Opinions on how I should paint my stroker engine

qwertyd10n · Post by **qwertyd10n** » January 15, 2011, 11:34 pm

Hey everyone,

I'm slowly pulling together the remaining parts I need for my 445 stroker engine buildup and I got my new Canton deep rear sump oil pan today - except it wasn't gold as I expected, but black.

So now I'm trying to figure out how I should paint everything... I am thinking Old Ford Blue for the block, but I'm not sure about everything on the front of the block. The heads, intake, valve covers, and timing chain cover will all stay their natural aluminum... the water pump is black at this point and the damper spacer and new damper will also come black.

Do you guys think painting the pulleys, the alternator brackets, and the power steering brackets would look good? And what about the pan being black... I really don't think I want to repaint a brand new pan.

And what about the idea of Old Ford Blue versus Ford Corporate Blue?

Cheers,
Dion

Post by **Greg D** » January 16, 2011, 12:00 am

You might want to use a good underhood clearcoat on the aluminum pieces (Eastwood?).
I personally think a everything in the stock colors with the aluminum parts bare looks pretty sharp. Just about like you already have black on the pulleys & brackets.

weezle · Post by **weezle** » January 16, 2011, 11:00 am

Last engine I painted up was in corporate blue, natural aluminum intake & valve covers, painted the water pump & oil pan with hi-temp aluminum colored paint, pulleys I left black, and painted the brackets with a cast iron colored paint to give it some contrast...It looked real sharp.

jeepbut · Post by **jeepbut** » January 16, 2011, 11:20 am

Black wherever possible, then paint the rest black. Thanks, Lyman.

qwertyd10n · Post by **qwertyd10n** » January 16, 2011, 11:22 am

Greg D wrote:You might want to use a good underhood clearcoat on the aluminum pieces (Eastwood?).
I personally think a everything in the stock colors with the aluminum parts bare looks pretty sharp. Just about like you already have black on the pulleys & brackets.

Hey Greg,

I did some searching on the web about clearcoating the aluminum engine parts and it seems that no matter which product is used, yellowing will eventually occur. Anyone here have any experience with this?

Cheers,
Dion

qwertyd10n · Post by **qwertyd10n** » January 16, 2011, 11:24 am

weezle wrote:Last engine I painted up was in corporate blue, natural aluminum intake & valve covers, painted the water pump & oil pan with hi-temp aluminum colored paint, pulleys I left black, and painted the brackets with a cast iron colored paint to give it some contrast...It looked real sharp.

Any chance you have a pic or two Matt?

Cheers,
Dion

Johnny Canuck · Post by **Johnny Canuck** » January 16, 2011, 12:11 pm

as far as the clearcoat goes, slip down to Mopac and pick up a small can of this
http://www.imperialrestoration.com/prod ... category=2
a little goes a very long ways with por 15 products. you probably only need that little pint can or whatever it is.

as far as the rest of the mill.. I'd leave the pulleys etc. black and paint the main block old ford blue, which is correct for a '66.

MadMaxetc · Post by **MadMaxetc** » January 16, 2011, 1:14 pm

I always Like a black longblock with clear on the Al parts and body color matched valve covers and oil pan.

The black block hides the little oil leeks that ocur over time and the color mached covers tie the entire truck together. The Al acts like an accent color.

Don't forget to add a little chrome in there! (gotta have the bling!)

BarnieTrk · Post by **BarnieTrk** » January 16, 2011, 1:25 pm

I like to put some sort of paint on aluminum parts, even if it's aluminum paint on aluminum parts. By doing so, I don't need to be concerned about yellowing (as some clearcoats will do) and I don't need to worry about it getting that flaky white corrosion from moisture reacting with the bare aluminum. I suppose if I lived in the desert were the humidity is super low, bare aluminum might be ok.

Another thing I've noticed is that some things that come new with paint on them don't have proper prep work done prior to the paint. The paint it comes with is simply a temporary rust barrier, and if bumped the paint chips or flakes off very easily. Some new things I've actually sanded the as-arrived paint off and prepped, primed and painted it again so I knew what quality of paint was on the part. Even the exposed bolt heads & nuts need some sort of paint or they will rust or corrode within a year or two - unless they're stainless steel.

