BLACK engine paints

[chuck hahn]

Seeing that ive never painted an engine black im asking what paint or kits are out there that will do the job and stand up to the heat and inevitable gas that gets on the lower cases when fiddling with carbs. And who is the best suppliers. Im yanking an engine before i have hip surgery and this will be my rehab project. Are there good rattle cab paints or will i be stuck using a paint gun???

[Rob S.]

Never had a problem with rattle cans. I think Helix is one brand.

[niclpnut]

I used PJ1 satin black on the ES a long time ago. Went on good. Once it went through a couple heat cycles it cured nice and hard and has been pretty durable.

[Nessism]

VHT engine paint drys hard and brittle. And not particularly chemical resistant; gloss finish turns dull quite quickly if gasoline hits it. The next engine I paint will be done with some version of Cerakote.

[rustybronco]

Eastwood Ceramic engine paints using a 4:1 caralyst? They're not cheap.

[Grand Rouge]

I used PJ1 satin black on the ES a long time ago. Went on good. Once it went through a couple heat cycles it cured nice and hard and has been pretty durable.

I second the PJ1 paint. Very durable. Easy application. Have sprayed 4 or 5 sets of carburetors after disassembly and cleaning. The resulting finishes are flawless and durable. Resists fuel too. Heat: sprayed the header collars on my 83 1100 ten years or so ago.....look as new now as then.

[chuck hahn]

The engine is from my 86 Ninja 600R resto im doing this summer. Not sure if day one it was gloss, semi gloss or what. Its all dull and chalky now. I plan on having it out before my hip surgery in march and as get feeling better itl be my therapy project.

[GregT]

I use a NZ made satin black etch primer. On blasted cases it hangs on very well indeed. Kiwimacchi on here has recommended a 2 pack Durapox which has also lasted well.
The brands might not help you but I'd recommend an etch prime before the finish coat anyway.
Edit : It would be worth searching Kiwimacchi's posts about paint as from memory there's some good pics there.

[craz1]

PJ1 is my choice, fast black engine paint. No problem on prepared cases meaning they have been disassembled cleaned and media blasted. No need for primer with Satin PJ1 but media blast would give you the best surface. Your original cases may have been a bit more gloss. They do offer a gloss but have not tried that.

[steve murdoch]

Couple of beautiful bike there, Craz.
Are they yours?

[craz1]

The 73 is one of 3 I restored for a friend, I have 5 Z1900's that are behind me taking the photo. The FJR and Tracer are mine. The RD350 was sold a few months back and was mine.

[Rob S.]

Looks like '73, '75 then '74 in that photo. Those were the days!

[oldGSfan]

Just reading up on this as I'm tackling an '83 and planned to do the finned areas in satin, and the covers in gloss with PJ1. I think Suzuki engines were all a single tone of semi-gloss when new, but it's a look I think may work nicely. But now I'm having second thoughts, seeing the satin on the Yamaha. I think it looks great, but had hoped it would be more glossy for my application.

No argument with Ed about the VHT engine paint being brittle and not chem-resistant, as I have no experience. But....when I was working on the Norton and the Mr. Turbo, I found the VHT brake caliper paint to be useful for other parts on the Suzuki, as the sheen was quite close to the black used on many areas (fork lowers, etc). I even painted my Norton engine barrels with that stuff. It's up to 900F so I thought why not? You bake for a bit to get it set, and once that's done it has a nice sheen. The running heat of the cylinder barrels will cure the stuff, other stuff I put in the BBQ.

I had a cheap petcock let go on the Norton and gushed at least a cup of fuel all over a very hot engine. It was crazy scary to have hot gasoline vapor just blowing up into my garage and probably giving me horrid doses of carcinogens, but on the plus side it shows zero difference on the fins, it's as good as when it was painted, has a few hundred miles and a near fireball under its belt now.

Now I'm thinking I should have bought the VHT brake caliper stuff as it's just about right and will look more stock, and it's proven itself, to me anyway. In the end, since the PJ1 is here, I'll just roll with it, two-tone pimpin style.

[Nessism]

Not sure if there will be a "next time" for me, but if there is, I'll use some flavor of Cerakote. In fact, I'm going to repaint my KZ brake calipers, and will order some. I think it needs clean white metal for best effect. That means media blasting before painting. It's chemical resistant, and abrasion resistant too. Guns are often painted with that stuff. It's not horribly expensive either.

[oldGSfan]

Not sure if there will be a "next time" for me, but if there is, I'll use some flavor of Cerakote. In fact, I'm going to repaint my KZ brake calipers, and will order some. I think it needs clean white metal for best effect. That means media blasting before painting. It's chemical resistant, and abrasion resistant too. Guns are often painted with that stuff. It's not horribly expensive either.

Right Way..... >>>>> MY WAY <<<<<.......Wrong Way

Oh to own a vapor blaster, powder coating setup, paint booth, parts washer, and so on. I have gotten pretty good at the 'in place' cheapo cosmetic fix which includes the absolute cheapest masking off with HF painter's tape, dollar store degreaser and foil, grocery store bags and elbow grease, and the occasional BBQ or even dishwasher. I'm a slob, a heathen I tells ya!