blasted (didnt want to take the risk with glass or sand blasting) and am now ready to start painting.

Since the soda blasting doesnt leave a keyed surface I assume that I will have to etch the surface? I've done research on the forums and I think I'll probably be using VHT paints. They have a prep spray (which I assume is an etcher?), primer, color and clear coat.

I am hoping that you guys could advise as to whether I am on the right track here, or perhaps suggest a better course of action, different paints, methods etc.

I haven't purchased anything yet so I am open to suggestions.

Thanks

 

[scud]

after soda blast, you will want to give the parts are good wipe down with acetone to remove any of the residue. from there, vht primer and then color coat. I personally used vht primer and vht cast aluminum color...then vht clear. all of the sprays were the high temp rated. I applied the paint and baked the parts as instructed to cure it. after a couple miles after rebuild, I noticed the paint began to yellow/golden. needless to say, I was very disappointed with the results...and I determined that the clear coat was the cause. I was going to strip and paint again, but didn't want to risk having the same thing happen...so I just stripped the silver paint (left the black) and polished, as best I could, the lower cases. this would have been a lot easier with the engine apart. so you may want to consider this route while you have everything in pieces...or you may just want to avoid the vht clear coat. I have heard good things about duplicolor paints, so that may be an option as well. In the first picture, you can see the yellowing effect on the breather cover, this was actually after baking. the other parts in the picture we baked as well, but didn't start yellowing until after the bike was all back together. the second set of pictures is the engine after I stripped it and polished.

 

[sweet_baby_james]

good to know. maybe duplicolor is the way to go then?

 

[loganrm]

good to know. maybe duplicolor is the way to go then?

I painted my entire project with Duplicolor paints. For rattle can, it is a really good little paint! Nothing but good things to say about it.

 

[Sonreir]

I did my engine cases with Rustoleum Aluminum Finish. No primer. Prep was a pressure washing followed by a scrubbing with Simple Green and a plastic bristle brush.

After that, the cases got wiped down with denatured alcohol and then put into the oven at 200°F for an hour.

Pull 'em out and paint 'em hot to get good adhesion. Wait an hour for the paint to dry and then put the cases back into the oven for another hour to cure.

High temp paints are not necessary on the engine case as they don't get hot enough. Cylinder jugs and head are a different story.

 

[sweet_baby_james]

For the entire motor, how many 12oz cans should I expect to use? its a cb550.

 

[Sonreir]

One, for me.