moretonjr_4430 Posted July 27, 2018 Report Share Posted July 27, 2018 Hi, my Spitfire Mk3 engine and exhaust manifold need repainting and I was wondering whether anyone would recommend a good paint? Thanks, JM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 28, 2018 Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 Most paint wont stay attached for long , leave it rusty it will remain as good for year's maintainancd free . Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted July 29, 2018 Report Share Posted July 29, 2018 (edited) Hi Pete`s advice is good, however IF you want to paint the engine, Try looking for Fuel Burning Stove outlets, I have some (Matt) Black which I use on a wood-burner and My C-I Chimenea. It will last at least a couple of years outside, and more on the Lounge Stove (5+ and still OK). Pete P.S. An example just googled:- http://www.thestovecompany.co.uk/high-temperature-stove-paint/brush-on-high-temperature-stove-paint?cPath=13_18&zenid=e1j0dc9d9509vb4miohtbar3a4 Pete Edited July 29, 2018 by PeteH Added Text Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted July 29, 2018 Report Share Posted July 29, 2018 I have used the stove enamel which I use on my fire surround to excellent effect on the engine and other hot items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moretonjr_4430 Posted July 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2018 Thanks for the comments so far. I don't particularly want to paint the engine but it is painted red which, was done by the previous owner about 15 years ago (the engine is actually a Dolomite 1300). It's looking a little tied and faded so I thought of painting over in black. I presume it would have been black originally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted July 29, 2018 Report Share Posted July 29, 2018 Frost engine enamel is good, but a gloss finish; for a Matt look on the block I used Vinylkote Matt Black. As the guys have posted above, any stove or chimney paint will suit manifolds and hotter parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted July 29, 2018 Report Share Posted July 29, 2018 Hi. FYI. the engine block on my 13/60, which is currently covered with oil in the garage, awaiting attention, IS painted Red. Which I assume is still ex-factory?, and looks as if it was a gloss finish?. I doubt if it has been removed in the last 40 years either. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moretonjr_4430 Posted July 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2018 Hi Pete, if it was gloss then the paint has faded !! I'm in two minds whether to repaint at all and, if I do, should I keep it red or switch to black. When I bought the car (15 years ago or so) it was part through a full body off restoration and the engine paint looked fresh. I can't imagine the previous owner would have painted the engine red for the sake of it so, if that is the original colour then I'm tempted to keep it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted July 29, 2018 Report Share Posted July 29, 2018 When I did mine I painted it black. Could have been red, green... no accounting for taste... of lack of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted July 30, 2018 Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 Pretty certain the blocks were all black. Seen a few unmolested ones with symbols (numbers?) roughly painted in what looks like red oxide, which I presume was factory. Remember is the 70's and 80's it was all the rage to paint mechanicals red. And certainly in the 80's the go-faster brigade also started under-lighting their cars. Maybe that was a nod to Back to the Future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted July 30, 2018 Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 At one point in the 70s, the BL management passed an edict that everything under the bonnet should be either black or silver. The only exception was that engine blocks could be red on MGs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted July 30, 2018 Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 Sadly, when I started on my Herald Estate, I had an unopened tin of BMC Green engine paint... Thankfully, as it has been stalled for so long in a damp and dusty garage, it now needs repainting... so I'll use the opened tin of Frost Black and redeem myself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted July 31, 2018 Report Share Posted July 31, 2018 Hi In which case I may save myself some Cash. And paint the Engine "Hammered" Black. If the Engine get hot enough to peel hamerite. It will be in need of some serious work!. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaunW Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Red engine paint works like Shelby stripes, it adds about 20bhp. Whereas green engine paint and wire wheels add about 20yrs. ? Mine's black but I do like a coloured engine if all the ancilliaies match, I always think they look cleaner and give the 'impression' that some care and thought has been involved even if it ended up being a little misguided. I'd put money on the fact that the same people who paint their engines in non standard colours are the same people who were spray painting their bike every 5 minutes when they were a kid. Come on, let's see a show of hands, you know who you are ? Confession time : I didn't like the baby blue paintwork inside the Hillman Imp I got when I was 17. So eventually I painted it gloss Oxford Blue with a brush. I basically just treated it like my best ever Airfix kit. I applied it far too thickly and some bits never did properly dry and it always smelled of turps. When I realised I couldn't change the outside colour as easily as I'd hoped, I traded up for a little white 1300 spit mk4. And I showed it a LOT more respect. Thinking back that spit was an absolute rust bucket, sills, arches, door bottoms, nose, everything.... and it had a Fred Flintstone floor. That was probably why I could afford it, but it was only about 10yrs old at the time so it was shocking really. I had to sell that one twice because the first buyer brought it back when they'd looked at it properly. Being bigger than me he got his money back. Second buyer was a scrapyard. There you go, that's a nicer on topic story than all of that boring political stuff? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaunW Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 btw I'm sorry my posts are so long. I plan to write one sentence and I just keep going. It scrolls off the phone screen and I'm shocked when I see it in full. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Nothing wrong with that... but suggest you get a bigger phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 just to be different i used some tins of old style hamerite in a sort of RED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaunW Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 What car is that Pete? I've not seen an expansion tank and filler there before, if that's what it is. Where's your carbs! ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 I wish mine wasn’t black - makes any oil leaks harder to spot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moretonjr_4430 Posted August 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Thanks for the comments, tips and pics. I'm going to re paint black; the current red doesn't match the BRG body paint and black radiator. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted August 2, 2018 Report Share Posted August 2, 2018 12 hours ago, ShaunW said: What car is that Pete? I've not seen an expansion tank and filler there before, if that's what it is. Where's your carbs! ? That looks like the standard radiator / header tank setup for a 1600 Vitesse. One of the carbs is just visible above the front of the header tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted August 2, 2018 Report Share Posted August 2, 2018 On 8/1/2018 at 2:07 AM, ShaunW said: Red engine paint works like Shelby stripes, it adds about 20bhp. Whereas green engine paint and wire wheels add about 20yrs. ? I painted mine green as I like stationary engines, and mine hasn't moved under its' own power since 2003.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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