I wanted to powder coat the engine tins myself but some of the pieces are pretty large.
And I wanted to be able to do my steelies as well.

So I had a 48"X30"X30" gang box in my backyard taking up space.

I bought a old working electric oven from a local scrapyard for $10 and it worked.
Pulled the guts out of it for the demonstration.

First I built a "core skeleton" to hold the inner box and the coils:


It's useable space will be 18" X 18" X 36".
Then I lined it with aluminum foil and 2X layers of R13 fiberglass with the paper removed.



Then I finished out the box and installed the coils:



Finally I made a hollow metal box for a lid and packed it with more fiberglass and finished:



It works for a couple of first runs, but the heating is way too extreme when the coils turn full on.
I expected this behavior because the oven has almost zero thermal mass inside the oven cavity.
So I will install a thermal shield over the coils out of steel plate (like 3/8" or so).
That should slow the response time of the oven and give a much more control-able temp.

I also ordered some 240V Solid State relays.
I'll stick a raspberry pi to it with a temp sensor and allow it to control the coils with wifi access and control.
I also have a temp datalogging capability I will incorporate.

I will post some pics of doing my engine tins. They are stripped ready for me to decide what color I want to do them in.
I have stock-like Matte Black, Semi-Gloss Black.
I also have clearcoat, and "Black Chrome" which is really just a smoky, highgloss clearcoat.

So I am considering putting that or clear over the stripped clean metal engine tins.
I like the look of the bare metal scrubbed clean.
Even with the imperfections and few bits of rusty patches, it looks kind of "steam-punk" and I might go with it.
I'll post some pics of the tins soon.

Nice job! McMark also built his own oven. He left it behind when he went to Michigan. I wonder if he'll build another?

Here are the engine tins:






The rear one is the only one that has had a final prep.

So what does everyone think of just giving these main tins basically a clear coat to keep that raw look?

And for the careful observers, yes my tins have been modified.
1 - I have an access hole to allow me to get to spark plug#3 for a CHT probe
2 - I have cutouts on each side of the engine to clear my suspension pickup point supports

Love the suspension cutouts.


No it's here.

Wood framing, mineralwool insulation. And I've had it beyond 700-degress (by accident) without issue, though I do not recommend it.

I used a couple controller modules and 220v relays off eBay to add temp control and power timer.

But I'm thinking about selling it since blasting and applying powder takes quite a long time and for me I'm not sure the cost-benefit works out the right way.

Very nice!

Did you chemically strip the pieces?
Good job. Nice build

I stripped the pieces with Zep purple degreaser at high concentration.
Soaking each piece for a few hours with a heater in the tank stripped almost all of the original paint.
Final prep was a wire wheel on a 4" grinder or green scrub pads.

How do you think the tins will look with the bare metal and clear coat?
I thought it would brighten up the engine bay a little more than the boring black.

Did a search...you've been working on this project awhile!

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...;hl=chrome+tins

I saw some chrome tins once, did not look good in my opinion. See the thread for some great painted solutions.

I had forgotten about that thread.
Back then I used rattle can paint and found that it just wiped right off if it got gasoline on the tins.
Now that I had the engine out again I decided to do it right this time.

What about color matched to the paint job?

Funny you mention that. I also got "Kawasaki Ninja green" powder coat.
So the thought HAD crossed my mind.

Too matchy-match for me. Plus engine's are dirty places. If you coat it green, you better love spending time cleaning, or not be OCD.

The quality and durability of a paint coating application is not only the quality of material but also priming and surface preparation. Prolly don't need to tell you that.

An $8 rattle can paint job is in no way comparable to a high quality application using quality materials and workmanship. I have seen powder coatings fail too. Must check all the boxes to get it right.

It might look very cool
I would hold the on the motor or engine bay and view first.
But I like the idea

I have a bare motor in the middle of my garage if you need as a point of reference