Engine Paint for 427 ford

[Automan]

Gentleman: Hoping everyone here is having good luck with thier project.

Myself, i am beginning a spring project on my car. Actually took it out yesterday at minus 0 degree temperature up here in Canada. She started up great and after all temps got to STD, i took it around the block a couple of times. I wore a touque, haha. No snow on the roads at all so the temptation couldnt be resisted.

So my plans are that now that my engine is running great, i want to pull it out and replace some gaskets (intake mainly and oil pan) due to some leaks. What a pain since the push rods go through the intake. So while i am at it, i am going to put the engine back to show room condition. After all the tinkering over the last two year, the intake has gotten dirty and the paint has flaked off due to what i assume is high heat. So thats basically my question. What product should i use to paint my engine and heads so that they dont flake or burn off due to the high heat. Is there a primer to give good adhesion.

I have a 63 1/2 ford 427 HP out of a Thunderbolt. Dual 650CFM carbs.

Thanks in advance
Automan

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Automan

... i took it around the block a couple of times. I wore a touque, haha. No snow on the roads at all so the temptation couldnt be resisted.

Don't know the answer to your paint question. I'm still getting over the image of man behind the wheel of a Cobra wearing a classic toque.

[blykins]

I always use either VHT or Duplicolor 550° engine paint. It won't come off.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by blykins

I always use ... It won't come off.

Ahhh, so that's how you keep your toque on, ehh Lykins?

[blykins]

No, the VHT paint won't come off.

I use JB Weld to keep the toque on.....get with the program Patrick.

[Bobcat]

Automan .... I`ve got a 63 1/2 Galaxie Q Code changed over to R Code specs that is fully restored . Don`t know if you are looking for a paint that is the same color as the 427`s were from the factory back then ( 1963 and 1964 ) , but a very close match is made by Krylon . Look for their # 1618 BBQ & Stove Black . It`s a semigloss/flat black and good for about 1200 degrees , per Krylon . On my block , I cleaned it with lacquer thinner first , wire brushed it good , went over it with lacquer thinner again until clean and then Prepsol before spraying it . I went with multiple thin coats as opposed to several heavy coats . The heads are harder to keep paint on .... especially where the exhaust ports are . They go flat first and I have to touch them up about once a year .
I take my engine out about every two or three years to redo it as it is much easier than keeping it in the car and I can redo the cast iron headers also .
I`m curious .... I thought the Thunderbolt was a 1964 Fairlane and the first year for the Galaxie with the 427 was 63 1/2 ... unless your engine originally came from a 1963 1/2 Galaxie ??
Anyway ... good luck and if you find a better mousetrap , please post so I can try it .

[blykins]

Bobcat, that's a very thorough procedure you have....

All of my stuff is usually centered around a fresh build, so after I get the block back from the machine shop, it's pressure washed really good and then blown off with compressed air.

Here's a Duplicolor paint job on a 383SBC for an '81 Corvette that I just did.

[Monster]

I used Dupli-Color 500deg. It's been on for about 2 years and still looks like the day I painted it[IMG][/IMG]

note: 500deg is about the highest temp you can get in gloss black (original 427 color) that i know of.......... heck, if it gets hotter than 500deg. you'll have more trouble than paint blisters

Mike

[cobra bill]

I have used automotive paint, that I have custom mixed, and I use 2 times the normal amount of hardener before painting, I did this to my AMX that I restored over 20 years ago, and the paint on the block still looks great! keep in mind if you do this, clean your gun imedietly after or it will ruin it.

[Bobcat]

Monster , blykins .... those engines look great ... better than mine . However, originality was the goal on mine as there are/were some seriously anal judges out there . The paint I used was as close to the original that came on the 427 back in 63/64 that I could find and I did a lot of research on that .
Mike , you mentioned that gloss black was the original color , but everything I found showed it was a semigloss almost satin black ...as did several Ford restorers ( Donald Allen and Greg Donahue for two ) . However , I`m always open to correction if I`m wrong .
Actually , my block still looks good after about 4 years , but the heads need work , which I hope to do next winter . The issue with most everything else I found was the gloss factor ... if that isn`t an issue , then there are a lot of better ways to go than what I did . However , custom mixing as cobra bill did is also an option .... I just couldn`t find anyone in this area willing to take the time to do that .
Anyway , you all have great looking engines !

[Monster]

Bobcat, sorry I took a second look at the can and your right I should have typed "semi-gloss". Just for that I did a little additional research for you.

Here are a couple of links that may help:

This one is from Mustang monthy specifically on restoring engines with correct paint schemes (mostly small block info but I'm sure it can also apply to FE's)

http://www.mustangmonthly.com/howto/...nes/index.html

This one is the Dupli-color web site and shows the paint codes for various high temp paint (note that the Ford semi-gloss Engine paint is listed DE 1635)

http://www.duplicolor.com/products/engine.html

good luck,
Mike

[Bobcat]

Mike ... thanks for the research . Evidently , Duplicolor didn`t have the correct paint ( Ford semigloss black ) when I did my engine . I just used what the Ford restorers said they used . If you`re interested , for future reference , I have a list of colors , % gloss etc of the various engine parts that went on the 427 back in `63 and `64 ... but I don`t know if it holds for `65 and up .

Bob

[Automan]

Thankyou so much for everyones information. I really appreciate it. I actually painted my block ford Blue when i first installed it but now i am thinking on changing it to black. Will the heads also be also black? Its the heads that i am experiencing the flaking.

[Bobcat]

The factory painted the heads the same color as the block back in the mid 60`s . I haven`t had any flaking , but I don`t think I`m using the same paint as you did . I used the Krylon #1618 ... and it doesn`t flake , but does turn dull around the exhaust ports ( constant hi temperature ) and has to be touched up every winter . Maybe some of the others who have posted may have a good method for getting the paint to adhere to the heads .... and save me some work .
Just thought of this ... are your heads aluminum ?? If so , they have a pretty good expansion and contraction rate , which could account for the flaking . Robert Pond told me to not paint his aluminum block as it wouldn`t adhere .

Bob

[Monster]

Bob,

Thanks mine is more of a "driver" than a "shower". Though I did want to get close to some original components (whatever those were which is another long thread discussion so I won't go there ) I did find it interesting in the mustang engine link I provided that the table in the article (click to read it) shows that the 260 was a semi-gloss block and a gloss pan. I would have thought Ford would just paint the short blocks the same color then assemble the rest .

Automan, funny that when i first built my car 8+ years ago my engine was blue too. I later corrected that when I sucked a valve and did a complete rebuild (pictured above). If you are having flake problems I would refer to the resto article. I would think it's most likly preparation related if you used hi-temp paint.

Take care,
Mike