HEALEY GREEN ENGINE ENAMEL-POR15 ???

[dklawson]

I'll repeat my earlier POR comment and expound on it.

POR engine enamel is enamel, it is NOT the product you hear advertised as a rust preventative coating. Don't use POR enamel as a primer because ANY paint you apply over it will lift it.

POR-15 (the coating you hear about for rust prevention) is a particularly awful primer. It's made to encapsulate treated rust and leaves a nearly glass-like urethane coating behind. Nothing sticks well to cured POR... not even their own "Tie Coat" primer. There are ways to improve this but using a regular paint and primer are better and easier choices.

If you're painting an engine, prep as usual with a special focus on degreasing the block. Acid etching will help a little, but isn't as necessary on cast iron parts as they are already rough. Prime if you want with a normal primer. No, you don't need high-temperature primer. The block better not get hot enough to damage the paint or you've got more serious problems to worry about than paint.

 

[John Loftus]

I believe there is a difference in the color. The Hirsch color is slightly darker and closer to the original factory color.

I recently painted the gearbox with the Hirsch Healey green and decided to compare it with the Moss Healey green that I had on hand so I painted up a test panel. As you point out the Hirsch color is darker. I compared them both to parts that still have the original Healey green (these come from my spare motor that shows no signs of ever being rebuilt or resprayed). I used some paint compound to remove any oxidation on the paint so the color would show through better. Anyway, here are links to my comparisons. To my eye, the Hirsch paint matches the original paint very closely and the Moss paint is too light. As Keoke likes to say .. FWIW /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

https://www.loftusdesign.net/paint_compare1.jpg
https://www.loftusdesign.net/paint_compare2.jpg

 

[Dave Russell]

I think you are missing something. The light green engine enamel we are discussing has a heavy metallic content. Because of this, there can be a large variation in lightness/darkness just from how the paint is applied. How wet, how much pressure etc.

Using the Moss rattle can, I can get a very light shade by warming the can to increase pressure, slightly warming the object to be painted, & using light coats.

Can get a much darker shade by using lower can pressure & shooting very wet coats. FWIW
D

 

[John Loftus]

Hi Dave,

Sort of cold around here right now for So. Cal (50's-60's during the day). Neither the can nor the object was warmed up. I mixed the paint well and put three medium coats. Looks like Moss Healey green to me but always want to learn new painting tricks. Maybe you can make up a panel with light and dark Moss green?

Cheers,
John

 

[Keoke]

Well John, that paint on that old engine has had 40 years to get dark even the oil pans and tranny cases are darker in color than they originally were. So I don't think that comparison is absolute. Using the Moss paint the final shade can be controlled as Dave mentioned or by picking a light or dark primer.--Fwiw--Ole-Keoke- /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif



Oh just for information. There is a chap down in Poway, "Tom Lucky", that removed all surface flaws from the engine and tranny castings on his cars and powder coated the whole thing it is the correct Healey green also,dont how he obtained the color. Similarly, Randy Cook managed to powder coat healey chassis in their correct shades of Healey color too.

 

[John Loftus]

Hi Keoke,

This is one of those topics that only a hard core Healey nut would be concerned with so I guess you can use whatever color suits you /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif I personally like the Hirsch green, it matches what I see, has a higher heat rating and you have finer control of any paint when using a spray gun vs rattle can. Lots of good reviews from the folks over on the Healey list about color, durability and cost (I'm not making this stuff up!)

I wouldn't want to paint a motor/gearbox with powdercoat. How would you go in to make touch ups?

BTW, I have a few pictures of the gearbox painted on my website. The sun was getting low when I took these and you can see how the color changes as the sun light hits the top half.

Hirsch paint gearbox

Cheers,
John

 

[dklawson]

John, I hope you don't mind but I looked around at the other pictures you posted at the link above. You've got some nice photographic documentation and it looks like the end result is wonderful. Nice job.

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Dave,
Maybe you can make up a panel with light and dark Moss green?
Cheers,
John

Hi John,
Moss Healey Engine Green spray can

Metallic paints

Wet - cold - low pressure = slow evaporation - metal flakes sunk lower in film - flakes lying flatter = darker shade.

Dry - warm - high pressure = fast evaporation - metal flakes trapped higher in film - flakes more vertical = lighter shade.

Two techniques with the same spray can of paint.
My paint & photo techniques are not the greatest but the attached pic shows the difference.

The third color is an experiment to see if shooting crystal clear over dull aluminum would still leave a dull finish. It did. This went on the instrument section of my BN2 dash.
D

 

[John Loftus]

Hi Dave,

That is more variation than I would have expected! Learned something new. Thanks for showing us that.

BTW, just slightly off topic .. not sure if others responded to your 'orange' color under the engine color question (I'm on the digest so there is a delay). But my spare BJ7 shows orange under the peeling paint so it appears to be the primer color.

Cheers,
John

 

[John Loftus]

John, I hope you don't mind but I looked around at the other pictures you posted at the link above. You've got some nice photographic documentation and it looks like the end result is wonderful. Nice job.

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the feedback! 'End result' is a bit premature .. still have quite a bit of work to do but still having fun.

Cheers,
John

 

[sfovc2003]

John:
I'm about ready to have my engine painted and recall that you used some sort of aviation paint. Am I correct? My painter just wants to prime, paint with Healy engine green and then clear coat.

 

[jlaird]

Wow, supose the clear coat will hold up to the heat?

 

[Cutlass]

I think that the Healey engine green engine paint should hold up to the heat pretty well. I had my cast iron exhaust manifolds ceramic coated in a dark color, and it looks great. The ss exhaust is painted in bar-b-que paint, also black. All seem fine after an hour of early testing. Don't really see the need for the clear coat.

 

[dklawson]

Jack, the heat requirements on engine enamel aren't that demanding. Keep in mind that under normal conditions, the block and head may only be a few degrees hotter than the anti-freeze/coolant.