Engine: To paint or not to paint??

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iswenson
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Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by iswenson »

So I have my engine out of the frame as I was replacing swingarm + linkage bearings, replacing the piston, and painting the frame. Engine parts look kinda beat up. I am struggling with whether I should paint the engine, and if I do, what is the best way to accomplish this. I am not going to split the cases! I was thinking of getting everything put back together on the engine (cylinder head + all covers + gaskets) masking all the important stuff, then painting the entire engine w/ 3 coats of engine enamel gunmetal gray with 1 or 2 topcoats of clear.

What are all of your thoughts, or if you have done this, any helpful tips would be appreciated. Oh and pictures are worth 1000 words.

Thanks
newbbewb
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Re: Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by newbbewb »

IMO, paint on the engine will just look worse after a bit of time as it flakes off. It's damn near impossible to get the engine clean enough (dirt and especially oils) to make the paint stick for the long term. I've tried it a couple of times and vowed never to do it again. Powdercoating is the only real solution, and you must crack the cases to do that.

aside from that, simple green and a wire brush will do wonders, as will an ELECTRIC pressure washer, NOT a gas powered, to keep everything clean.

Once you have everything clean get this stuff here, I'm sure you could find it on the shelf next to magic
http://www.silkoleneusa.com/img.aspx?OBJ_ID=1048960
93 kdx200-Highly modified
89 kx125/kdx200E engine
Buelldustin@gmail.com
royadams
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Re: Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by royadams »

Image[/URL][/img]
I painted mine with brake caliper paint. I soda blasted it and put a couple coats on. Its been 6 mos. And still looks great. Not even worn on clutch or fly wheel cover. I think less is more in this case. If you scratch it the more on will show worse
iswenson
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Re: Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by iswenson »

newbbewb,

good info. I have used degreaser + elbow grease, but I think I will get a few wire brushes and go to work on the cases to get them shining,

Royadams,

looks exactly like what I want to do. Did you soda blast with the engine together, or did you have the cases apart and do each part individually? Same with the engine; did you assembly the entire thing then paint (of course masking off some areas). I would use engine enamel paint (probably the same color as yours) and try doing a good bit of LIGHT coats.

Thanks guys
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scheckaet
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Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by scheckaet »

i ve used high temp engine enamel (with the proper primer) when i rebuilt mine and it still looks good 3 years later. I cleaned the motor the best i could (soap, wire brush,lot elbow grease, brake / carb cleaner and degreaser. Masked everything then applied 3-4 coats.
Soda blast, walnut blast or any other "gentle" blasting will do a great job and make it easier on your elbow if you have a good compressor, you can make (or buy) a cheapo that'll be good enough...
iswenson
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Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by iswenson »

Thanks. Can you please comment on whether I can do this with the engine assembled?

thanks
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Julien D
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Re: Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by Julien D »

We sprayed my buddies YZ250 engine gunmetal gray. Still looks awesome a couple years later. We did it with the engine assembled, and intake/exhaust taped up. Hung the whole thing up by the head and sprayed.
Image
Image
iswenson
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Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by iswenson »

JulienD that does look awesome. Was that engine enamel or VHT??
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Julien D
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Re: Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by Julien D »

Engine enamel, I believe.
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royadams
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Re: Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by royadams »

I did mine assembled. I just taped up all the holes and soda blasted it.a cheap blaster from harbor freight and a couple boxes of cheap baking soda , and a can of brake caliber paint. And I was done in less than hour.
iswenson
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Re: Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by iswenson »

Yea I am going to do it. I will take some pictures (before + after). Thank you for your input everyone.
iswenson
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Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by iswenson »

So I got around to getting the engine back together + repainting. New wiseco piston, RB head + Carb, plus I repainted. Thanks to slick_nick for the great idea of painting the oil level marks + highlighting the KIPS on the right KIPS cover. Next up is the frame, which I bought a dark aluminum metallic rustoluem paint for, however, after seeing the white frame a few posts ago I am reconsidering. Thoughts on the white frame guys???

Anyways here are some pictures:


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Here is the bike how I got her (DIRTY!!)

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Close-up of the engine

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Why the engine came out of the frame! Ran fine with that much skirt missing! New wiseco in there now

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Crazy, but the cylinder was fine. Light scratching but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary.

After I got the new piston in and received the head back from RB-Designs, I cleaned everything vigorously with GUNK engine degreaser. Then I went to town with a SST wirebrush on my handrill. Really took off a lot of the dirt + crud. Engine looked pretty good then, but I decided to go the paint route (HENCE THE THREAD). I got engine enamel primer + DE aluminum. I did 3 coats primer and 3 coats of the aluminum. All coats I did VEEERRY lightly. I have a tendancy to want to put more on, but I realized that its better to go light than just gob it on. After I let it dry for 24 hours, I used touch up enamel paint to highlight the KIPS, oil level, oil capacity, and the displacement of the engine. I am going to go over it again with engine enamel clear topcoat in a week when everything is cured. Take a look at the results:

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Imagehttp://s1286.photobucket.com/user/kdxki ... ort=3&o=11[/img]
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Here is where the frame is. I am still having a hard time getting the linkage bolt out. May have to cut it.

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Anywho, thanks for looking. Let me know what you guys think about how to paint the frame.

Ian / kdxkid
iswenson
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Re: Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by iswenson »

oh crap....what did I do wrong w/ the photos????!?!?
royadams
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Re: Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by royadams »

Looking good.heres a pic of mine with the white frame.Image[/URL] [/img]
iswenson
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Re: Engine: To paint or not to paint??

Post by iswenson »

quick question... why didn't those pictures come up. DIG the white frame!
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