Powdercoating Bottom Ends

[chris 417 mi 34 2 Cars]

Want a few opinions on this before i go and do it.

 

Will be powder coating a xu10 (steel) bottom end silver as part of my 2.1 build. Just wondering if i should leave the current pistons & crank in (along with sump but no head) thus allowing me to turn it over by hand when i get it back home to make sure nothing has gone wrong before i put the new 2.1 crank in.

 

And yes i really want to powdercoat it (unless there are any major problems) as a) it keeps the engine looking that bit cleaner ( :lol:not for long in a 205 bay) and i get it cheap ( )

[EdCherry 34 1 Cars]

Id take everything out, cant see what could go wrong. Id make plates up for both the top and bottom of the block that bolt down thus stopping anything going in the oil ways/water ways/cylinders. Once its back from being cleaned and powdercoated id get an airline down all the oil ways/water ways and double check everythings clean

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Don;t do it, The amount of grit that will get into the block is just silly and will take you hours if not days to get it all out and even then you never quite know if it's all gone, Even blasting is a pain as I got a old block of mine done once and never again

[CosKev 16]

Do not get anythin blasted off the engine assembly that the grit can harm

 

Cost me ALOT of money when I had my inlet manifold powdercoated looked clean as a whistle but there was shot in the bends of inlet,fired engine up,ran for 5 mins then stalled had sucked shot in and knackered rings/pistons and liners

 

Just paint the block and any engine parts,wire brush in the drill is good enough to clean up

 

Heres my 8v after a few hours cleaning/painting

 

Edited May 29, 2009 by CosKev

[Redtop 14 2 Cars]

Why not just get it chemically cleaned? There are people out there than can do it, then put the block in what can only be described as a giant dishwasher which is full of hot water and detergent, to wash the block out. I remember seeing one at an engine tuners auction last year.

[chris 417 mi 34 2 Cars]

Ive already tried the painting route, i did my mi(see my thread from last year) and after 6 months the paint (which was silver) got quite stained with little bits of oil and crap from the roads. Ive actually got 2 blocks sat here that i can use, the one i pulled out of the 405 gti6 i had for sale is sat here all painted up and could only need the crank pistons and inlet cam swapping (for my stage 2 petert one)and its ready to go, but i thought if i give the other one a go and see what it comes out like as its just sat on a stand loking very dirty. If it goes wrong it was only like £60 for the full engine ( mate on here works in the local scrappy )

 

 

 

and coskev thats one clean engine what paint did you use on it ? ive been using the halfords type which may be where im going wrong

Edited May 30, 2009 by chris 417 mi

[Batfink 201]

if I was going to do it, then i'd get it chemically cleaned, then bolt a plate on top and bottom (sealed with gasket sealer or something) then that should stop every possibility of paint getting in..

 

Kev

[chris 417 mi 34 2 Cars]

if I was going to do it, then i'd get it chemically cleaned, then bolt a plate on top and bottom (sealed with gasket sealer or something) then that should stop every possibility of paint getting in..

 

now that sounds like a plan

[cybernck 402 1 Cars]

is it worth painting an engine?

 

sure, generally it looks really nice and tidy but what if/when it starts flaking or simply gets dirty?

[Luca 1]

CosKev that looks hot but it's impractical. Unless your car is a trailer queen and doesn't really get driven on those roads in the UK I can't see it staying like that for ever.

[chris 417 mi 34 2 Cars]

is it worth painting an engine?

 

sure, generally it looks really nice and tidy but what if/when it starts flaking or simply gets dirty?

 

Again this is why i like the powdercoating, when i used to remove my 1600 box it had veen powdercoated and took minutes to go from covered in oil to being sparkling with only needing wiping off.

[ALEX 98 1 Cars]

I've gone right off powder coating, 4 years down the line it's cost me a £70 sump as water got trapped between the coating causing it to rust through.

My rear beam tube looks as bad now than it did before I had it coated. Powder coating has very little rust prevention properties.

Lukily I left the block bare and had that bead blasted, with it stripped and the core plugs out it is possible to remove all the beads with a pressure washer! the finish is like new and you know it's not going to flake off like a paint might.

The Bead blaster says he does engine blocks all the time and sys to keep it clean spray it with WD40.

Mine sill looks alright 4 years on.

My next rebuild on MY Cti soon I'll be less interested in pretty finishes and more interested in protective coatings!

Edited June 11, 2009 by ALEX

[CosKev 16]

I've gone right off powder coating, 4 years down the line it's cost me a £70 sump as water got trapped between the coating causing it to rust through.

My rear beam tube looks as bad now than it did before I had it coated. Powder coating has very little rust prevention properties.

Lukily I left the block bare and had that bead blasted, with it stripped and the core plugs out it is possible to remove all the beads with a pressure washer! the finish is like new and you know it's not going to flake off like a paint might.

The Bead blaster says he does engine blocks all the time and sys to keep it clean spray it with WD40.

Mine sill looks alright 4 years on.

My next rebuild on MY Cti soon I'll be less interested in pretty finishes and more interested in protective coatings!

 

Powder coating lasts for years aslong as the item(your beam tube)is blasted properly and all the rust removed before painting.

 

I would say use a better powder coater if water has got between the paint and your sump.

[fast_eddie 0]

I had an A board for work powder coated and it gets knocked over, kicked etc etc and the paint that has come off has come off in peelings(almost in the same way as it would if you peeled a potato?) and has not rusted or lifted or allowed water underneath a layer. Seems very durable.

I painted my Mi block yellow using a brush and 2pac paint whilst I had the head off many years ago. As SOON as I had started doing it I knew I had made a mistake!!-What a complete and utter royal pain the arse that was!! It has all nearly flaked off now and I would never paint an aluminium block ever again. Next time, I will just get it as clean as possible and go from there.

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

A lad at work has recently finished converting his Golf Rallye from 8v to 16v s/c.

 

He had lots of parts powder coated (engine block, gearbox, subframe, wishbones etc) during the rebuild / conversion & once finished, it didn't run for long before developing problems but that was because he hadn't cleaned the earth points on the block / gearbox etc so it was trying to earth through the paint which isn't gong to happen.

 

I wouldn't bother personally, in a 205 engine bay its not that visible & although it might clean easier if it gets dirty, it also makes the gearbox slippier if its covered in oil & your removing it.

 

Graham.

[mattbenselin 0]

I've painted many parts in the past and (as said earlier) unless you either don't drive it or like to scrub your engine every week it will just get filthy and you won't know it took so long to paint in the first place. By all means clean the block (makes noticing leaks easier) or at the most give it a lick of VHT but don't go out of your way.

 

I have an 8v rocker cover powder coated black and that still looks new years on, but it is on the top of the engine so will not take the abuse the lower parts will get.