pros and cons of painting engines

[Guest]

my motor isn't bad bad but Im a bit lazy when it comes to polishing so paint seems the way to go.

So what are the pro's and con's of painting a engine and does colour matter for cooling ie black verse alloy/silver?

also any photos of nice looking gs1000 engines

[cougar]

any advice welcome

[simon kuether]

Paint comes off .
I soda blasted , acid cleaned , degreased and then painted my engine .
Beautiful .
I spose I'm whinging a bit but , 7 years later , and in some places , the paint is starting to flake off .
Still looks pretty good and most people don't pick it , but .........
I could just suck it up and do it again .
Or I could just ride it and be damned .
If your engine is looking a bit $hitty , paint will definitely make you smile . VHT alloy (I think) .

Cheers , Simon .

[landshark]

I believe black is actually cooler for a motor? Ill try and find the info on that.

[Big Rich]

It has been my understanding that the color of the paint only has an effect in deflecting / absorbing heat. So an engine painted black would absorb heat from the sun, while a silver / white / etc would reflect heat. Of course, pouring a gallon of any colored paint and letting it cure so it was 1/4" thick wouldn't help at all.....

Fwiw Cougar, when an aluminum looking paint gets scratched and there is bate aluminum underneath it won't be as noticeable as black paint being scratched.

[cougar]

Thanks guys
I've been thinking either black or alloy and as for paint was thinking of using Dupli-color caliper paint with ceramic

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dupli-Color-BCP102-Brake-Caliper-Black-Spray-Paint-/360905889841#ht_1427wt_769

Can anyone vouch for this product ??

[Rob S.]

Here's my '82 1100e painted to, I suppose, mimic an '83.

I always liked the way my '73 Z1's motor looked, black with the edges of the cooling fins bare. I'm thinking of doing that to my Suzi.

[FLHGSRay]

It has been my understanding that the color of the paint only has an effect in deflecting / absorbing heat. So an engine painted black would absorb heat from the sun, while a silver / white / etc would reflect heat.

The black/absorbing thing is fact, except it doesn't work that way here. Why? Because heat ALWAYS travels from hot to cold. And since the temperature of the engine is higher than the heat from the Sun, the black paint will actually move heat from the engine to atmosphere. Really.

[FLHGSRay]

Thanks guys
I've been thinking either black or alloy and as for paint was thinking of using Dupli-color caliper paint with ceramic

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dupli-Color-BCP102-Brake-Caliper-Black-Spray-Paint-/360905889841#ht_1427wt_769

Can anyone vouch for this product ??

I've used it a lot, but never on an engine. I don't think its designed for high temps.

[Steve]

Here's my '82 1100e painted to, I suppose, mimic an '83.

Yaayyy, another iPhone "camera" victim with SUPER-STICKY tires.



Am I the only one that previews their own posts before hitting "Submit Reply"?

.

[FLHGSRay]

Am I the only one that previews their own posts before hitting "Submit Reply"?

I don't preview. I prefer to post, read, curse, then edit.

[Spiff]

Whats up with these iphonepad pictures hanging upside down??

I use my phone to take pictures too but they always come out right side up... android ftw?

About paint:
Black is cool, but looks bad once scratched or if it starts to flake off.
Aluminium looks clean and if it scratches you can't tell at all, at least from a distance.

[cowboyup3371]

I use my iPhone too but turned off the auto-rotate feature in Photobucket. I'll edit the picture (size wise) on my computer then upload and post.

[cougar]

The black/absorbing thing is fact, except it doesn't work that way here. Why? Because heat ALWAYS travels from hot to cold. And since the temperature of the engine is higher than the heat from the Sun, the black paint will actually move heat from the engine to atmosphere. Really.

I've been told (never tried it) if you have a warm can of beer (unopened) put it in a black sock dip it in water and put it in the sun and the beer will end up getting cold.
I don't drink so never had the chance to try it

[Grimly]

I've been told (never tried it) if you have a warm can of beer (unopened) put it in a black sock dip it in water and put it in the sun and the beer will end up getting cold.
I don't drink so never had the chance to try it

The beer doesn't get a chance to warm up, if it's by me on a warm day.