Painting engine block and heads...?

[RSDEVIL]

I hope this is the right section...

I'm going to put a new motor in my 79 Malibu and was wondering if I can paint the block and heads w standard exterior car paint. 2 stage Urethane PPG. Black basecoat w clear...???

Anyone ever done this before...? My pops is saying to just use engine paint in a spray can bc of the heat but I want the EXTRA clean glossy look on everything.

Thanks for any input. Jimmy

 

[RSDEVIL]

Ahhhhh right after I posted a bunch of similarly related threads popped up on the bottom...

I think I found my answer. I'm going to go for it...!!

 

[87BlazeLS]

Remember the engine heat and expansion and contraction work against each other.
When I put my 350 crate motor in the MC I washed it down with engine degreaser, Let it dry in the sun
so the block was very warm on the engine stand. I used engine paint in a spray can that you can
get from the auto parts stores. Gloss black. I put 2 good coats on it and it was glossy as hell.
Looked great. Engine never showed any signs of flake or peel. Worked great with proper prep.

 

[565bbchevy]

I have always used gloss black engine enamel and then coat it with clear engine enamel and have never had any kind of paint related issues.
I think the engine enamel paints are designed with not only heat but chemical resistance in mind.
And depending on your set up your engine could put out quite a large amount of heat so why risk it, I can't imagine having a finely detailed installed engine and then having the paint start peeling or flaking off because you got some oil or something on it.

 

[Silly willie]

Ahhhhh right after I posted a bunch of similarly related threads popped up on the bottom...

I think I found my answer. I'm going to go for it...!!

I have been painting tractors for years and that's how I do the engines and never had a issue

 

[mikester]

I didnt use base/clear but I did use acrylic enamel over epoxy primer on the 406 in my 81. Prep is the important thing. My block was boiled but I still washed it down MANY times with thinner and fast drying wax and grease remover. Use a fresh white rag. If its dirty when you wipe it, its not clean enough. That was the only way to get a non standard color.
I used rattle can gloss black on the crate motor for my wagon and Im sorry I did. It looks good now but I dont know if it will hold up as well as the acrylic enamel. Looks decent on the stand though !
The hardest part was taping off everything.

 

[Silly willie]

Looks good

 

[Injectedcutty]

As mikester said.....its all about prep time! When i painted my motor a couple years ago i cleaned and cleaned and cleaned until no residue showed up on the rags. I prefer to use the VHT engine paint since it has ceramic in it, once it goes through a couple heat cycles and bakes on it becomes super hard. As 565bbchevy said, it helps with chemicals too.
I even used the engine primer, then gloss black, then clear...all VHT that way the paints would work together.
My engine looked great, even with stupid fire up leaks that happen sometimes, until the motor took a poop after 10 years of running like a bat outta hell!

 

[GuysMonteSS]

POR 15 make nice engine enamels,they have a wide range of colours and a kit is available.
As has been said above,proper prep is key to longevity.
I've used it on 2 rebuilds now and it holds up great.
Guy