How do i paint the INTAKE???

[92YamahaSHO]

I want to paint my intake and runners what is the best way to do this?

 

[PROPHET]

The best way is to have them off the car, clean them up real well a slight sanding have pieces hanging by wire and paint, allow to dry and give it a couple of coats.

The way it turns out is all about how much you invested in prepping.

Also use search function under painted intakes you should get a few threads with lots of pics and instructions.

Here's how mine turned out, I'd have to stress that the color combo will make or break the look no matter how well the paint turns out.

 

[Red Baron]

Looks good, Tony...

 

[sideSHO]

Tony.
You painted the intake and cam covers?
Looks really nice.
Looks as good as powder coat IMO.

 

[SinisterSHO]

Who took your battery Tony? How about this, I'll trade you a battery for your SS Can. Okay, Whats your addy so I can send the battery?

Looks great

 

[shojuan]

A lot of people will take up the argument that you get what you pay for with powerdercoating of these parts, you are getting durability and anything less isn't worth it.

Hogwash. One of my baysho friends who's also a member here (slosho89) has been painting his intakes with cheap duplicolor "Truck Van and SUV" paint for the past couple of years (he likes the Truck, Van color selection better than duplicolor's "engine paint with ceramic" line for example). His intakes look great every time I've seen them. They have held up for over a year maintaining great looks. If the paint goes bad he can repaint them. In fact, that intake is going to come off for a cleaning every few years for part of a 60K anyways, so good opportunity to spray a shiny new coat of paint on there. If the stray Berryman's messed up some of the paint, big deal. A few bucks worth of paint for a new looking intake. Compare that to somebody with closer to $100 invested in powdercoating the intake trying to keep the Berryman's from even THINKING about touching the powdercoat during a cleaning. I can't keep B12 off of the outside of an intake, with lots of black intake tar along for the ride, no matter how hard I try. Maybe some of you can. I sure as **** can't.

Moral is that cheap paint, conscientiously applied, can look as good or better than powdercoat on the intake and valve covers and hold up between maintenance intervals when you will have these parts removed for scrubbing anyways.

 

[PROPHET]

Once I had the intake and valve covers painted all the other flaws stood out more, so i removed all stickers and painted the fenderwells and like Rick said anytime I have a scratch I touch it up with some paint.

 

[revhardSHO]

A lot of people will take up the argument that you get what you pay for with powerdercoating of these parts, you are getting durability and anything less isn't worth it.

Hogwash. One of my baysho friends who's also a member here (slosho89) has been painting his intakes with cheap duplicolor "Truck Van and SUV" paint for the past couple of years (he likes the Truck, Van color selection better than duplicolor's "engine paint with ceramic" line for example). His intakes look great every time I've seen them. They have held up for over a year maintaining great looks. If the paint goes bad he can repaint them. In fact, that intake is going to come off for a cleaning every few years for part of a 60K anyways, so good opportunity to spray a shiny new coat of paint on there. If the stray Berryman's messed up some of the paint, big deal. A few bucks worth of paint for a new looking intake. Compare that to somebody with closer to $100 invested in powdercoating the intake trying to keep the Berryman's from even THINKING about touching the powdercoat during a cleaning. I can't keep B12 off of the outside of an intake, with lots of black intake tar along for the ride, no matter how hard I try. Maybe some of you can. I sure as **** can't.

Moral is that cheap paint, conscientiously applied, can look as good or better than powdercoat on the intake and valve covers and hold up between maintenance intervals when you will have these parts removed for scrubbing anyways.

You say he doenst like the Duplicolor Ceramic Engine paint? I was planning on using the stuff when I get around to painting it. Whats wrong with the stuff?

 

[DDakRT]

Tony's engine bay looks really nice, but unless you really prep and care about the paint, it won't look as good as powder.




You have to see the result of powder in person to appreciate it, the colour's so much richer, especially if you get a metallic colour.

 

[shojuan]

You say he doenst like the Duplicolor Ceramic Engine paint? I was planning on using the stuff when I get around to painting it. Whats wrong with the stuff?

I myself love the stuff. It sprays really nice and it didn't leave me with an empty can and a thought that, "wow, that was some cheap CRA P!). When I asked Efren why he likes the truck, van, and suv (and mentioned how much I liked the ceramic engine) he simply replied that he liked that color selection better.

