Paint vs Powder coat

I'm in the process of finding a machine shop to go thru my engine because it went for a swim when my barn flooded. Everything looks good inside surprisingly. But the rings were slightly stuck.

So the plan is to freshen it up and get some color on it. I'm toying with the idea of matching the body color. I'm also trying to decide if I should paint this or send it to get powder coat. Have any of you gotten your engine PC before?

New2me said:

I'm also trying to decide if I should paint this or send it to get powder coat. Have any of you gotten your engine PC before?

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I think it'd be OK. Just be sure that any "soft" parts - gaskets, seals, etc - are removed before it goes into the oven.

I have had Harley engine powder coated. Every gasket surface must be protected from powder coating. All bolt holes must be sealed also. It is a bit of a pain to do, but looks good. Paint is fast, easy and is a lot less cost.

Spanky said:

I think it'd be OK. Just be sure that any "soft" parts - gaskets, seals, etc - are removed before it goes into the oven.

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Yeah I wouldn't want melted seals in there. The more I'm reading on here and the web, the more I'm leaning away from PC on the engine. It will be easier to just paint before assembly. But that's another thing for me to address. Deciding on paint scheme for the engine.

choppedtop said:

I have had Harley engine powder coated. Every gasket surface must be protected from powder coating. All bolt holes must be sealed also. It is a bit of a pain to do, but looks good. Paint is fast, easy and is a lot less cost.

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Less cost? I was always told it would be more than traditional paint. In fact the only reason I'm considering PC for the car is a friend of a friend is willing to do it essentially for cost because he's a hobbyist.

The axles and frame are the main things I wanted PC.

Grease is the enemy. My PC guy that did my tank said any grease killed the finish so a full degrease is needed. His pet hate was motorcycle frame headstocks...
people ALWAYS left grease in them


Dont forget there is thousands of different finishes around for PC including chrome and brass.

The tank looks good Gerry!

I think that I said paint was less cost. I can paint an engine for less than 20 bucks. I think the Harley engine was around 150.00m plus several hours of labor getting it ready. Hard to imagine the labor in doing a complete auto engine.

Have to agree with choppedtop.
Although the awesome factor of having it chromed like Gerry's second picture would be like turning up to 11...
If you want to turn heads and win trophies, that might be the way to go...
Depends on how much money and time you want to spend.

Don't forget that your local paint company can match a quart can of White Motor Coater with whatever your color is.
I am a big fan of enamels mainly because:
1. No heat problems (high temp enamel just gets harder with time)
2. Easy clean up (or clean off, in my case...)

I just had a couple of grills powder coated for my 46. They were done in a stainless finish, and look great. They had a chrome, but I was afraid it would look like fake chrome. He did show me some he had just done when I picked up my grills, and it really was impressive. They have a new chrome powder coming in so I will take a look at it for future projects. Oh ya, this guy also primes every thing before the pc color goes on.

choppedtop said:

I think that I said paint was less cost. I can paint an engine for less than 20 bucks. I think the Harley engine was around 150.00m plus several hours of labor getting it ready. Hard to imagine the labor in doing a complete auto engine.

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You are correct, I miss read the original post.

I'm going to stick with traditional paint for the engine/ trans. Its cheaper, easier and I have everything I need to do the job.

PC would look nice but this is not going to be a show car. Often I need to talk thru things to get back to reality.

How many of you guys painted your engine to match the body? I have 3 color configurations floating around in my head .

1. Block painted to match the body with accessories chrome or polished.

2. Block painted black with accessories painted to match body.

3. Block black with chrome or polished accessories.

One of the things I'm concerned about is paint chipping during assembly and having to try touching it up. The car will be Harley red metallic.

I'm old school, and the hot rods of my youth had engines that were black or red, or Chevy orange mostly. I painted my engine rattle-can red to contrast with the yellow body color. Just my preference.

My personal preference is anything subtle that compliments the chassis color.
My block was that horrendous "Chevy Orange" when I got it (not a fan... can you tell?).
I first tried "Classic Ford Red", which, to my eye, has a bit of maroon in it.
Talk about ugly... even my gf said upon seeing it"Well, that looks pretty awful..."... yipes.
Then I got a quart of "Fire Red" and it was just right.
So far I've never had anyone mention the differences... either out of courtesy or because I appear intimidating... not sure.
Since I have no desire for trophies or awards, I wasn't concerned with those details.

I actually have 3 different colors on Lizzy (as the purists reel in horror...), not counting the gloss black enamel firewall.
On a side note: I am colorblind to certain hues, mainly blues and greens (which are very hard for me to discern), so that's why I chose red.
The frame is Duplicolor Adonized red over the adonized metalflake base, all from rattle cans (as are the headlights and licence plate frame).
The motor, rear axle, driveshaft and front brake plates are brush-painted with Fire Red Motor Coater.
The body I did actually spray with House of Kolor Candy Apple Red over silver microflake. (I like that sparkle when she's in the sun... )
I wasn't trying to draw attention to any one part of the car... trying rather to blend everything with nothing sticking out.

Looks great to me.

My car will be very similar color to Bad Bob's so it makes a great example to see the color combo. Spanky, I think the color contrast works real good with yellow. If it was black then it would loose a lot of character.

The one thing that I am most concerned about with the engine paint is ruining it paint if I have to repair something. That's one reason the powder coat got tossed out the picture. Hopefully I never have to do anything with the engine other than plugs and Oil but we all know stuff happens.

New2me said:

My car will be very similar color to Bad Bob's so it makes a great example to see the color combo. Spanky, I think the color contrast works real good with yellow. If it was black then it would loose a lot of character.

The one thing that I am most concerned about with the engine paint is ruining it paint if I have to repair something. That's one reason the powder coat got tossed out the picture. Hopefully I never have to do anything with the engine other than plugs and Oil but we all know stuff happens.

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That's one thing I love about enamel... easy repair of "boo-boo's".
I have dinged up the top of my back axle multiple times from getting the rear spring in and out.
All I have to do is wipe the ding, sand it a with a little 220 sandpaper and use a flux brush to dab more on...
The stuff flows and levels just fine... and dries to a nice gloss.
Couldn't ask for better, imho...

Looks real nice to me, good job.

On every car that I've built I paint the engine to match the interior of the car. On my T the red block matches the red interior.

Jim

I just finished painting an engine with por 15 and I was really pleased with how it went on and the coverage (1 pint 2 coats). It brushes on and flows out well. It touches up easily. The only thing I do not know is how well it will hold up.

This is por 15 engine paint. You are limited on colors. I chose MG maroon and I am having my wheels painted to match the engine color.