Engine Prep for Paint

[Brakin80]

Pulled the engine and transmission out of our 1960 BN7 recently for a refresh. Having never painted an engine, I'm looking for some info. What's the best way to clean it up in prep for primer to ensure primer will adhere? What kind of primer should be used (we're using Moss paint)? Does anyone know anything about the paint in those Moss cans? There is no info on the label.
Thanks.

 

[TimK]

I recently painted my valve cover and the top of the head with the engine in the car. I would use emulsifying cleaner (Gunk). The valve cover had a prior coat of paint on it, so I didn't prime it. The Moss spray can worked very well and stuck nicely to primed and unprimed surfaces.

 

[germanmichel]

Hello ,
I also recently paint my engine. First I cleaned the engine with degreaser and high pressure hot water (attention for water entree) After this procedure I use paint thinner to remove the rest of grease. The valve cover was grinded to bare metall,than I primed the engine with a thin layer of Epoxy 2K primer. The last layer is the original 1K metallic green of the paint what AH Spares sales.
This was my way. No guarantee because I have no liftime experience after hot and cold cycle....

One tip if your engine is out: You should remove and change your engine plugs !
All my plugs were rusty from the inside with a very thin rest wallthickness! It cost low money, and you eliminate the risk of a drainy plug on the engine compartment firewall side.
Also I clean before assembly the plugs, with high pressure the rusty cooling channels. (rust,sand and calcium carbonate)

Bye michel- from sunny germany