FWIW, my only experience with said duplicolor ceramic was when I painted my rotor hats and vents and also my calipers with it. On another car I had used VHT brake caliper paint and I thought that was crap. I liked the duplicolor ceramic engine and ceramic high-heat much better on the brake parts.

 

[revhardSHO]

I myself love the stuff. It sprays really nice and it didn't leave me with an empty can and a thought that, "wow, that was some cheap CRA P!). When I asked Efren why he likes the truck, van, and suv (and mentioned how much I liked the ceramic engine) he simply replied that he liked that color selection better.

FWIW, my only experience with said duplicolor ceramic was when I painted my rotor hats and vents and also my calipers with it. On another car I had used VHT brake caliper paint and I thought that was crap. I liked the duplicolor ceramic engine and ceramic high-heat much better on the brake parts.

I used it on my motor and it came out very well, I too was impressed. You would think just the standard vehicle paint wouldnt handle the intake temps well. The ceramic stuff will be used the first time around, donno what color scheme Im going with though. Blue car, blue engine block, ? intake...
While I do like the quality of your work Tony, I simply do not like the oreo look. Just not me I guess, perhaps that would change if I saw the car in person though.

 

[PROPHET]

I used it on my motor and it came out very well, I too was impressed. You would think just the standard vehicle paint wouldnt handle the intake temps well. The ceramic stuff will be used the first time around, donno what color scheme Im going with though. Blue car, blue engine block, ? intake...
While I do like the quality of your work Tony, I simply do not like the oreo look. Just not me I guess, perhaps that would change if I saw the car in person though.

Got milk?

 

[shojuan]

Tony's engine bay looks really nice, but unless you really prep and care about the paint, it won't look as good as powder.
You have to see the result of powder in person to appreciate it, the colour's so much richer, especially if you get a metallic colour.

I've seen both in person. I disagree. Maybe yours was done by some master magician powder coater to have the superior in-person look that you claim. It's electrostatically applied solids that's baked in an oven until it melts and runs. How is that innately superior to spray on paint? I'm not saying it's worse, but we are talking a somewhat protected surface. Powdercoating for durability is possibly overkill and besides, it's not impervious to being handled by grubby mechanic's paws. And the low-blow right here:

Color selection? Just how many shades of green does your local powder coater have? We are talking a Crayola 8-box here. It's not practical for any one powder painter to have large color selection at any given time.

 

[caseywan]

A lot of people will take up the argument that you get what you pay for with powerdercoating of these parts, you are getting durability and anything less isn't worth it.

Hogwash. One of my baysho friends who's also a member here (slosho89) has been painting his intakes with cheap duplicolor "Truck Van and SUV" paint for the past couple of years (he likes the Truck, Van color selection better than duplicolor's "engine paint with ceramic" line for example). His intakes look great every time I've seen them. They have held up for over a year maintaining great looks. If the paint goes bad he can repaint them. In fact, that intake is going to come off for a cleaning every few years for part of a 60K anyways, so good opportunity to spray a shiny new coat of paint on there. If the stray Berryman's messed up some of the paint, big deal. A few bucks worth of paint for a new looking intake. Compare that to somebody with closer to $100 invested in powdercoating the intake trying to keep the Berryman's from even THINKING about touching the powdercoat during a cleaning. I can't keep B12 off of the outside of an intake, with lots of black intake tar along for the ride, no matter how hard I try. Maybe some of you can. I sure as **** can't.

Moral is that cheap paint, conscientiously applied, can look as good or better than powdercoat on the intake and valve covers and hold up between maintenance intervals when you will have these parts removed for scrubbing anyways.

I think that's nuts if that's what you consider getting what you payed for. Having to take your intake apart at least once a year and clean it up and sand if needed and paint it is a whole friggin lot of work. I would much rather spend $100 bucks in one shot for a great looking, durable powder coat. Every powder coat job I've ever seen looks immaculate and flawless. Spray paint may sometimes look close to as good, but it won't last. I've had exterior metal parts powder coated and it looks like the factory paint job, and looks like it has a clear coat it is so shiny. Powder coating is also very very durable and holds up against rust. And if you find a good power coating shop they have dozens of colors. So personally, I would rather drop $100 on an excellent durable job.

