Painting a case

Reverb · Post by **Reverb** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 11:05 am

I`ve been told that you never paint an aluminum engine case, because it causes heat build up. But, I see painted engines all the time. Whats the rule for cases...bare aluminum, or paint?

jr_vw2 · Post by **jr_vw2** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 1:00 pm

I asked this same questions about a year ago.....They did a study on which paints to use and which not to use. Basically it went like this.... Dont use any "high temp" paints because of the ceramic in them they will cause it to hold in heat more. The best thing that they found was a THIN coat of flat black actually helped reduce the heat on the case. But I mean we are only talking about a couple degrees. The case is not where the majority of your heat is. The hottest part is your heads. I painted my case with krylon flat black and it held up great. You can check out my buggy pics. You can also check out MURZ buggy pics too. Basiclly if you want o paint it then paint it, you wont see a noticable difference

newmanx59 · Post by **newmanx59** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 1:09 pm

Flat black "Stove Paint" Or "BBQ grill paint" In a very light coat won't hurt the cooling of the case. I would just as soon leave the case raw, you don't have to worry about it peeling off.

Reverb · Post by **Reverb** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:30 pm

Leaving it "raw", would be fine if it were a shiny new case. Mine is 40 years old. Is there a good product to brighten it up a little?

fubar · Post by **fubar** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:48 pm

New silica will "polish blast" aluminum pretty well. Normally you hit it with a more abrassive media first like aluminum oxide . It would have to be completely disassembled and free of oil, grease,etc. And then be free of the abrasive media before you put it back together. Flat black sounds like the way to go....

newmanx59 · Post by **newmanx59** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 9:00 pm

Blast the case with walnut shells and you will come away with a nice shiny case. Better then new.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 11:25 pm

You might try wheel acid. It's available from commercial auto detail products dealers. I think it is the same as aluminum cleaner that should be available at auto paint dealers. Spray it on and wait for it to fizz up then rinse it off. I haven't tried it on magnesium, but it works great on aluminum and Weber carbs. Watch the fumes.

newmanx59 · Post by **newmanx59** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:40 am

You may want to consider getting the case "black anodized". Just thinking out loud.

jr_vw2 · Post by **jr_vw2** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 1:18 am

Check out the deep sump i have siting in the box in this picture. I am a factory nissan technitian and this is the acid "aluminum bright" we use here at the shop. It is some pretty roudy stuff. It doesnt give the alu. a bright shine but it will definatly knock the ugly off. But be carefull th fummes can and will knock you of your feet. On a side note. I love the look of a flat black case. I just got my new case for CB performance and I will probably paint it black.

Mvovr · Post by **Mvovr** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:41 am

Hey JR!!! My pipes looked like that once.

jr_vw2 · Post by **jr_vw2** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:44 am

Im thinking about getting them ceramic coated before I ever run them. I am a neat freak and I know that if they blue it will kill me. LOL