engine painting inside covers?

[Guest]

Hi all!
I prepping my engine for painting.It is really a mess.There are corrosion and pitting everywhere.Can I paint the areas on the crankcase where the covers go?The paint will resisr the oil in there?Thanks

[Agemax]

no it wont. do not paint inside the engine!!!!

[JamesWhut?]

^^^ Whut he said.

Just wire brush off any crud and then coat the affected areas, I'm guessing the upper "walls" of the galleries, with the heaviest weight oil you have laying around, making sure not to get it on the cover gasket surfaces.

[JTGS850GL]

^^^ What they said. Seriously, unless the inside is anodized it wont help or stay put. No need to paint the inside anyway. If the inside is badly pitted and discolored, then that engine has had a hard life.

[chuck hahn]

No paint insidi any covers or on the surfaces the gaskets must make contact to.

[Fjbj40]

There is paint inside the engine from the factory. I just disassembled a 83 1100 and there is black paint inside the clutch and transmission area. It is not on purpose it just appears to be overspray.

If you are asking "can I coat the surfaces where the gasket goes with paint." You can if prepped properly. Not between the head gasket surfaces though.

I have built race engines, not bikes but cars, and it was a standard practice to coat the insides, when properly prepped, to enhance oil flow back to the sump.

[chuck hahn]

Thats a recipe for disaster in a bike. He had better be damned well sure that at NO POINT in the next 50 years is there a chance of paint peeling off and clogging an oil galley, the oil pump, or getting into a crank bearing. If the inside of a cover is so bad that its pitted and discolored the engine has been severely abused at some point.

In such a case, the farthest I would personally go is to bead blast the insides clean, rinse very well so theres no beads left behind and button it up. The oil sloshing will protect the bare metal and it will be as good as it ever will need to be. and there is no need for the oil to run back down to the oil pan any faster than it already does from the factory in a ( stock ) car or bike really. If there was the manufacturer would have addressed that issue.

[Agemax]

you would never get paint to stick to the casings inside anyway. the pores would be so full of oil you would never get it out. once the engine warms up the paint would just fall off. as Chuck says, to many holes and orifices to block up with paint. not worth even a risk.
if the insides are corroded/oxidised what are the oil passageways like (the ones you cant see) i wouldn't even use those cases!

[chuck hahn]

He can use the cases Age..but I would soak them for a few days covered in 8% vinegar to derust the passages and then flush them with lots of carbs spray and compressed air. Point being get everything as clean as possible as to eliminate possibilities of crap breaking loose and reeking havoc.

And your spot on as for the pores being so impregnated with oil that theres no chance of any success

I mean what the heck..the engine is apart so why not take the time and attention to detail to do things right. Least thats always been my perspective on any job I am involved with.

[Fjbj40]

We had no issues getting the paint to adhere to the insides. Like I said, properly prepared, it will adhere. Besides the insides of these engines is not porous, it is as smooth as the outside. Secondly most of the oil galleries are very large, remember most of these engines use low pressure high volume lubrication systems.

Anyways, the OP did not say there was corrosion inside the engine. He asked where the covers go on the engine the surfaces are corroded. He did not say how badly, he does say there is pitting which is probably the exterior of the engine.

If the engine is that badly pitted then a good glass beading after complete disassembly followed by a light low pressure blast of 80-120 grit aluminum oxide will clean up the corrosion. Paint will not adhere very well to glass beaded aluminum, you will get far better results using aluminum oxide.

Doing this of course requires a very thorough cleaning of the cases and etc after the blasting to remove all abrasive material and any oil from the shop air used for blasting.

It takes me about 25 hours to disassemble, paint strip using glass beads, re blasting with aluminum oxide, clean and clean and finally paint a 1000/1100 air cooled engine. I never have problems with paint adhesion or the engine destroying itself with hidden abrasives left inside the engine.

This of course is just my opinion and experience of doing the same thing for 25+ years.

[gabos666]

Thank you for the help.I solved the problem with lot of elbow grease and a nylon disc in my dremel.after that I put the covers in the dishwaser for 2 hours max heat.they coming out nice. Man,this engine is a beast to clean,all that nooks and hard to reach places.I wanted to sandblast the whole thing,but i got horrible prices,so it wont happen.anyway,the cases are super clean now.i will put some picture,when i am at home.have a nice day!

[chuck hahn]

I will PM you the password to my photobucket. Go there and look around..some 950 rebuild and prep pics are there. Then if you have any questions let me know. But for god sakes DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT put any paint INSIDE the covers or the cases...period.

[gabos666]

Thank you,i will see the pics.message received ,i will not use paint for those places.

[chuck hahn]

Paint the outside all you want though.

[gabos666]

Hi all!

Thak you for the photos Chuck! It was real inspiring. I met with a guy with a real good connection to a power coater, and sand blaster. The guy gave me a real friendly price. So the engine will be soda blasted! The frame and other bits will be powder coated. I am really happy about it. Thank you for the encouragement guys, to do it right