Has anyone out there ever clear coated an all aluminum engine.???? How did it hold up, and what did you do to prep it,(without sanding it) so it would last...
So you polished them and don't want to spend your life keeping them polished? I have no idea if it's possible at that size but clear anodizing comes to mind. It worked on '60's Chevy grills and trim for years.
I bought a car that had an aluminum intake that was obviously clearcoated (olds 403). I have no idea what product they used (I am going to ***ume rattlecan though) and the clear turned "yellowy" and was flaking in spots. I have no idea what prep work was done but it was a definite "fail" in my eyes. True automotive clear with a hardener might give better results ... but if not, removing the clear is going to be a pain. I did polish an intake once (just polished it, no clear coat) and it was actually quite easy to keep it looking good. With polished aluminum being so smooth it doesn't catch dirt and grime like the grainy surface of unpolished aluminum.
I tried clear powder coat on an aluminum intake, I gl*** beaded for prep. I ended taking it all off ...looked goofy to me. Will clear coat paint stand up to the temp?
you need adhiesion promoter then clear coat and warm them up real good before you apply new car wheels are clear coated
the painted clear wont stick to polished aluminum and would eventually turn yellow from the heat anyway. you can get them anodized, or powder coated, which would last along time, or por-15 makes a clear, and i've heard of a product called zoop-seal, made for polished aluminum that's supposed to be pretty good. i would do a google search to see what people had the best results for each product. hope this helps.
powder it, it can be polished then powdered with a high gloss fuel resistant clear. I've done heads and lots of intakes and valve covers like that. Very durable and cleans up/retains the polished look with an easy wipedown.
had some polished wheels powder coated ,bad idea the polishing precedure left residue in the pores and bubbled from the heat of the oven clear WILL stick to polished alumn with a adhiesion promoter applied first wayne
Back about 12 years ago my brother had the cases on his Harley polished and then clear powder coated. there was some concern at the time it would make the motor run hot. After 12+ years they still look good, a slight yellow tint but never any trouble with it running hot, bubbling or falling off.
Like 32V said, some polished wheels are clear coated. I know Eastwood sells a clear coat for wheels this must stand up to some heat from the brakes. About $10 a spray can.
Anodizing is not something I would reccomend. I worked at a plating shop once and wanted to get my intake done. The guy who did the anodizing said that if there were ANY imperfections, in the metal (bits of steel) that the process would blow holes in my intake. He also showed me some cast pieces that they had tried to anodize in the past. Like the man said, lots of holes that shouldn't be there.
Eastwoods "Diamond Coat Clear" is some good stuff! We've done intakes and alum wheels and have never yellowed or peeled and is fuel resistant and heat resistant to 600 deg.
whenever you try to do a precedure with a cast part that involves heat, such as powder coating, you need to repeatedly bake and clean the part in order to get the pores in the metal pefectly clean before actually painting the part.
I used some rattle can clear coat on my Edmunds alum. intake and head on my flat 6. Has held up well except where some anti-freeze got splashed on it. I don't remember exactly which product I used though. I thought is was maybe hi-temp clear coat from Kragen. But that might be a false memory. Might also have just been some non-hi-temp clear basic spray can paint from the hardware store. But, in any case, where is wasn't stripped by the anti-freeze, it has held up pretty well for a couple years now and no yellowing, cracking or flaking, etc. Whatever it was, it was just off the shelf spray can stuff.
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Thanks everyone for the advice. Im going to give the Por15 clear a shot. We will see what happens, thanks again. BISHOP
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