Topic: positioning engine while painting

[exdrocca]

I know this topic has been beatin to death, but I didn't see anything about how to postion the engine while painting. I mean, do you rest it on one side, paint it, let it dry, move engine to other side and paint other side? Just unsure on how to go about it.

[kettlesd]

Thats pretty much it if you just have it sitting on a bench. No big deal really - just takes a bit longer to do because you have to let it dry, and you have to be careful when overlapping your dried sections with your new spray to avoid lines.

I know some guys have done a great job of fashioning engine stands of some sort using the stock engine mounts, and some rather sommon stuff around the shop. Then you could paint all sides at once.

[grumburg]

I used a plastic milkcrate. Placed upside down with engine upside down and vice versa. Very stable. Painted bottom of engine first, Let dry for 1 hour, Flipped and did top. Could not be happier.

[spitfire]

I used pieces of wood to support the engine and just moved it around on the bench to paint the various sections, front, back, underneath, no problem as long as the masking is good.

Cheers

Den

[Terry in Australia]

Well I just finished painting my racer engine this weekend, (don't bother commenting on the side engine covers, rocker cover etc, they're just there 'cos I'm too lazy to mask them all off, I've got nice ones to go on later) and I just sat the engine on my hydraulic trolley on a couple of pieces of 2x4 to keep it steady, etch primed it, then hit it with the engine enamel.

I got everything without having to move it bar the sump plate, but once again, that will be painted seperately, off the bike. Cheers, Terry.

[grumburg]

Terry, lookin good. Almost as good as those nice, green trees. Winter sucks.

[Rsnip988]

aw the side covers and rocker covers look good the same color as everything else Terry, now if you would paint your wheels the same color too we could match 

\(don't bother commenting they're just there 'cos I'm too lazy to mask them all off

my feeling exactly

[exdrocca]

(don't bother commenting on the side engine covers, rocker cover etc, they're just there 'cos I'm too lazy to mask them all off, I've got nice ones to go on later)

Actually, I'm really liking how it looks. I'd really like everything to be one color. How's that paint holding up on all the covers? Did you just give it a quick sanding?

[Terry in Australia]

The trick with painting alloy is you gotta make sure that it is spotless and oil free before you paint it, I just use turpentine, it's a brilliant degreaser and once wiped off, you can paint straight over it.

Then get some zinc-rich "etch primer" on it, this stuff chemically etches the surface of the metal and provides a "key" for the paint to adhere to. Those sidecovers will be just as durable as the engine cases, but I'll take them off when the engine is in the frame, to save scratching the polished and clear coated covers that will go on it then. Cheers, Terry.

[sparty]

Well I just finished painting my racer engine this weekend, (don't bother commenting on the side engine covers, rocker cover etc, they're just there 'cos I'm too lazy to mask them all off, I've got nice ones to go on later) and I just sat the engine on my hydraulic trolley on a couple of pieces of 2x4 to keep it steady, etch primed it, then hit it with the engine enamel.

I got everything without having to move it bar the sump plate, but once again, that will be painted seperately, off the bike. Cheers, Terry.

terry,

I thought that you were painting that engine PINK!

Nice job anyway...

Sparty

[Terry in Australia]

terry,

I thought that you were painting that engine PINK!

Nice job anyway...

Sparty

Them's fighting words Sparty! (I think?) 

[sparty]

terry,

I thought that you were painting that engine PINK!

Nice job anyway...

Sparty

Them's fighting words Sparty! (I think?) 

we love ya Terry no matter what people say about you.  When will the project be finished?  I would like to feature your bike in my CBs Around The World Calendar, if you are interested...

Sparty

[Terry in Australia]

terry,

I thought that you were painting that engine PINK!

Nice job anyway...

Sparty

Them's fighting words Sparty! (I think?) 

we love ya Terry no matter what people say about you.  When will the project be finished?  I would like to feature your bike in my CBs Around The World Calendar, if you are interested...

Sparty

Ha ha, nah mate, it'll never be finished! But having said that, it'll be on the road (registered that is) by the end of this week, and I hope to have the racer engine in it before the 24th (Phillip Island Classic) so I can kick Andre's F1 on the trip there and back, then I'm gonna get the K2 frame powder coated and slide the engine and all the shiny bits into that one, and THEN I'll start back on the racer project. Still, the K1 "Power-Kruiser" will be available for your photographic pleasure, of course! Cheers, Terry.  

[hondachopproject]

Terry,
What kind of exhaust are those? Do the come in the 550 version?

[Terry in Australia]

Terry,
What kind of exhaust are those? Do the come in the 550 version?

G'Day mate, they're 1970's era accessory mufflers, when the OEM mufflers rusted out (about two weeks after the factory warranty expired) you'd just hacksaw the mufflers off the headers and slide these on. The header pipes came with this set that I bought from a member here on Ebay, and they're better than the ones on my stock bike, ha ha! I imagine that they'd fit a 550, if you could find a set? Cheers, Terry.

[Rsnip988]

Then get some zinc-rich "etch primer" on it, this stuff chemically etches the surface of the metal and provides a "key" for the paint to adhere to.  Cheers, Terry.

is that high heat primer or just regular self etching primer, the shops around here sell either "high heat primer" or "Self etching primer" but i havent seen any that are both, is there one or did you just use the reg etcher.


sorry for my confusion

[hondachopproject]

The trick with painting alloy is you gotta make sure that it is spotless and oil free before you paint it, I just use turpentine, it's a brilliant degreaser and once wiped off, you can paint straight over it.
 Cheers, Terry.

Terry,
And to clear up my confusion,
You just cleaned the engine with turpentine? No bead blasting or anything else? No problem spraying the primer over the old clear coat or finish on the engine?
Thanks,
Lee

[Rsnip988]

the terpentine should dissolve the clearcoat, as its a paint thinner, at least i think thats what he meant

[Terry in Australia]

Sorry guys, I just used turps as a degreaser, if I soaked the engine in the stuff it'd remove the finish, like Richard suggests. I just put some in a little spray bottle, (an old "Windex" bottle, in fact) and squirted the stuff on, then brushed it around with a cheap paint brush to loosen the crud, then rinsed the swill off with more turps, then wiped it down with a clean rag.

Richard, the "etch primer" is just that, a zinc rich etch primer, not a special heat resistant primer, but it's so good that I painted my F2 headers a few years ago, and the bloody VHT 1200 deg F paint that I used has pretty much burned off, but the etch primer below, is still there! The main thing with an etch primer is you only need to "fog" the stuff on, so you don't put on layer after layer, or it'll just burn off. Cheers, Terry.

[Rsnip988]

thank you terry