Block painting

Big Shark

Big Shark

Senior Member
Need some insight on this. Here's my situation. I bought a running motor from a guy in one of the southern states. He sent me a video of it running on a test bench with the radiator. It sounded sweet with no misses or hesitations. He said his Grandfather was a retired mechanic that rebuilt it. It is a 21 stud 37 motor. When I received the motor I pulled the head. The cylinders look great. And the domed top pistons were stamped .030 over. The valves had a little carbon on them. there is very little corrosion in the block. So I believe it was rebuilt. Now I would like to paint it. My question is, Do I try to mask everything off and clean it and brush it. Or do I pull it all apart and take it to a shop and have them shot clean it and then spray it? I plan on using Bill Hursch engine paint. Thanks for commenting. Bruce
 
It all depends on just how nice a job you are seeking. Of course taking it all apart and shot cleaning will ultimately deliver the best final result. Is that necessary for you?
If you are simply building a driver quality car and want to avoid the trouble and expense of taking it apart / shot peening, I think you will be pleased with the results from cleaning it thoroughly with a wax / grease remover and brushing Hirsche's paint on.
Once his paint has become tacky, spray a light coat of gloss clear enamel over it. That will "melt" the paint in to a smooth appearance.
 
Agreed with Kube - depends on the project. In my opinion, there's nothing like an engine that's been taken apart, painted, then assembled. Nice crisp seams and contrasts. But if it's going into a driver, then I wouldn't mess with taking the engine apart. you can do a pretty good job painting an assembled engine if you're willing to do some prep work masking it and you approach it with some patience. I prefer to spray the engines with rattle cans, but I've seen some brushed ones that came out great. It all depends on what you're comfortable with and what kind of expectations you have for the car.

One thing I would recommend is taking off the exhaust manifolds, cleaning them, and spraying them with a high temp paint. Gives a nice look.

Nick
 
I have had very good luck applying Hursch paint with a brush as per the instructions. Brushmarks seem to flow out, VERY good engine paint! Try doing it with a brush when the temperature drops from the 80s on a scrap piece of flat steel.
 
I cleaned the block up with a wire brush, sanded it, cleaned with mineral spirits and laquer thinner. Painted 2 coats of Bill Hursch paint with a brush.. Came out real nice. Ken
 
Kube is correct. Take off the easy stuff to remove so that you can get into all the little out of the way places. Use aluminum foil instead of tape to wrap around stuff you don't want to paint. Compress the alum foil to the shape of the object it's covering by squeezing the foil. Bill Hirsch paint is the best.
 
I used a 1" brush, and high temp black for the exhaust manifolds, after 5 years in the car it looks just as good.
 

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Here is a photo of mine I did about a yr ago. Like Kube said, just degreased it with a brush and dawn dish soap, rinsed it off, blew dry with compressor air. Rattle can high heat Ford Green, yes I know this yr should have been blue, I like the green.

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Here it is completed a few weeks ago, with the air cleaner I had just finished and mounted, just need the decals.

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Use the Bill Hirsch paint.You won't be sorry and the stuff is the stickiest paint I've ever used. I did mine 3 years+ ago and it still liiks good.
 
Hirsch is the best.

At the factory the engines were assembled then painted as one piece. Gaskets and all got paint. Having gaskets, etc, show looks nice but it's not the way Henry did it.
 
john hamilton said:
Hirsch is the best.

At the factory the engines were assembled then painted as one piece. Gaskets and all got paint. Having gaskets, etc, show looks nice but it's not the way Henry did it.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that castings were painted before engine assembly (at least the earlier V8's.) When did Ford start painting engines after assembly? A few years later and across town, V8 engines were painted orange after assembly. IMHO of course.
 
john hamilton said:
Hirsch is the best.

At the factory the engines were assembled then painted as one piece. Gaskets and all got paint. Having gaskets, etc, show looks nice but it's not the way Henry did it.
Click to expand...
Not prewar they weren't. Actually I don't think they were painted as an assembly until 1949. The blocks were masked in certain areas prior to painting (EX: for the cylinder heads, etc.). NO paint on the gaskets
 
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