Painting my motor??

[dezmitchell]

i have seen a few guys on here do it (or atleast i think its painted...either that or its a midnight special)....Advise? do? Donts?

Will this effect cooling at all ?? i know paint can act as a bit of a insulator? i just want to paint the cylinders and the head black then polish down the fins ......Was going to paint other things to like the clutch cover,starter cover,stator cover, and the valve cover but i dont thing these things would effect anything im more concerned about the cylinders and cooling.

I use xtreme heat header paint ....It held up fine on the sled and i run EGTS so i know it was running up to 1375F i dont think the xs would get anywhere near that.

[James England]

The black colour should improve cooling actually, as black dissipates heat better (eg most stoves are black....). The UK bikes have all black engines with the edges of the fins filed to aluminium. An excellent aerosol finish is obtained with PJ1 Satin Black Case Paint. I don't know if this is available in the US but it gives a 99.9% factory finish which is absolutely heatproof to any level of heat which the motor can develop. Once applied correctly, it never ever comes off. I've used it for 25 years.

[Shacknasty]

One of the best engine paints I have used in a rattle can is sold at Harley dealers, about $20 a can. You can get it in wrinkle or regular surface. I have also had good results with VHT and Duplicolor available almost anywhere. Good prep and a bake in the oven afterwards to cure.

[Jamie]

I too recently contemplated what paint when it came to the engine. Mine is a XJ1100 and thought I might go with black and sand the fins (the shop also stated the black would dissipate heat better). Anyway, I went back and forth and decided to go with the gray/silver powdercoat. Came out better than I'd hoped. All the motor covers (ie, clutch, breather, stator, etal) are polished so this should look pretty good (I hope). LOL

[Shacknasty]

Very nice job, sir. The charcoal grey on the cylinders came out real nice. Let's see that thang all put together.

What kinda paint did you use?

[Jamie]

That is all "high temp" powdercoating. Local race shop does a lot of motors for guys and suggested black to dissipate heat better, but like I said before changed my mind at the last minute. This is a motor that's going under a re-build with a 1196 Wiseco kit, so temps may get high, but a lockhart cooler is being run also. Time will tell.

[James England]

That is a lovely job. Really impressive.

[ManagerMike]

I did mine with duplicolor 'GM low gloss black' engine enamel off the shelf at the Napa store. I'm quite satisfied. 6 or 7 bucks a can and one can did the job with three coats, them I removed it from the fins.