How to Paint an Engine Block

Gives tips on how to paint an engine block including what type of paint, masking techniques and more. Tools, materials and Lakeside Merch below:
💥 - Masking tape - 3M Automotive Refinish Masking Tape or 3M 26336 Performance Masking Tape 233+
💥 - Wax and Grease Remover - Autobody Master (any brand will work fine)
💥 - Paint - VHT Engine Enamel - Gloss Black
💥 - Engine Work - Michigan Engine Exchange - www.michmo.com/
💥 - Engine Stand - Harbor Freight - PITTSBURGH 1000 lb. Capacity Engine Stand
💥 - Lakeside Merch - brothersdesign...
💥 - Lakeside Discord (Your Projects) - / discord
💥 - Lakeside Autobody - / @lakesideautobody
#autobodyrepair #autobodywork #autobodypaint
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[@TheBrokenLife]

I've had absolutely terrible luck with VHT in the past despite applying it exactly as you recommended. To my shock, Rustoleum's engine enamel has been doing a great job and is around half the price. My original test part for it was a cam cover on an air cooled small engine, which ends up constantly soaked in oil and run at high temps. I'm 4 years into the experiment and it looks like I painted it yesterday. VHT would be coming off in sheets by now. This could be one of those things where for whatever reason I'm the only guy with the bad luck... 😂

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks for your input - I hope it holds up for me. I'm not to fond of paint in a spray bomb can - I'll be surprised actually if it holds up well. Should have went with something more durable but I'm sort of anxious to get this thing rolling 😊

[@TheBrokenLife]

@@LakesideAutobody I specialize in worrying about things I can't control, so, my mind would be more on the quality of the primer job the machine shop sprayed on it no matter what top coat I selected. So, doomed either way. 😅 All of that said, it's a lot better to pull a running motor out of a completed hobby car over the winter to strip and repaint it than it is to never get the hobby car driving in the first place. 👍

[@buttonysquare8501]

The regular paint is designed to go to 220 degrees but I have found it will go a little higher. If your motor is getting above the boiling point of water you have bigger issues. I have watched Uncle Tony's Garage for a while and he shows you can use regular paint without issue. Oddly enough the paint around the exhaust port area will not burn off like you'd think it would. The one catch is to wick all moisture out of cast iron surfaces with a torch before painting so anything in the porous surface doesn't evaporate later and peel your paint.

[@LakesideAutobody]

Great information BS - thanks. I was concerned about the area around the exhaust too - thanks again :)

[@RustyGlovebox]

Your engine came out great and going to look good in the car. I like how you promote wear a mask when painting and sanding. Thanks and take care

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks RG - you have a good weekend too my friend. 👍😊

[@Deadbuck73]

Very cool! I wish I could get mine to that point someday!

[@LakesideAutobody]

Hope that happens for you DB - have a good week my friend :)

[@Deadbuck73]

@@LakesideAutobody you too Sir! Sitting back right now with a hot coffee and fresh homemade churros! My daughter is great!

[@LakesideAutobody]

@@Deadbuck73 Happy CDM - churros sound good 👍

[@SprayWayCustoms]

Looks awesome 🤝

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks 👍SWC - I appreciate you checking it out - hope all is well with you - have a great weekend. 😊

[@bluesman6955]

Great video Jerry. I remember guys when I was racing that would paint the inside of the block too. It made the oil drain faster back into the pan.

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks for your input Tom. That makes sense. Hope all is well with you and Layne. If you ever get back to MI - please feel free to stop by for a while. It'd be nice to see you again :)

[@bobdown9414]

Timely video about to do this to a MGB roadster motor. Thanks for video and iinfo. Have great week. Bob

[@LakesideAutobody]

Good to hear - you have a good weekend too :)

[@UndergroundPaintKing]

Awesome to see the build coming together Jerry! I can’t believe your channel isn’t at 100k subscribers 💯

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks UPK - I feel the same about your channel - you're great on camera, speak clearly, and have great content - one of the best painters to boot too. Have a great weekend my friend 👍😊

[@UndergroundPaintKing]

@@LakesideAutobody thanks Jerry, I really appreciate that, enjoy your weekend 💯

[@richardstone5241]

Now we're talking about something I know a little bit about. "Motor Coater" is a great engine paint and it comes in AMC colors. I use a brush and do two coats.

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks Richard - thanks for you input. 🔥😊

[@richardstone5241]

@@LakesideAutobody You're welcome buddy, try it. I think you will like it. I have learned so much from you and appreciate all of it as I do not know anything about body and paint but mechanical and engineering, that's another story. Bless you!

[@gm-lb9oe]

Thx as always Jerry!

[@LakesideAutobody]

You're welcome - thanks for watching :)

[@Pat-Van-Canada]

Thanks again Jerry. I look forward to Fridays. I might not be back here to comment as often. My youtube feed is really awful and I can't stop it even after clearing my history etc. I keep getting video recomendations about beheadings, the west is collapsing etc. It gets kind of depressing so I might just not login unless I know it's Friday's and you are posting. Have a great weekend-Pat

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks for watching Pat. One thing you can do is when video is suggested or fed to you that you don't like, you'll notice three little dots to the right of the video title - click on it and say don't recommend channel, or even report. That stuff won't show up anymore :)

[@Pat-Van-Canada]

@@LakesideAutobody Thanks Jerry. I keep trying to do that. It just won't stop no matter what I do. Have you ever thought about setting up a "buy me a coffee" link or similar? Your videos are really valuable, I am sure you would get a few bucks here and there. I would be the first one

[@firstgenerationgarage2803]

Looking good Jerry 👍

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks 👍Luis - can't wait to start this beast. Do you have a favorite carb - HOLLEY, EDELBROCK?

