Engine Paint Prep - Tech Project

The engine was carefully masked off to keep the paint from going into the internals of the block. The engine surface was warmed up using a propane heater. Make sure you that you do not paint with the heater on as you can cause a explosion.

Using SEM's candy concentrate, the candy red color was mixed. After adding catalyst, the transparent color was ready to be sprayed on in several coats.

Once prepared, the distributor cap went through the same steps as the engine as they were painted simultaneously.

Here's a look at two different styles of distributor caps that were painted and left to dry.

While the engine paint was left to dry for two to three days, details like the ARP engine bolts were polished to add custom detail to the engine.

The custom engine was coming together as accessories including this Professional Products chrome intake were used to give it a show finish.

Using the SATA Jet 3000 with a quick release cup allowed us to see how much material was going onto the engine block. As you can ee, the color goes on lightly and in several coats at a time.

With this being a show engine build, we also decided to paint the distributor to match the engine block. With the cap all masked off, the distributor cap was shot with Bulldog, a binding agent that allows the paint to adhere to the plastic foundation.