What is the very best engine paint .. ?

[Watson47]

I am looking to source a really top quality glossy, engine enamel/paint, for re-painting two Gardner engines to 'show condition' - mixed to colour RAL 7010. This RAL reference is the equivilent to 'Gardner Grey' & will be applied to cast iron heads and blocks.

I am aware of 'Gardner Grey' paint on the market, but found sellers very reluctant to provide detailed specifications for preparation & application. The engines are out for planned 8-year survey & de-coke work & obviously the best time to do a top paint finish. I am anxious to get this right, as I would probably explode if the paint started to peel off after installation ... !

I have heard that Volvo engine paint is a really excellent paint, but I am unsure if it is available in RAL colours. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[Jcorstorphine]

I am looking to source a really top quality glossy, engine enamel/paint, for re-painting two Gardner engines to 'show condition' - mixed to colour RAL 7010. This RAL reference is the equivilent to 'Gardner Grey' & will be applied to cast iron heads and blocks.

I am aware of 'Gardner Grey' paint on the market, but found sellers very reluctant to provide detailed specifications for preparation & application. The engines are out for planned 8-year survey & de-coke work & obviously the best time to do a top paint finish. I am anxious to get this right, as I would probably explode if the paint started to peel off after installation ... !

I have heard that Volvo engine paint is a really excellent paint, but I am unsure if it is available in RAL colours. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

I only know of Volvo (death colour) Green but I also recall that some of the petrol gas guzzlers were Red. The only good thing about using Volvo Paint is that it helps the Swedish GNP. Other thing is that if you use Volvo paint, your engine will not be very reliable.

Have you seen this advert

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gardner-Engine-Marine-Grey-Enamel-Paint-Gardner-Grey-/250815413023

As I am sure you will know, the best paint in the world will not cope very well with oily dirty surfaces. If you want the paint to stick, you need to clean the surfaces as if you were going to eat your dinner off them. (come to think of it, not the first time I have laid a bacon butty on the cylinder head of an engine I was working on)

Clean, clean, clean clean.

 

[Watson47]

Thanks very much .... yes saw that advert, but they don't ship to Northern Ireland. If needs be I will go fetch some directly, or try to get a courier to collect, but first wanted to check if there were any other options - hence this Thread.

The heads and blocks are off the engines, so I can clean them to any paint manufacturers application specifications - just need the manufacturer and the best paint .. !

 

[Bobobolinsky]

I would use a fairly standard single pot, xylene based industrial metal paint. Nowadays most coatings are only as good as the preparation, and then spray apply, brushing tends to build paint in nooks and crannies which doesn't cure and the oil/diesel washes it off. Your local industrial paint supplier will be able to mix it. Personally I use Lechler, Dacrylate is another good brand

 

[Keith 66]

I have used engine paint from this lot with success, http://www.frost.co.uk/engine-enamel-paint.html, They used to do a Buick green that was an exact match for Volvo green.

 

[crisjones]

We used to use Eurospeed Enamel paint, this is xylene based as mentioned above. We used to get it mixed to any RAL number in 5l tins. Very tough stuff and also seemed able to cope with some very dodgy surfaces when applying it. Even rough brush application almost always produced a very good finish - spray application would give an even better finish.

Best place to start will be your local trade decorators supplier (not B&Q type place), they will be able to advise best paint for the job and also provide full data sheets for it.

Alternatively try your local motor factors, they can also mix paint to any RAL colour. Modern 2 pack paints are brilliant and very hard wearing although spray application needs very good breathing apparatus - again the supplier will be able to provide all data sheets.

Whatever you use the preparation work will dictate how good the final finish is, also be sure to use primer to match the paint.