engine and drivetrain any of you guys paint your aluminum??

[BLUNT]

in prepping my s14 i cleaned all the bare aluminum such as head,castings,throttle bodies,horns etc etc and they look ok.

then yesterday im reading posts on s14.net and i come across an engine build thread and start looking at pics of this guys motor where hes painted the head and all associated parts with aluminum paint.

it looks way better than mine but i wonder what it will look like in a year or 2. has anyone painted aluminum with good "lasting" results or is my way of thinking that bare is better correct.

[esty]

yes...most all of mine's painted...it's a heck of a lot easier to keep clean...the bare aluminum stains if you look at it wrong...

the best way is prime it 1st with a 2 part epoxy primer then your paint of choice....the epoxy willseal it & give the paint something to grip...just painting over the aluminum without it is like pissing in the wind....paint doesn't like aluminum

only those parts that reach hi temps, like the block need hi temp paint

or...if you want the natural color of the aluminum...por makes a 2 part product, Glisten PC, that will stick to chrome without peeling off and goes on with a brush

[norm]

I would have to say, No! A friend has an old BMW R69 and the pervious owner painted the the engine silver over the aluminum block and it looks so fake. Has anyone seen a 2002 with a head painter silver? Ugly too!

Norm

[dan_inka74]

sell it

[adamm]

i've used VHT paint with great success. goes on really well and looks like natural aluminium - the trick is with this paint is it actually cures through being heated and cooled repeatedly. the colour is called Nu-Cast I think...

[BillWilliams]

I powdercoated the valve cover and intake manifold on the tii with Eastwoods aluminum several years ago and it still looks nice. Did it myself in an old oven with Eastwood's entry level gun.

Recently, I painted the valve cover on the saloon with VHT black wrinkle coat and it is holding up after three months. I did prep it with Alodine. Alodine is an aluminum prep but not like the epoxy the Esty mentiolns. I am sure they both are good.

I have the POR product Esty mentions on the head of the touring's motor but it has not been fired yet. Verdict is still out.

[Jack]

While I don't know how it would work on AL (I don't think I'd like the look on the valve cover), a paint I have used and like is POR15's Metal Mask. I used it on the hood closure rod and the wiper linkage arms. Very pleased with the result.

[schwarz75]

..fine and brightened the valve cover's appearance somewhat without adding any gloss like silver paint.

[peteinjp]

I prefer the real deal. I don't die my graying hair either and I never will. To me painting the aluminum stuff is short term thinking. I'm planning to have my car another 20 years if legally possible. I have parts from Rob Torres that were powder coated and a little chip here and there is nothing I can do about it. I can't help but think about the next time i want to rebuild something and I need to strip the plastic coating off- paint is hard enough to remove..... but that powdercoating is a nightmare to get off. But that is beside the real point. I have an old worn original BMW badge on the hood. When only plastic replacements were available I felt that they were totaly out of character with the spirit of the car- or maybe just with my own spirit. At anyrate I have not seen an aluminum paint that with time did not pale in comparison to the real thing-not that I have not seen everything. I guess it also comes down to the intended use for the car. I use my completely rebuilt car just like I would use a honda or whatever- for real everyday needs. Don't get me wrong- when i finished it looked clean its just that I don't have a problem with it aging. I love a 30 something year old patina and that don't come in a spray can.

Guess I got a little carried away. I know I'm going against the grain here but ... well I'm into real.

[Harv]

The last motor I built for my 2002 I painted the head, valve cover, intake manefold with self etching (green) zinc primer and then painted them with Alumacast aluminum paint. It looked perfect. Maybe a little bright but it aged very well.

John

[esty]

hooooie...it sure makes things a lot easier to clean..oil spills, etc

[Emyers]

Blunt,

Some pics of my recently refurbished engine. Paint is Krylon Dull Aluminium. Looks great in my opinion, easy to maintain and is extremely long lasting.

Earl

74 2002Lux

02 M Roadster

72 Volvo 1800ES

[esty]

i've used this product sold eastwood for more than 20 years & can attest to it's quality....i've used in on everything from intake manifolds to small trim pieces and it's extremely durable...it's main characteristic is it's very low gloss to matte finish and has somewhat of a very fine texture that mimics blasted aluminum...it can also be used on metals that you'd like to look like blasted aluminum

having said that, there are several other products that sell for 1/2 the price and no shipping charges...readily available from all auto parts stores, wal-mart...and any hardware store that sells paint bombs

[Emyers]

Esty,

Agree the Eastwood AlumaCast is outstanding stuff, and have used it off and on during my 32 years of 02 ownership. Their similiar product that mimics cast iron is also very good. However to my eye the Krylon Dull Aluminum exhibits the same color/finish/durability properties as the Eastwood product, available just about everywhere at half the cost.

Earl

74 2002Lux

02 M Roadster

72 Volvo 1800ES

[esty]

Esty,

Agree the Eastwood AlumaCast is outstanding stuff, and have used it off and on during my 32 years of 02 ownership. Their similiar product that mimics cast iron is also very good.

However to my eye the Krylon Dull Aluminum exhibits the same color/finish/durability properties as the Eastwood product, available just about everywhere at half the cost.

Earl

74 2002Lux

02 M Roadster

72 Volvo 1800ES

lol...you caught my subtle hint....that's one of several brands i was alluding to...i agree... off the shelf spray bombs are as good or better than the disigner brands seen in glossy catalogs

eastwood CastBlast...