Engine Blast

Neo7 said:

So what's your thoughts on spraying the cylinder heads fins and rocker cover cans with black engine enamel?... Would that help with heat dissipation?

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Neo7 said:

Hi all,
I'm currently rebuilding a 25HP V-Twin and before I put it all back together I want the case and cylinder cooling fins to be clean and bright aluminium.
So I was wondering if anyone has shot, sand or glass blasted their V-Twin case before and what type of aggregate did you use for best results?

Many thanks.
Neo

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Craftsman Garage said:

I've used light coats of aluminum paint with great results.

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slomo said:

Visually yes, bet it looked like a new baby calf.

Thermally, no. All it did was mummy wrap the cooling fins killing cooling performance. Doesn't matter it if was silver or copper paint. Paint in itself encases things like a warm coat in winter. Think about it.

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Auto Doc's said:

These discussions about aesthetics and "curb appeal" always make me wonder about people's priorities.

A pretty engine does not make it reliable. The factory castings normally clean up well with soap and water without any other help. All media blasting does is create pours for the aluminum to trap water, then it turns into a dusty white powder coating on the surfaces.

Painting is not suggested, especially the colling fins because that acts as a heat barrier insulation and will retain a lot of heat, that defeats the purpose of air cooling the engine. The majority of the cooling fins are covered on purpose with air deflector tins so the engine flywheel fan can route forced air across the cooling fins.

Most factory-built engines do not have any paint applied until all covers are in place and the engine is ready to be installed on the machine. Some engines have no paint except for the main crankcase and that is it.

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