Engine Paint Prep - Tech Project

What do we mean when we say "from the street to the show?" Well, we decided to "candy out" this engine block that used to be in a street car. The engine was partially disassembled and prepped for that bling finish. Just like basic body work, the better the prep work, the better the finish.

This tech article will hit home for our Midwest and East Coast readers who normally build their cars during the winter season. We had to use heaters to warm up the engine and the area that we were using to spray. If you do this, you need to be careful and make sure that you spray with the heaters off as the paint is very flammable. You also need to be careful if you're going to use heaters to dry the coats of paint and not turn them on with the fumes in the air as you can cause an explosion if there's no ventilation. Whenever you paint, make sure to wear a mask and work in a well-ventilated area.

After being disassembled, the stroked-out engine was prepared and wiped down with lacquer thinner to remove any oil. All of the internals were covered up as we wanted to make sure not to have paint inside. Removing the oil and other chemicals will help prevent any type of chemical reaction, and a clean surface will also allow a better bond between the paint and the block. We also used high-heat primer as a sealer and binding agent for the SEM paint that was sprayed on.

With minor elbow grease and degreaser, this engine was built up from the street to the show. Now follow along as this engine was painted and built back up on the weekend to get it ready for the upcoming show season.

This engine was ready to be...        read full caption This engine was ready to be dropped into a lowrider and taken to the show.	This engine's in need of candy...        read full caption This engine's in need of candy paint and a few other add-ons before it wins any shows.	We picked up this Prep-All...        read full caption We picked up this Prep-All and Duplicolor high-heat engine primer from the local auto parts store.
We plugged up all of the exhaust...        read full caption We plugged up all of the exhaust ports on the heads to make sure that they did not have paint on them when the engine is fired up for the first time.	The assembled engine was taken...        read full caption The assembled engine was taken slightly apart to allow us to prepare it and spray it without any glitches.	Once the engine was apart,...        read full caption Once the engine was apart, it was wiped down with Prep-All to make sure that all of the oil was off of the block to avoid any chemical reactions.