General Paint for engine tinware

[PointFiveO]

Maybe a bit of a stupid question but was thinking of repainting the tinware of my engine/fan shroud when it is off the engine as it is a bit chipped and has some surface rust. I was wondering what type of paint would be best given the heat in the engine bay. Was thinking off using some type of hammerite in a spray can if such a thing existed. Any suggestions would be greatly received.

Thanks,

Colm.

 

[Ziggy122]

Dont ask me how i ended up here

Anyway - you may find that Standard paint Will be nice at first, but the heat will quiet quickly Make it fade and look tacky very quickly

You need a Good clean preped surface and Some high temperature paint

Easily got of the bay and halfrauds

Ziggy

 

[the hobbler]

Hi Colm;
With regard to painting the 'tinware' on your engine, have you considered getting it powder-coated; you won't have to worry about heat discolouring that way and it will be a constant smooth finish as the first operation when powder-coating is that it is dipped and cleaned.

 

[Bambino]

Got mine powder coated black - no problems so far.

Chris

 

[Ziggy122]

Well since Powder coating is set using heat
More heat wont hurt it

Defo +1

Only problem with powdercoating is tho - bolt holes will need cleaning out, they get magically a lil smaller
Either a quick blitz with a drill in holes
Or tap and die to clean the holes out properly

Or just man the screws back in

Ziggy

 

[PointFiveO]

Thanks all for the replies , it seems powder coating instead of painting is whats generally recommended.

Colm.

 

[RogerNZ]

Hi Colm, I have just used a form of powdercoat on all the engine shrouds for my 500d/126 conversion. From surfing the web it seems Most people use a bright red or black, but I went for a "hammerite" finish that I think looks great. It should also in theory help reduce noise as the wrinkle finish should reduce vibration. Haha, that's the theory, doubt anyone will ever notice! Anyway, keep an eye on my rebuild thread, which has just been made a sticky. I'll be posting pics in a few days.
Cheers Roger

 

[PointFiveO]

Hi Roger, thanks for that, just wondering is powder coating expensive to do or time consuming. Not really the type who wants the engine bay to look like you could eat your dinner off it but there is some chipping and surface rust in places so just wanted to improve it before having it reassembled. To that end I was thinking if painting was a creditable alternative that I could do myself quickly I would do it as opposed to leaving it in somewhere for powder coating and waiting another week or so to collect it.

Colm.

 

[MattGibson]

Colm,

I asked my local garage and they quoted £50 for powder coating the tinware. Not sure if this is reasonable or not though.

Matt

 

[PointFiveO]

Thanks Matt, sounds reasonable enough. Just have to source places to do it now.

Thanks,

Colm.

 

[the hobbler]

Hi Colm:---there are 7 companies in Ireland who do powder coating--2 in Dublin and 1 in each of Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford--hope this helps you. I don't think you will regret getting the tin-ware p-coated

 

[PointFiveO]

Thanks for the input, I'll look up the relevant places. Just looking at pics the tinware isn't so bad, still it would be nice to have a refresh to go with the rebuild. Does the carburettor housing and lid also get powder coated and what have people done with their cylinder head valve covers to freshen them up?

Thanks,

Colm.

 

[the hobbler]

Hi Colm;
My suggestion would be to get the shrouds and air-filter parts powder- coated. I would take advice from the coaters regarding the casting that bolts onto the top of the carb as it seems to be a very weird alloy. ( I think the trade name is '****-alloy')--I personally would fit an Abarth alloy rocker cover, but if you retain the tin cover, get that powder-coated as well

 

[RogerNZ]

Hi Colm, here is a pic of the "hamme finish" powdercoat that I used for my engine tinware. It lasts basically forever so well worth it in my opinion.
Cheers Roger

 

[littlemouse]

Another way to get good results on the tinware is to use Tractor enamel, i went to my local Massey Fergeson dealer for the red, its available in 2.5 litre tins, you can get a realy good finish with a good quality brush, it seems to flow out and you end up with a realy nice smooth glossy finish or if you thin it out you can spray it on. 3 years on and its still as good as the day i applied it, i assume because it tractor enamel its also heat resistant

If you want a less vibrant colour they also have a nice mid grey colour called Stoneleigh Grey, which looks great and almost looks like it came out of the factory in that colour

 

[SPA]

My tinware is red. Appears the same red that I see on other engines. Is there a 'standard' colour that anyone can advise of? I only need to paint some of the sections.
Mind you - there's a lot of leaning towards powder coating..?

 

[Bleeding Knuckles]

My tinware is red. Appears the same red that I see on other engines. Is there a 'standard' colour that anyone can advise of? I only need to paint some of the sections.
Mind you - there's a lot of leaning towards powder coating..?

Hi SPA, I went for 'Traffic red' an in your face bright red - RAL colour 3020. For the price of powder coating it's more durable and won't flake like paint in the heat of the engine bay
Ian.

 

[berkeleyman]

please be aware that the tinware must be perfectly clean before powder coating, preferably by soda blasting then pre treating with an acid cleaner and some kind of zinc or iron phosphate. the powder coating will otherwise just drop off. Also note that if a very light colour is used (unlikely) the heat from the engine could possibly darken the coating in hot spot areas. Other than these points powder coating is an excellent choice

 

[SPA]

Powder coating it is probably going to be then... Thanks for the advice.