Engine Paint

[BG 62AH]

Guys, any advice on engine paint. I bought a can of engine spray paint from Moss. The color looks right, but I was questioning whether it will actually stick. It seems like a can of regular enamel paint. There is no recommendation on engine primer, nor is there any statement the this is actually engine or high temp paint. I tried it on my rocker cover and it worked fine, but was curious about how well it will hold on the engine block "cast" surface, particularly at regular operating temp.

Any suggestion on this or another product?

Thanks.

 

[Keoke]

Mos paint seems to work well either way as long as the surface is clean and dry.

 

[BG 62AH]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

 

[andrea]

Hi Bill
Use with0ut fear-MOSS pain is a high temperature paint- NO problem at all in your future- I have prefered the brush paint to have more tichness
https://picasaweb.google.com/112770...ALEY10061958?noredirect=1#5569482340785369874

 

[RDKeysor]

Since I was not inclined to remove my BN7 engine or to remove the manifolds, distributor, etc., I decided to brush paint it. Masking all of the components I didn't want to paint seemed like more work than it was worth. So, I purchased a can of AH Green from Bill Hirsch Auto, Newark, NJ. With postage it cost $52.11. After initially cleaning and painting the portions of the engine I could reach, from time to time have been able to paint more difficult areas as they became exposed. Examples included pulling the radiator to remove and replace the water pump. Also, the removal of the air cleaners to install new brake and clutch master cylinders made it possible to paint under the manifolds. Most recently, I had to remove the tranny cover and the shield above it, affording to a chance to paint the bell housing. All in all, I am pretty pleased with the result, and I have enough paint remaining to paint the engine again twice over. My only failure was painting the copper pipe that returns coolant from the car's heater (the heater is valved off and has never been used). In that case I got some bubbling. While I think most owners leave that pipe bare, I will repaint mine eventually with the high temperature silver paint I used successfully on the manifolds. Hirsch is apparently a well known provider of materials for car restorations, and I am well satisfied with the paint. I was careful to thoroughly mix the paint before use. Hirsch cautions against shaking the can to mix the contents.

 

[Randy Forbes]

Ask healeyblue how the paint is holding up on their car. I did go to great lengths cleaning the block, AND using an engine specific primer, before applying the Moss-sourced engine paints. It looked d@@m good the last time I saw it, and won "Best Restored Engine" at its first show (granted, more of a muscle car than sportscar theme...)!

I would caution you to only apply the thinnest layer of primer to facilitate coverage; too thick and it will expand and crack/bubble.

Since the engine color would be applied after final assembly, inaccessible sections were primed before some parts went on.

I DID paint the timing cover and backside of the damper before the rest though...

And once everything was fitted, the final dusting; likewise, don't apply the topcoat to thick either. Also note that for the sake of authenticity, runs, sags, drips and mottling of the metallic would be perfectly acceptable on the factory's shop floor!

 

[Rob Glasgow]

Speaking of engine paint, I was surprised to find there are at least two different shades of the Healey metallic green paint. When I had my engine rebuild by British Car Specialist 10 years ago, they painted it with the Moss Motors shade which is a little yellow in it. When I repainted the enigne and transmission/OD as part of my current rebuild, I used the Hirsch paint because it matched the original shade still on the transmission. The Hirsch shade is gray-green.

 

[BG 62AH]

Thank you guys, Randy; great pictures of the engine.

 

[bluegrass john]

Your engine looks great Randy...........exhaust manifolds look outstanding: what did you use??

Thanks for showing the pictures,

John

 

[Randy Forbes]

Your engine looks great Randy...........exhaust manifolds look outstanding: what did you use??

Thanks for showing the pictures,

John

Thank you, but that engine is in the Longbridge BN4 that Jim (healeyblue) restored, my responsibility was strictly the engine & xmsn. Jim sent the manifolds to me after they had been processed, but I do not now remember if they had been porcelain or ceramic coated. I was careful, and deliberate, to extend a little overspray onto their flanges (as well as the carburettors) just as the guy at the factory would've done.

If you want to see full resolution__BIG__pictures of the finished engine, they're in the last few pages of this album:
https://spcarsplus.com/gallery3/index.php/LS_BN4_engine_build/Final-push?page=22

"Click" on any OPENED (640 x 480) picture, and the full (2048 x 1536) resolution image will be available; depending on your own monitor settings, an additional click on that will open it up (when you "hover" over the image, your mouse/cursor will be a "+" sign in a magnifying glass).

I never tried to post a full-size picture before, so lets see what happens...

As expected, the forum software still reduced its size from the original, though it's offering significantly increased detail. If this image is a problem for the forum, either I can edit the post to remove it, or Reid will.

While not 100% of the pictures (50,562 as of today) in my gallery are hi-res, the vast majority of them are, so clicking on most opened pictures will link to the highly detailed versions. And they're ALL free to look at!

 

[healeyblue]

The exhaust is a grey ceramic coating my powder coater did. The engine still looks like that today, even after many miles of use.

 

[bluegrass john]

The exhaust is a grey ceramic coating my powder coater did. The engine still looks like that today, even after many miles of use.

Thanks for the information; looks like this would be the way to to keep the manifolds looking great !!

John

 

[Rob Glasgow]

Here's another option for the manifolds. I just couldn't help myself. When I saw the new Stainless Steel exhaust system, I just had to have the manifolds ceramic coated in the chrome color to match. So much for originality!!! I laugh at myself somethings--I would never put chrome wire wheels on my car, just to much bling. But a shiny exhaust system, well that's another matter....

 

[Randy Forbes]

The exhaust is a grey ceramic coating my powder coater did. The engine still looks like that today, even after many miles of use.

I am really (really, really!) glad the paint is holding up!

Back when Imron was a relatively new product (at least to us, in 1979) we would spray-paint the entire assembled engine (black) and they were remarkably leak free! However, problems arose whenever you needed to remove something, like the valve cover, as it would chip the surrounding edges (even after scoring w/razor blades). I don't think we did that for more than about 1/2 dozen rebuilds.

My own engine, last painted around 1985 with the Hirsch product looks terrible. In part, it could be because of too heavy of an application, but there was no primer used either. As much as I'd like to respray it (with the Moss aerosols) I'd rather not pull it out at this time (headers and Webers really complicates the process...).