Engine Paint

[big J]

So,winter is a-coming,the nights are drawing in.

Over the next while,I'm going to drop out the motor and strip off what's left of the paint.(Staring hard at it for a while should be enough )

 

Haven't yet decided whether to go for silver-classic looks,

or black-strangely pulled to the dark side.

 

I'm going to have to do the whole motor,barrels,heads,the lot.I'd prefer not to have to dismantle into individual components.

 

Any recommendations for getting between the fins? Nitromors?

 

Anybody used any good tough engine paint that'll actually stick this time?

Smoothrite?

[richard100t]

I'd have to go with sandblasting for a job like that. Getting between those fins any other way may well take you all winter Besides sandblasting will leave the surface in perfect condition to accept primer + paint. Btw I've often wondered what other colors would look good on the v11 engine besides black or silver. Maybe a combination of the two?

[Martin Barrett]

Btw I've often wondered what other colors would look good on the v11 engine besides black or silver. Maybe a combination of the two?

66682[/snapback]

 

Spots, checks or stripes?

[docc]

Not familiar with 'Nitromors' or 'Smoothrite.'

 

Eastwood makes reliable products for engine painting.

[mark.gilmore]

I cleaned my paint off with paint stripper and a hose running a little bit. I just scrubbed it with A big scrubbing brush. Motor out of bike, but all together, Came up good.Then single pack etch primer and then two pack poly hasn't come off yet.

[dlaing]

Once you go Black, there is no turning back

[Baldini]

Big J, why repaint at all? Just strip to alu? My old Tontis scrub up well after nearly 30yrs of use inc plenty wintertime. Never painted. Not sure if case alu is as good on the modern bikes.

 

KB

[alfaguzzi]

Why not some fure ...

[mike wilson]

Big J, why repaint at all? Just strip to alu? My old Tontis scrub up well after nearly 30yrs of use inc plenty wintertime. Never painted. Not sure if case alu is as good on the modern bikes.

 

You hit that nail right on the head. Modern alloys do not last well without protection, ironically because they are _less_ chemically reactive than previous ones.

 

Alloys with a high level of aluminium are so reative that they form a protective coat of oxide within seconds. This oxide (which can be coloured to provide decoration, as in anodising) is very hard and unreactive. Even though it is extremely thin, it does a good job of protecting the metal. If damaged, it immediately reforms.

 

Modern alloys, employed because they are better suited to modern casting methods, react more slowly, allowing the metal to produce salts from reactions with other substances. Painting, or some other protection, is pretty much a necessity, unless you are prepared to be cleaning and polishing (which is a lightweight form of protection) constantly.

 

So older Tontis will remain in quite good order for some time. Newer ones, using modern alloys will need to be protected. My 1988 V65 has a bevelbox housing that is pretty much corroded through due to me not repainting it. Took about 18months.

 

mike

[jrt]

Mike, have you considered coating the motor with silica? I'm not sure how hard it is (it's glass, of course) but they sure look nice when they're done.

 

Agreed with respect to the aluminum oxide- but have the materials changed much for the big block castings over the years? I've got a '70s block and an '80s block that are in great shape despite never having been painted. Are the modern engine blocks made of a different alloy? Whoops, you already answered this- I should read more carefully.

 

Also- just a warning about sandblasting- I have read of several cases where a case was sandblasted, the motor put together, and it promptly toasted the main bearings because there was sand in the oil. Some of the sand particles are very, very small and hard to get out of the oil galleyways. I'm not saying it can't be done- but do follow up on cleaning out the passageways.

[tikkanen]

Also- just a warning about sandblasting- I have read of several cases where a case was sandblasted, the motor put together, and it promptly toasted the main bearings because there was sand in the oil. Some of the sand particles are very, very small and hard to get out of the oil galleyways.  I'm not saying it can't be done- but do follow up on cleaning out the passageways.

66752[/snapback]

 

Big J,

 

Jason hits it spot on: Sandblasting is effective but you must be EXTREMELY careful when you put the parts together. Tiny sand particles can ruin the entire engine. These words come from a man who didn't clean his engine cases properly and had to pay beaucoup $ to have it fixed. It was back in my Harley days but it still bothers me that I didn't clean the bl**** thing properly before assembling.

 

There's a couple of pictures on the "gallery" showing an engine that has been paint stripped and it looks pretty cool IMHO:

 

see here

and here

 

Cheers

 

Søren

[mike wilson]

Mike, have you considered coating the motor with silica?  I'm not sure how hard it is (it's glass, of course) but they sure look nice when they're done.

 

Agreed with respect to the aluminum oxide- but have the materials changed much for the big block castings over the years?  I've got a '70s block and an '80s block that are in great shape despite never having been painted.  Are the modern engine blocks made of a different alloy?  Whoops, you already answered this- I should read more carefully.

 

Not occured to me. As I take bits off, they get squirted at with decent quality rattlecan gunk. It will have to do until I get a better system running. My bike is my transport, so, although I like to do things properly, mechanical things take precedence over cosmetics. If I run out of time, guess what doesn't get done?

 

Having said that, painting castings is pretty much mechanical maintenance nowadays, witness my drive box.

 

I wonder if silica would reduce heat dispersion capabilities? Glass is pretty insulating.

 

mike

[big J]

Thanks for the replies,fellas.

KB,I would prefer to have plain ally,but the state of my bevel drive where the paint's fell off has convinced me that I'll have to paint it.

I've had experience of what blasting can do to engine internals even after cleaning thoroughly-cost me a Golden Flash motor.

Soren, thanks for the link,I'd tried a search but couldn't find much other than peeling paint.

 

Paint stripper it is then,and several coats of rich lustrous black.

 

Or maybe silver.

 

 

 

 

 

Hmmmm,Eastwood do a nice Chevy orange.............

[Skeeve]

So,winter is a-coming,the nights are drawing in.

Over the next while,I'm going to drop out the motor and strip off what's left of the paint.(Staring hard at it for a while should be enough )

...

Anybody used any good tough engine paint that'll actually stick this time?

Smoothrite?

66679[/snapback]

 

I think H-D has a good wrinkle-black paint for their motors; dunno if it's available OTC or if it's strictly an in-house job.

 

You could always go for the rattle can of flat-black BBQ paint, altho' that's probably not the look you had in mind... ;D The advantage is that availability is superb, so if it ever needs touching up you've got no worries.

 

Don't know of any hi-temp silver paints; if you want to go that route, you'd probably need to paint the cases & just rely upon the natural finish of the cylinders.

 

The problem with using paints intended for cage engine blocks is that they're all water-cooled, so the paints aren't expected to stand up to temps above 220F (105C.)

 

Best o' luck!