Painting the intake - Prepping etc. ???

[40BelowSummer]

Hi, I have looked over my choices (painting vs powdercoating) and am sure I want to paint rather than powdercoat (no local PC shops, cant afford the time money for hypercoat etc)

So I have searched and found some OK info here , but I need to know what everyone who has painted theirs has done. So what was the procedure you did for prepping, sanding, priming etc??

 

[nc89sho]

high temp engine paint. no sanding.. just cleaning really good. don't have pics yet, but i'll post when i do.

 

[SHO92]

I just painted my intake last week and got it installed the other day. I'd recommend sanding it down with 280 gritt, it will smooth it out enough and you'll get a much nicer finish, I wish I had done that. Instead I just painted it and sanded only a few spots. Where I didn't sand I had to add a lot more layers to get the same smooth finish, and its still not as smooth as I'd like. Also since it is paint, its going to scratch easily. When I put the intake back together, I got a few scratches, and I was being very careful. So don't fall in love with the finish too much, its going to get a little beat up.

 

[Silver95]

i was thinking of doing this as well, but now that you mention scratching, thats no good.

Hey Jason (YamahaSHO) if you are reading this,

is your intake/valve covers scratched at all? How many coat of paint, and any clear at all, if so, how many coat of clear would you recomend?

 

[yamahaSHO]

i was thinking of doing this as well, but now that you mention scratching, thats no good.

Hey Jason (YamahaSHO) if you are reading this,

is your intake/valve covers scratched at all? How many coat of paint, and any clear at all, if so, how many coat of clear would you recomend?

I used Dupli-Color engine enamel... It is very brittle before it goes through some thermal cycles.

For prep work... I ground the castings off, then sanded over the whole intake... Dont remember what grit, just take it in steps till you get what you want. Then I got a spray can of some stuff made for paint preping(light blue can at AZ). It was basically paint thinner in a spray can. I first coated it with the engine enamel primer... then I put 5 or 6 coats of paint on. I did get some scratches the first time around because it was so brittle... I suggest putting it in the oven a few times before putting the thing back together.

Since I had to remove the intake and take it apart to install my cams and BBB's, I sanded the scratches and rant over with more paint... I was very careful the next time putting it together the next time... no scratches . The removed castings makes it easier to get the runners together with out scrathes.. Final step, after a few thermal cycles, I used boat polish which has abraisives in it. It made the paint shine really nice and smooth. I have no scratches on my intake, but 2 on my valve cover that I have not touched up... They were my fault, I was not paying attention when the covers were off and ran something across it. I also have one scratch on the rear end tank... dropped a tool, I'll fix it pretty easy though.

For the letters... After the paint has cured, I taped off the general area where the letters were. Then I sprayed the paint over that area... over the gray and all... Next, I immediatly removed the tape and used a rag with paint thinner to wipe off the red where I did not want it... did that a few times and it worked like a charm.

HUGE picture located here--> 2272 x 1704

OT: I had someone PM with me complimenting me on my intake but I don't know who... It came up looking like I sent it to myself Anyway, whom ever it was, THANKS!

 

[40BelowSummer]

Instead of sanding I have an electric aluminum wire brush thing. Do I dare brush the valve covers with it?

 

[PAracer]

Why not try a spot on the rear valve cover? If something goes wrong, you have a chance to stop or correct.

This paint thing is starting to grow on me.

 

[Blue-By-U]

Jason your intake does look gorgeous. I am currently in the process of prepping mine. Since I am determined to make it look as nice as yours, I'm prepping the intake in steps. I first cleaned and scrubbed the whole thing with castrol superclean to remove dirt. I then sanded it with 220 grit paper. I used my dremel to sand the areas the paper couldn't reach. Now that you said it I'll have to purchase some spray paint thinner and primer before the color goes on...

I'll post final results.

Do you guys think those little car paint scratch pens would do the trick for the lettering?

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

The question was asked about clear coat and how many coats of paint to add. Here are all my tips:

1: yes, do sand the intake with fine grit. If you are doing this to a spare intake, take alot of time and do it right by even saning the casting lines on the runners. Ever notice toms intake has smooth runners with no lines on the sides. ? use a dremel tool with a sanding drum attachment then follow with sandpaper by hand medium grit then fine. take's time, but looks great.

2: Wash the intake off with hot soapy water (I put mine in the dishwasher). Then wipe off with a prep solvent.


3: Paint it slowly with multiple coats that are really thin. You dont need to cover it all the first time. Wait between coats till the paint is dry to the touch. I have 5 coats of paint on my intake.

4: Make sure its high temp paint and whatever you do DONT USE CLEAR COAT> the clear coat looks great at first, but it will turn yellow over time (like within a month) and it will look like crap. I had to repaint my white runners due to extreme yellowing.

5: ditto all of what jason said on the letters and curing....wait a week before you do the paint thinnner letter fill trick.....dont want to hurt the base coat on the plenums.

6: I used meguires polish on the intake which has very mild mild abraisives and the thing looks great.


7: Lastly: your intake rubber hoses will stick to the paint making your next disassembly difficult if the rubber is old. Be careful

the flash makes this ford blue look really sky blue...it isnt that light looking.

 

[SHO92]

I think you can find a high temp clear coat now from duplocolor. It comes in a chrome can with a picture of an engine on it.

 

[iselltonsofthings]

No, you guys got it all wrong. The way to go is powder coat, powder coat, POWDER COAT!!

 

[yamahaSHO]

No, you guys got it all wrong. The way to go is powder coat, powder coat, POWDER COAT!!

I can make the paint look just as good , just not as durable.

 

[iselltonsofthings]

I can make the paint look just as good , just not as durable.

lol, there was a hidden plug thrown in there.

I think your painted intake turned out excellent Seeing how powder coat goes on thicker than standard wet paints, it goes to show how much attention to detail you placed into the prep work.

With powder, it can easily cover up minor imperfections to the substrate.

Scott

 

[yamahaSHO]

lol, there was a hidden plug thrown in there.

I think your painted intake turned out excellent Seeing how powder coat goes on thicker than standard wet paints, it goes to show how much attention to detail you placed into the prep work.

With powder, it can easily cover up minor imperfections to the substrate.

Scott

Ah.. you are a vendor for powder coating, huh?

I see, said the blind man....

 

[iselltonsofthings]

Ah.. you are a vendor for powder coating, huh?

I see, said the blind man....

YamahaSHO:

http://shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=2170&highlight=free+powder

 

[40BelowSummer]

I am almost done painting my intake/valve covers. I am putting quite a few coats on. Its not looking too bad. And Ive only spent $8 on paint, $3 on paint thinner, and $1 on sand paper. Beats $350 (or whatever) for the powder coating job for now

 

[SHOman24v]

whats wrong with gold??

 

[AutoSHO]

Some people like variety?

 

[SHOman24v]

Some people like variety?

Some of the intakes ive seen are just......interesting.... and some are bad ***. In my opinion once you paint it the maintance of cleaing the intake goes up, then if it gets scratched you have to paint it again to make it better....but thats just my opinion..

 

[yamahaSHO]

Some of the intakes ive seen are just......interesting.... and some are bad ***. In my opinion once you paint it the maintance of cleaing the intake goes up, then if it gets scratched you have to paint it again to make it better....but thats just my opinion..

Cleaning the motor is a very simple task... If you have seen my stock intake pics, you will see that I always kept the motor clean, even with the stock paint. Yes, the stock intake is painted, not a cheap powder coat.