[@firstgenerationgarage2803]

@@LakesideAutobody I love the edelbrock really friendly carburetor and easy to service all of my Firebird have them on

[@joegutierrez2019]

To bad you didn't speckle it with the AMC blue that would have made it look a little more special

[@LakesideAutobody]

Yes - it's supposed to be caravelle blue but I thought the black would look cool on the blue engine bay :)

[@jimurrata6785]

I like PJ-1 for ceramic engine enamels. If it holds up on air colled motorcycle engines it should be good on anything.

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks for that Jim - have a great week my friend :)

[@pstreetgarage7304]

Looks great Jerry ! I have used Rusoleum mostly because it's cheaper than VHT. I have used VHT before on a wook stove and it was good.

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks for you input Stephen - did the Rustoleum hold up to heat even by the exhaust?

[@pstreetgarage7304]

@@LakesideAutobody Was actually fine on the block. NP

[@moparnut6286]

Great video.... I think the 2k version of engine paint is the longest lasting but expensive compared to the rattle can version... Really best to use on a restoration car... But prep is king.

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks for your input - seems like 2K is always the most durable. Have a great weekend MN - thanks again :)

[@jayinmi3706]

A long time ago, I used normal paint I had mixed up at the auto paint store and put in a spray can to do brake calipers. I did that to match the decals on the car. It held up at least as well as any brake caliper spray paint I've eveer used. So, I don't know how much I'd worry about high heat paint, since I bet the engine block doesn't get as hot as the calipers do. But it can't hurt. Also, if you want to mask your gasket surfaces the coolest trick I've seen is to tape it off and then lightly tap around hte outside with a hammer. This cuts the tape against the edge of the machined surface and makes a nearly perfect mask. But I'm sure a lot of people know this one.

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks for your ideas - I didn't know about the tape trick - thanks :)

[@AFO1]

The trick I've used is to start the engine and watch the paint closely. Fresh paint will smoke a bit. Once you see it starting, shut it off and let it cool. Repeat the process. You'll find that it takes longer and longer to smoke with each cycle. Eventually it'll stop smoking. The paint is now baked on. This works especially well on headers, exhaust pipes, etc.

[@LakesideAutobody]

Interesting - thanks for your input AF01 👍

[@sirmister4411]

Even using rustoleum paint on my engine builds for years with excellent results. The vht seems to be pot luck sometimes it seems they have bad batches of paint and it sucks and then sometimes it good.

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks for your input - we'll see how it holds up :)

[@MidnightOilsRestoration]

Looks really nice Jerry, is this the engine for your AMX? I’ve used different paints over the years but the one I had the most success with was the POR-15 engine enamel. I brushed it on 2coats. Seemed to hold up well.

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks for your opinion = I'll remember that. It is the engine for the AMX - went with black because I figured it would look cool with the blue engine bay.

[@johnsutter1497]

Thank you for the video! Can you recommend a single or 2 stage air compressor that can keep up with air sanders and sandblasting? Thank you

[@LakesideAutobody]

In the 90's I bought a 60 gallon 2 stage 220v compressor from Sears and it handled sand blasting and air sanders just fine. Not sure if they still make one like that but that thing was a beast. You need quite a bit of air for blasting 😊

[@Avtovaz21057]

vht paint is good stuff, thanks for the info!

[@LakesideAutobody]

Thanks for the input my friend - have a good weekend :)

[@libertycosworth8675]

Jerry, looks good! Good technique. I was just wondering, any reason why you didn't mask off the exhaust ports?

[@LakesideAutobody]

Good question - I figured the paint would burn off pretty quickly. Probably could have stuffed some paper or rags in there.

[@libertycosworth8675]

@LakesideAutobody I usually put a piece of tape on the port, score it at the edge of the machined surface and peel off the excess leaving a fairly neatly masked exhaust port.

[@LakesideAutobody]

@@libertycosworth8675 OK - good to know - thanks. 😊

[@garyscarstuff]

Looks great but in my opinion it now looks like a later Chevy, not an AMC. Should have been blue (Pontiac blue is very close to late AMC blue). Thanks for the video!

[@LakesideAutobody]

You're right - it should be a color called caravelle blue. I went w/ black though 'cause I thought it would look really cool with the blue metallic engine bay. Sort of custom but we'll see :)

[@bobdown9414]

A timely video about to do this to a 1972 mgb roadster motor. Your paint job looks great. Thanks Jerry have a great week . Bob

[@TheBrokenLife]

@@LakesideAutobody Maybe the black paint will slow down the number of people that try to tell you that's a Ford 390. 😂

[@LsMaloo]

Do you always paint your valves in vht?

[@LakesideAutobody]

Will that have an effect in any way?

[@LsMaloo]

Rough neck