Back in Black (since black is faster)

[renobruce]

Almost done! What a pain in the ass. I'm painting the entire engine black for my Beast project. Just have the cylinders left to do. Lots of scrubbing and masking, but it's turning out nice!

[crag antler]

Wow. I can already see the hp increase.
Sure it's a pita to prep but came out soooo nice in the end\\/\\/

[jimcor]

What paint are you using? Looks good!

[renobruce]

What paint are you using? Looks good!

I'm using Duplicolor engine enamel with ceramic (high gloss black). All pieces were also primed with self-etching engine primer. The most important thing is obviously the prep and working with CLEAN parts. Hopefully it will hold up well.
Here's a few more of what's painted so far.





I've been debating on whether to paint the side covers or polish them. I think I'll go ahead and paint them, and if I don't like the results, I'll strip and polish them.

[renobruce]

Chrome allen head buttons! :-D

[speedzter2000]

Is that Duplicolor from a can?? Have you used it before, and if so, how does it hold up over time??
Looks GREAT!:-D

[renobruce]

Is that Duplicolor from a can?? Have you used it before, and if so, how does it hold up over time??
Looks GREAT!:-D

This is my first go at it. Yes, it's out of a can. 500 degree engine enamel. Others have said that it holds up well. We'll see. One more piece to paint and then it gets assembled..... all kinds of new goodies for the inside! \\/

[80GS1000]

Looks fantastic Bruce!

[first timer]

looking good bruce, i wish i had the time you have. are you just hand cleaning all the parts, what about getting them blasted with some aluminume oxide or some thing thast is similar in name, that way it will give the metal texture for the paint/ primer to stick, will your primer burn off at enigne heat?

[renobruce]

looking good bruce, i wish i had the time you have. are you just hand cleaning all the parts, what about getting them blasted with some aluminume oxide or some thing thast is similar in name, that way it will give the metal texture for the paint/ primer to stick, will your primer burn off at enigne heat?

The primer shouldn't burn off... it's 500 degree engine primer. Yes, I did all the parts by hand. I chose that route because I didn't want to tear the head down... it had already been ported and new valves/seals put in. I cleaned and de-greased the parts, and then cleaned it again with MEK. Then rinsed and primed. I also baked the primer and the paint. I hope it holds up.... I've got a lot of time invested in this engine!

[txironhead]

I can personally say that Dupli-Color engine enamel, when applied properly, is a fantastic product. The key is doing the prep work, which is true of any paint job. It looks like you've done a fine job of degreasing and prepping the engine, even heat curing prior to assembly, so you should get a lot of miles out of a good-looking engine.

I was going to post a pic of my "Dupli-Color Shadow", which had the engine, frame, AND bodywork painted with nothing but Dupli-Color products and looked great. Even the rims were painted Brushed Aluminum engine enamel. Unfortunately, I have discovered that my scanner is pure crap and doesn't work and is now residing in the trash.

[renobruce]

I can personally say that Dupli-Color engine enamel, when applied properly, is a fantastic product. The key is doing the prep work, which is true of any paint job. It looks like you've done a fine job of degreasing and prepping the engine, even heat curing prior to assembly, so you should get a lot of miles out of a good-looking engine.

Good to know. Thanks for the input.

[Steve]

I painted the engine on my wife's 850 last April with only minimal prep. Basically, I sprayed carb cleaner or brake cleaner (whichever was closest to me at the time), scraped some of the gunk out with a brush, then went down to the wishy-wash to spray it all off. Came home, removed all the covers for polishing. Masked off the headers, frame and a couple other parts that did not need any overspray on them, then let loose with the DupliColor Engine Paint. If you look closely at the engine now, you can see where the black is peeling a bit where oil has been seeping past a gasket, but overall, it's in pretty good shape, 16 months and about 8,000 miles later. \\/

Here is what it looked like right after paint and polish:

[renobruce]

I painted the engine on my wife's 850 last April with only minimal prep. Basically, I sprayed carb cleaner or brake cleaner (whichever was closest to me at the time), scraped some of the gunk out with a brush, then went down to the wishy-wash to spray it all off. Came home, removed all the covers for polishing. Masked off the headers, frame and a couple other parts that did not need any overspray on them, then let loose with the DupliColor Engine Paint. If you look closely at the engine now, you can see where the black is peeling a bit where oil has been seeping past a gasket, but overall, it's in pretty good shape, 16 months and about 8,000 miles later. \\/

That looks nice! Did you use primer first? and what was your technique for keeping the tips of the fins bare?