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Engine basics => Engine set up tips => Topic started by: harold hogan on December 05, 2022, 11:54:51 AM
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I bought a McCoy .35 red head and it looks almost new and has great compression but I haven't tried to run it yet but was wondering if I could use high temp engine paint to repaint the head. It has a few scrapes and scratches but my OCD has me wanting to repaint it. Any ideas or input? Wondering if high temp engine paint would be nitro/fuel proof. Thanks, Hal
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Yes, it can be done.
Go to an auto parts store and get a can of red brake caliper paint.
Works great.
Bob Z.
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I have painted quite a few of them, and found the red engine paint which is heat resistance is not fuel proof. I have had great success using regular spray can enamel. Seems to stand up well to heat and fuel.
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Hi Harold,
Pick you a spray paint from the auto parts place, VHT Red (header paint). This works better than most that I’ve tried. I repair & rebuild a bunch of McCoys for fun and use the header paint.
Later,
Mikey
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Thanks guys for the input.....not sure which paint I will use but may try the header paint first and see how durable it will be and hopefully fuel resistant/ proof. I ran the motor yesterday on the test stand and I think it runs pretty sweet.
Hal
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Thanks guys for the input.....not sure which paint I will use but may try the header paint first and see how durable it will be and hopefully fuel resistant/ proof. I ran the motor yesterday on the test stand and I think it runs pretty sweet.
Hal
Whichever paint you try, a little tip for you. Get the head as clean, dry and oil free as you can first. Anything trapped under the paint will heat up when running and then bubble up. You want the paint to be in best contact with the metal as possible. After cleaning, degreasing and drying, heat the head up with a monokote heat gun to where you can't touch it. Then apply your paint, and let it cure as long as possible. You might even try baking it for a bit at 150 to 200 degrees for a while. This is the process I learned for painting exhaust pipes for vintage dirt bikes, from a guy who painted the headers for his hot rods this way and the paint always lasts a long time.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
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Choices listed: 1) Standard spray enamel. 2) automotive engine paint. 3) High Temp Header paint...do they really make red header paint? I am sure there's black and white, but red? 4) Brake caliper paint. 5) Epoxy paint.
I haven't painted a McCoy cylinder head, but I have painted a couple of Volvo B-20 blocks/heads. Ford red is a close match to the McCoy redhead .35, and the standard Volvo color, IMO. I think I would start with the engine paint and if I didn't like the fuel resistance of that, I might go to the brake caliper paint next. I threw epoxy paint into the list as a possibility, but I have no idea if it would hold up to the heat. It would be a PITA to remove if it didn't work well, so I'd be pretty reluctant to try it. y1 Steve
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Thanks guys for the great advice... I will post on here how it turned out when I'm done.
Hal
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I would seriously consider a new base and head gasket.
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Only thing not mentioned.. Buy an ultrasonic cleaner, they are just great. Ordinarily I’d use a bit of caustic soda on oily iron, steel but not in this case as it seriously degrades aluminium alloy. Use just boiled water and a bit of washing up liquid.
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You might even try baking it for a bit at 150 to 200 degrees for a while.
Harold,
Here are some McCoys I painted years ago using the same techniques Dan suggested with one additional step. I was lucky to have a sand blaster at work and after stripping the paint, blasted the head with 50 micron aluminum oxide.
The paint was a spray can of Chevy Red engine paint. I misted a coat on (I think with a Paache spray gun), put it in a kiln at ~125 degrees, let it dry and repeated the process until a number of layers were built up. It's important not to overdo the heat because it will drive off the solvents too quickly and the paint will never cure.
The engine on the far right is new with the original head. The colors are pretty close. I can't explain the chips other than they've been in a box banging into each other for the last 15+ years. They haven't been run since being painted.
Ara
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Harold,
Here are some McCoys I painted years ago using the same techniques Dan suggested with one additional step. I was lucky to have a sand blaster at work and after stripping the paint, blasted the head with 50 micron aluminum oxide.
The paint was a spray can of Chevy Red engine paint. I misted a coat on (I think with a Paache spray gun), put it in a kiln at ~125 degrees, let it dry and repeated the process until a number of layers were built up. It's important not to overdo the heat because it will drive off the solvents too quickly and the paint will never cure.
The engine on the far right is new with the original head. The colors are pretty close. I can't explain the chips other than they've been in a box banging into each other for the last 15+ years. They haven't been run since being painted.
Ara
There are red Chevy engines? I can't recall what my '08 is, but they used to be orange, while early Fords were red and a bit later, blue. I'd still say to look for Ford Red. y1 Steve