Engine Paint Application

Unknown

Gang,



I have received a number of questions from individuals that are both

interested in or have already purchased the Hudson engine paint about

method of application. Therefore rather than respond to all concerns

individually, I thought I would post some simple instructions. Here

goes:



1) Get it clean. Use a water hose and whatever degreaser you prefer,

but if your crankcase is natural alumin(i)um, you are going to want to

use a degreaser that is safe for it. Gunk engine degreaser works

wonders, as does any wheel and tire cleaner that is safe for alumin(i)

um or all wheels. Get a toothbrush-sized stiff nylon brush and scrub

around the cracks and crevices. The point here is to get all of the

grease and accumulated 'funk' off. If you have thick, caked on grease

and dirt, use a gasket scraper or putty knife to scrape it off before

degreasing.



2) Prep the surface. I advise removing the top valve cover on F head

motors, the intake manifold/heat riser and carburetor, the starter and

generator, ignition coil, fan, and whatever else you might see fit.

However, it is possible to do this with all those in place (just more

difficult). If and when you remove these things you'll find some

grease that you couldn't get to when washing the engine with the

components on-- clean that up. If you have any rust or flaking

paint, get at it with a wire brush on a drill. Then you are going to

want to use some 180 or finer grit sandpaper, or a scotch-brite pad

(not the kind with soap in it) and SCUFF the surface. This doesn't

have to be perfect, and you don't have to get every single crevice.

But do the best you can to take the gloss off whatever paint is

already there, and roughen the rest up for better adhesion.



A note on aluminum crankcases: There is some dispute as to whether or

not the aluminum crankcase was painted from the factory or not. I

have seen them both ways. My advice is, if yours is bare or has

minimal paint, clean it up with a fine wire brush on a drill and leave

it bare. If yours has been painted, then perform the same steps

listed in #2 above that you're doing to the rest of the engine, and

paint it up.



3) Clean up your mess. You no doubt have flakes of paint, possibly

rust, and dust from the above process. Get yourself a pre-paint

cleaning solvent, such as Prep-All, which is available from a good

Auto parts store or any automotive paint supplier, and a roll of shop

towels, and wipe the surface down at least twice. This will get any

leftover grease off, and prevent fisheyes or adhesion problems.



4) Paint! If you are using brush-on, either a good natural bristle

paintbrush or a foam brush will work fine. The paint is farily thick,

and with the natural texture of the surface of the engine, you won't

notice any brush marks. Perhaps the absolute BEST way is to brush

paint everywhere, then go back over the large, easier to access areas

with the aerosol for an even, uniform coating. If you are using

aerosol only, then you may want to mask at your discretion. The upper

valve cover should be left bare, and the starter, generator, their

tray, distributor, fan, balancer, coil bracket, pulleys, intake

manifold/heat riser assembly, plug wire tube, breather pipe, oil fill

(I think I got it all!) should be black. I have seen the oil pan,

timing cover, and water outlet manifolds painted both black and

green. All three of mine are black (see pictures on site). The oil

pump and water pump should be bare. The exhaust manifold was

originally painted green, although the engine paint will burn off of

it in short order, making them bare rather quickly. I am using a high-

heat cast iron gray on mine to prevent rust and make it look more

presentable.



It's that simple! After you get the paint on and let it dry (ideally

24 hours), start the engine, run it up to temperature, then shut it

down and let it cool back to cold. This will cure the paint for

good. Then you are ready to go for a drive.



Best Regards,

James Coats