 

[PROPHET]

If I had a spare set of valve covers along with the spare intake I already had and had known it only cost me 100 bucks to powdecoat, of course I would have gone that route.

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

aw.... who needs paint anyhow

 

[PROPHET]

You do.

Kenny that underhood is spotless, I rather see that, than some painted intakes on some extremely filthy engine bays that I've seen or bad color choices.

 

[iselltonsofthings]

As many of you guys/gals know, a little over 1 year ago I started doing powder coating work for fellow sho fanatics.

In regards to what is discussed above, they are comparing apples to oranges.

An example is with the comment

If the paint goes bad he can repaint them. In fact, that intake is going to come off for a cleaning every few years for part of a 60K anyways, so good opportunity to spray a shiny new coat of paint on there. If the stray Berryman's messed up some of the paint, big deal. A few bucks worth of paint for a new looking intake.

If you notice, they are not comparing aluminum engine parts that were meticulously painted by a reputable auto body shop that uses only top quality wet paints such as PPG.

If they spent several hundred dollars on this type of paint job, they wouldn't be "hitting the intake with a few shots of spray paint" to freshen up the look after they slopped it all up with degreaser.

Now, if you want to compare wet paints to powder, let's compare apples to apples.

Something that people almost never take into consideration is how much prep work is involved with a QUALITY wet paint job. Since wet paint is very thin, the substrate must be sanded nearly perfectly smooth before the primer or paint can be applied. Not only will there be high labor costs with sanding the aluminum smooth, but there will be additional labor costs involved with the multiple layers needed for wet paints.

See, powder coat is approximately 2-3 times thicker than standard "wet paints". This extra thickness practically eliminates any need for sanding the substrate smooth before being coated. This works great for our aluminum intakes and valve covers that have a rough/pitted surface.

Another benefit with powder coat is that 90% of the time, it is a one layer finish. There is no need for primer base coats or clear layer top coats.

The single powder layer is extremely durable with excellent depth and luster.

Last but not least, if you haven't personally inquired about prices, do not believe the hype about how expensive it is.

Please take a look around my website and email me with questions. Since I do the powder coating as a hobby and not as a large business, you will be surprised at the low cost and personalized service.

www.keystonepowdercoating.com

By the way, here are a few pictures taken from my website. The first picture shows how an oxidized thermostat tube will look after 1 layer of powder coat.

Notice how smooth the finish is since the powder hides the aluminum imperfections. Compare 1-2 minutes of powder coating prep work for this part with 1-2 HOURS of sanding and primer prep work for paint. Do the math and then see which method is cheaper!!

 

[Dave Ladely]

painting intake

Some people have complained that powder coating has a tendancy to chip.
Whatever, the color selection is limited. Yes, it goes on thicker and very evenly.
Yes, with ordinary primer and paint, one must really smooth out the intakes.
However, I have used Imron, buying in small quantity of course, and found it to be the best I have seen. One trick is using epoxy primer, which I recommend for any paint job anyway. It goes on thicker than regular primer, ,which is junk in my opinion anyway, and provides an extremely chip resistant, chemical resistant, and strong foundation for paint, and can easily be sanded very smooth. Imron has a huge variety of color choices, is easy to apply (use a mask will all paints!), goes on super smoothly, very tough, and very resistant to chemicals, and is very resistant to engine heat, more than so-called "engine paint" (not that ugly hi temp paint, though, but that is not needed for engine heat range, which is really not real hot), resulting in a really great looking paint job.
I painted an entire marine V8 with Imron to match the metallic boat paint, both were clear coated of course, and it worked far better than "engine paint" , cleaned super easily, and much later, when I rebuilt the engine, I had the block hot dipped - it came out of the tank with all the Imron intact, just very clean, which amazed the technician, who said it was the first time he had seen any paint survive hot dipping!
But I have not painted my intakes as I would rather them look like aluminum than cast iron. I have thought o f polishing them and then clear coating them with clear Imron.
It seems like everyone wants powder coating no matter what, for all painting, just because its "hip", when I think it is more of an industrial coating with limitations and good points, but not a panacea and not necessarily better than a good spray job. Just try epoxy primer with any good paint, but for the best I have seen, get a small can of Imron and try it out.

 

[Off Road SHO]

aw.... who needs paint anyhow

Yeah, who needs paint or powdercoat.

Tom