H.P. 500's
 

Does anyone know if there is any special process involved in painting the blue parts on an H.P.500 including the intake's. The intakes are new and have to be painted, and all the other parts have been stripped of the old paint. Also would powder coating be an alternative. Would the heat involved in powder coating be a problem for the intakes. Everything is ready to go including the pulleys, valve covers and power steering pump. Any input would be appreciated. (doing both motors)

Contact an autobody supplier. There is a process to prepping aluminum, steel is easy. Use an etch primer or epoxy and paint right over it.

If you want them to look nice and last ... powder coat them .

i agree,there are so many color choices avalable now,and if you want merc blue,you can get it,atleast whear i get my coating done.
.

FYI paint has a smoother shinier finish. Lasts just as long as powdercoat if you don't abuse it.:)

And its way easier to fix if it gets chipped or scratched.

fixx
 

their is really no need for a primer on bare alunimum but you can still use it..if i were to use a primer i would use a dp series epoxy primer from ppg..i sprayed imron clear on my airgap intake to presurve the alunimum look on my x18 over 10 yrs ago and it still looks new..alunimum is poras and gives the paint something to bite into..i also have inron on my engine which also looks like new...

Use a good epoxy primer, base and clear. The problem with the powdercoat is once it chips the aluminum will start to oxidize and the powdercoat will begin to flake off around the chipped area. Also Dodge's code PB5 is so close to Merc blue you can't tell the difference. Ive painted the tops of 500 efi plenums that color and not painted the manifold and you couldn't tell.

Standard powder bubbles at a little over 400 degrees. Regular paint is good for 550. If you ever lose a water pump impeller and don't catch it quickly, you'll bake the powder on the rear runners of the intake near the heads.

MC