engine tin paint? Options

[KaptKaos]

Do you need to use high heat paint on your engine tin?

[DanT]

no (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[SUNAB914]

I wouldn't say you have too, but I normally do. Powder coating is great also. Good luck

[yeahmag]

I've used Rustoleum Gloss Black (Industrial) for years and years and years. No problems.

[realred914]

Rustoleum works fine, do a nice primer coat first so you get a nice smooth finish.also automotive engine paints (I think krylon has them) work they have a high gloss.

do not use the high heat paints that are for exhaust systems or Bar B Que's these paints require high heat to cure and they dry in a flat finish, which easily stains in the engine bay.

one thing that may get a bit hot for the regulkar paint is the end castings of the intake runners, seeing as these sit on the head, (even with theheat spacer) the end castings will discolor from the heat. for the 2.0 liter that is no problem leave the castings as bare aluminum only paint the pipes. for teh 1.7 the end castings are iron, so they will rust , you can live with the minor discoloration there, or paint the end castings only with high temp flat paint, frankly the discoloration wouyld look better than the flat high heat paint.


good luck have fun, dont breath the fumes!!!

[MDG]

You don't need the temp paint but . . . if you use VHT, Duplicolor and the like and have an oven or BBQ large enough; use the Satin Black and bake it - you'll end up with a very similar baked enamel finish the factory used on most of the metal parts in our cars that were finished black. No priming needed. Scuff thoroughly with a scotchbrite, clean completely with a good degreaser (regardless of how you decide to finish) and spray a few thin coats.

If you don't have anything large enough to bake it, don't bother. With the temp. paint the final finish is all in the baking. It will melt a little and produce a super smooth finish. Without the baking process the finish is like any other spray bomb.

And once it's baked and cured these paints are surprisingly tough.

[jeffdon]

I started cleaning my tins, then said the heck with it and just took it to a powder coater. Its the one thing on the car i am not cleaning/prepping/painting myself. And its really nice to drop of your ugly old tin one day, then come back in a few days to beautiful new looking tins without having to sweat over them. Cost me $150 bucks.

[tat2dphreak]

Rustoleum satin black looks great and is holding up well.. I bead blasted all the tin first though to make sure it was good and straight, no rust.

[VaccaRabite]

I used a high temp paint on mine, but you don't have to.

One thing I would suggest - don't use black. Use a paint color that is reflective and bright. The engine bay of these cars tend to be pretty dark places, and anything to reflect a little light around is going to be helpful - at the very least reduce eye strain during long wrenching or trouble shooting sessions.

Zach

[aircooledtechguy]

Powder coating is ALWAYS money well spent. Drop it off; pick it up and bolt it on. . . way more durable than paint. . . Worth every penny.

[markb]

Powder coating is ALWAYS money well spent. Drop it off; pick it up and bolt it on. . . way more durable than paint. . . Worth every penny.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

[Tom_T]

The temp to which they are subjected varies by placement - upper tins which you can see most of the time are generally cooler than the ones around the exhaust/HE's - which can get very hot. If they're doing their job, then they'll be cooler on the outside surface as they transfer & radiate the heat to the airstream.

While the CHT/Heads may run at 400+ degrees, exhaust/HE's & other parts of the case, heads, etc. can reach 700-1400 & transfer much of that to the adjacent tins - which will get hottest where they're physically attached to the motor & therefore the low temp paints can directly transfer & stick to the alloy engine parts, to give you more fun to remove at a future date.

Trouble is, since the tins are there to direct the cooling airflow, the unseen insides get much hotter than the visible outsides of the tins. My guess is that if the tins were pulled, that you might see some heat bubbling on the inner surfaces which get hottest.

IMHO - you should use hi-temp paint on these for up to 1000-1100 at least (unless you want to try to pick which ones get hot & then use low temp on the others & hope the colors match) or PC the suckers - as MDG has suggested above.

IIRC the "regular temp" Rustoleum & others available at the various Porsche & VW suppliers are good to perhaps 400-500 degrees (check labels) & use with caution on the tins.