Advice on Engine painting

Mallard

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I have a water-cooled Yamaha FZR600R that needs an engine repaint with silver VHT paint. It doesn’t take much searching to realise there are lots of VHT paints on the market. Simoniz and Tech-cote get a few mentions.

I think I would prefer spray to brush, so that reduces the choice slightly.

One big criticism I’ve noticed is that some paints don’t seem to dry and the paint can rub off. They need to be cured. I’ve heard of heat-guns being used, but that sounds a bit like trying to wipe an elephant’s arse with a tealeaf. I can’t imagine getting an engine up to anything that resembles a working temperature with a hand held heat-gun.

Painting an engine in a relatively cold garage at this time of year doesn’t sound like a good idea, but I need to push-on with this rebuild. Or should I leave it till things warm up?

Can anyone give me the benefit of their experience and (hopefully) success? I know several people have posted their engine repaint projects, but I can’t seem to find one at the moment. Perhaps someone to post a link?
 
Tech-cote silver and satin black high temp paint both worked well for me on my 1150SE rebuild. I found that an etch primer undercoat really helped with the finish.

I did try smoothrite (shit) and some self branded stuff from Lidl (also shit).

You don’t need the very high temp stuff, anything good up to 300C is fine.

Get it in front of a fan heater to drive the moisture off if you must spray it now. Personally I’d leave it to a warm day but who knows when the next one of those will be!
 
Leave the parts to be painted, and the paint in the house for a day to get them up to room temperature. Warm the garage up, preferably with an oil filled rad, (fan heater will blow dust around too much). If the parts are small enough to fit in the oven you can cure them at a low temp in there.
 
Leave the parts to be painted, and the paint in the house for a day to get them up to room temperature. Warm the garage up, preferably with an oil filled rad, (fan heater will blow dust around too much). If the parts are small enough to fit in the oven you can cure them at a low temp in there.

Your divorced now aren't you? :)
 
Surely that’s not grounds for divorce? Now, curing painted parts in the kitchen oven- that’s a different matter m’lud.

I think that's exactly what he was suggesting.

There was an excellent thread a year or two ago about cleaning things like engine cases in the kitchen dishwasher.

Works very well, apparently...!
 
I've painted LOADS of engines.

But it really does depend on how you're doing it. Are you disassembling the motor ? Really that's the only way to get a proper professional finish. Have them all vapour blasted. Then you might as well give the cases to a power coater or proper painted to use 2-pac paint. But costs are really mounting now.

If you're not even taking the engine out of the frame, just stop now and forget about it. It's a pointless and impossible task that will make more mess than it's worth and your paint will fall off as it will be impossible to prep.

I'm going to assume you're taking the engine out of the frame.

Then you'll have to drain all fluids and plug all oil passages (I use silicone taper bungs).

Put the motor on wooden blocks and clean it with Brake/Clutch cleaner. Using a tooth brush and Brake cleaner spray bottle (pressurised).

You then need to sand it down with a dremel, sandpaper etc. You need to get in every nook and cranny. (This will take HOURS). I use a 240v Die variable speed die grinder with an assortment of 6mm wire brush fittings.

Choice of paint ???

Good old Hammerite Smooth does a good job. It's easy to apply, cheap enough and you don't need an undercoat or laquer. It's not the most durable but it's REALLY easy to touch up. If you get a scratch or chip, just sand back , mask and touch up. You can keep bike parts looking like new FOREVER with this method. It's fine in high temperatures.

Proper VHT paints look great. They need a primer, base and lacquer. And yes, they DO need to be hardened at 80c-100c I use the oven when the wife is out for smaller parts. The smell goes in a few hours. You can use a heat gun (tricky) or just the heat of the engine.

These paints are brittle though. They chip easily and are no more resistant to fuel/solvents than Hammerite. I've tried them all.

Personally, I would use Hammerite if it's just your own bike due to the ease application and the ease of touching it up.

So basically, if you're doing a amateur DIY job without experience of painting, you might as well use Hammerite Smooth.

If you want a professional job that will last years, get saving and pay a professional to do it.
 
Thanks for all that MotoR. I think you just about covered it (just had to get that pun in! :D )

This will be an amateur DIY job to spruce up the motor and give me a bit of experience & (hopefully) satisfaction. The engine will be out but not stripped. I realise that any paint job can only be as good as the preparation that goes into it. Not bothered how long it takes to clean, scrub up, or prep. To me Hammerite sounds the best option as I've only got a small heat gun for curing and if things finished up in the oven, it would more than likely lead to murder (mine that is!) rather than divorce.
 


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