painting the powerhead

[jeremy5780]

i just rebuild my 90 hp crossflow and want to paint it do you recommend sandblasing it then painting it or using some type of paint remover? it has spots where the paint is missing so just painting over it probably wont work.

 

[fire831]

Re: painting the powerhead

If you just rebuilt it I would not reccomend sand blasting because that sand will get in a lot of places you won't want it to. Probably would have been best to prep it before you put it back together.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: painting the powerhead

I wouldn't sand blast or strip any paint that is well adhered to aluminum.
To get paint to stick to aluminum, you need to use special self etching primer. If the paint is that bad, I'd say a chemical stripper would be your only option but be careful of the gaskets since most paint strippers will also damage gaskets, some will even damage aluminum if left too long.
I normally just keep mine touched up the best I can with a rattle can to stave off corrosion. I've only completely repainted two and they were stripped during the overhaul while completely apart. They were painted after the heads were installed. I used oem paint from the dealer on those.

 

[TN-25]

Re: painting the powerhead

Sandblasting is pretty harsh. Beadblasting or even walnut shell blasting is gentler. No matter what kind of blasting you do, it will get everywhere, I mean everywhere! That is a scary proposition when the blasting media gets into ports and bearings. On an assembled motor it will get into linkages, under the flywheel... Oh, the horror.

Think it through very carefully. It will work very well if you do it at the appropriate time. It may be something to consider if you have the motor completely dismantled. At that point you can thoroughly clean and inspect everything before reassembly. Plan on replacing seals and grommets as well. After that it will look like a million bucks!

 

[Benny1963]

Re: painting the powerhead

if you already have it assemble geagrease it good and use high heat primer and engine paint ,if you want it perfect just scrub and scrub some more
spray multible light coats ,i wounld go thru blasting and certainly not with sand ,it will come out grat if its clean and degreased