I stick bolts in the holes so I don't have to run them with a tap afterwards. If the heads are on it, I ball up pieces of clean rags and stuff them in the exhaust ports to keep paint out.

Any reason not to powder coat a bare block or heads??

I was going to have my block/heads powder coated, but the coater suggested against it. He said the coating starts to liquify at ~400 degrees, and did want to take a chance of ruining the coating after the motors together and run for a while. He's doing it in hi-temp epoxy instead.

Sounds about right 400*.....didn't think a block got that hot.....heads near exhaust ports do.....just a thought

I've never used clear, just plain black Imron. In the event you need some touch up you'll have better results without the clear.

my .02... cause i paint for a living , go to your local paint supply, purchase a gallon of quality reducer and wipe the block down with old cotton t shirts , towels ,etc..get some little wire brushes and scrub where you can...

if possible , get a gallon of a product called "chemeprime" which gives a phosphorous coating...
http://www.earlstation.com/chemprime.html

and apply..

then , after that process takes place ,apply a quality 2 part epoxy primer followed by the color of your choice.

the right way to do it is to spray the epoxy and then follow with your color coat(wet on wet).. if you want bling , put bc/cc for metallic or pearl colors. if not , just pick a color , red , black , yellow ,etc and go with a decent single stage paint.

pm me if you need my phone# and i can give you more specific instuction if you want/need it...

Is there anything else like chemprime? Looks like that stuff is mail order only.

I want to start assembling now... should I wait and paint the block first?

I wait to paint until the long block is assembled. For simplicity, you can use a single stage from any automotive paint supplier.
A lot of my customers use pearls and candys in the paint on the boat and want the engine to match, so I shoot quite a bit. I use a lot of House of Color Pearls. It is a lot more work than a single stage, but worth it when its done. If you want the color to match some anodized hardware in the boat for example, you will have to shoot a base coat/ clear coat. Eddie