Just my 2 cents,
BarnieTrk

Post by **Greg D** » January 16, 2011, 2:14 pm

IMHO the black pan will look fine on it - will go with the brackets & pulleys. I would have left the timing cover bare aluminum if I'd had a cabinet to bead blast it. I prefer the bright Ford blue myself.
Some claim Eastwood's Diamond Clear does not yellow - I can't personally verify this though. I can vouch for the quality they claim with those products I have used though.
I will have black brackets an a bare aluminum alternator. Jury is still out on the air cleaner & valve covers though - the ones on it are not staying.
What I have so far;

Valve covers I am considering;

Not necessarily in this order but I am leaning towards the Black Proforms with the red lettering - depends on the air cleaner I choose.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-Rac ... ccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1964-85- ... ccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Proform- ... ccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/302-351w ... ccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/289-302- ... ccessories

Air cleaner (and that wingnut) if I go with either of the Proforms;

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-Rac ... 4cf4567e0a

Johnny Canuck · Post by **Johnny Canuck** » January 16, 2011, 2:40 pm

!!! i thought you figured them great Windsor motors were faulty, Greg!!

even if they built Y blocks in Windsor too...

CoralRed · Post by **CoralRed** » January 16, 2011, 6:15 pm

Hey Dion,
I always like to use flat or at least low-gloss black, especially on a modified motor- I want to get rid of the heat. Headers and exhaust can use silver 'cause you want the heat to go out the end. Just my 2 cents...

Post by **Greg D** » January 16, 2011, 6:44 pm

Johnny Canuck wrote:!!! i thought you figured them great Windsor motors were faulty, Greg!!
even if they built Y blocks in Windsor too...

You are mixed up JC - it's Lyman that doesn't like 302s.
I am pretty fond of the roller cam engines, not as much with the earlier ones. The Boss 302 makes a miserable street engine as I've probably said - maybe that's what you are thinking of?
I just prefer "out of the box" stuff - that and a Y Block sounds way cooler than a 5.0. This ended up in the truck because it was less hassle & $ to freshen up than the 292s I have. It will also be easier to add A/C etc to. Since this truck is a Restomod it will get some creature comfort updates that would have been a tad tricky with the traditional or not at all theme of the Uni.
To be honest - the real reason I bought the 64 was so I would have something to put the tires & wheels on. I had decided to run full Moon discs on the Uni to better fit it's theme. I know that sounds sort of nuts but I had more money in the tires & wheels than I paid for the 64. I wouldn't have gotten 1/2 what I had in them selling them either - even with less than 1000 miles on them. I like them too much to sell them anyway.

weezle · Post by **weezle** » January 16, 2011, 6:58 pm

qwertyd10n wrote:
weezle wrote:Last engine I painted up was in corporate blue, natural aluminum intake & valve covers, painted the water pump & oil pan with hi-temp aluminum colored paint, pulleys I left black, and painted the brackets with a cast iron colored paint to give it some contrast...It looked real sharp.
Any chance you have a pic or two Matt?

Cheers,
Dion

Wish I did, Dion...All I can say is that it looked really tasteful.

flareside64 · Post by **flareside64** » January 16, 2011, 7:07 pm

Here is a picture of my 445 stroker. this is when I first installed it and got it running.. everythings a bit more cleaned up and organized now.....I do have to find a way to keep the heads and intake from yellowing...they yellowed immediatley.

qwertyd10n · Post by **qwertyd10n** » January 16, 2011, 8:25 pm

Looks good Travis!

Did the heads and intake yellow because you cooated them with something?

Cheers,
Dion

flareside64 · Post by **flareside64** » January 16, 2011, 8:54 pm

Thanks Dion. I didnt coat them with anything so the Michigan moisture yellowed them... Not really bad, but they dont look as good as when they were new. I plan on getting some small buffers and polish for a die grinder and try and see if i can make them look better. I didnt know they even had a coating available to withstand the high temps. I also didnt know when i built the engine that the engine parts would yellow the way they did...now i know...lol....any engine i build in the future will be fully painted!

BMJ's 65 · Post by **BMJ's 65** » January 16, 2011, 9:22 pm

Flat black,,,,,,, All flat black with silver accents.