Need tips on painting my motor. It is aready painted but I'm thinking of changing colors. Boat is yellow black and white and theMerc blue clashes pretty badly.

What prep for degreasing and before painting?

What type of paint should I use?

i would use PPG's DX-440 wax and grease remover. should also use some kind of adhesion promoter like BullDog or maybe one of PPG's epoxy sealers. for paint i would use a single stage like PPG's Concept. are the motors out of the boat ?

Yes, it is coming out.
( I always do my winter boat projects in March )

It is clean and pretty much oil free but I don't want any adhesion problems. A few bucks and a few hours in prep time will make a nicer job. Thanks for the tips.

I stripped my motor with chemical stripper, than cleaned it with Super Clean. After rinsing clean I used PPG's DX579 Metal Prep, then DX330 wax and grease remover. Then I sprayed directly over the bare metal with PPG's Delstar acrylic Enamel. I know, no primer. But on something that produces so much heat, the less build of product the better. Plus, Delstar has properties to it that adhere directly to clean bare metal like glue. Its been on for 7 years now and isn't discolored or flaking off anywhere. Not even around the exhaust ports.

My brother in law is a painter...this is the engine in his jetboat...he said he used PPG Dx 330 to thoroughly degrease...then applied PPG DBU base and 2082 stratoclear....this picture was taken with over 100 hrs of run time...

clean with laquer thinner and use a urethane single stage paint, will last longer than base/ clear

glassdave, you have a pm.

I have painted a lot of engines with PPG and Sherwin WIlliams Base /clear systems......and not one has come back with a problem......the properties of single stage urethane ....are no different than the properties of urethane clear....

Sorry- the base coat on all base coat clear systems is not a true urethane. Only the clear coat is. Most base coats use an acrylic resin base some even use a laquer base. The base coat because it is not true urethane and does not have the same heat reaction as clear has a tendency to sink in or craze over time. Sorry been doing this stuff for a living for over 30 years.

SO have I Jim....I guess we have to agree to disagree...None of the paints I use have had lacquer in them for years....base ...or clear.....and I have painted alot of boat engines.....and they get scratched up and filthy from owners lack of care....long before any discoloration or crazing sets in. The one in the picture has well over 100 hrs on it and It looked exactly as it did the day I painted it