Not sure if this is the proper forum for these questions, but after searching, I couldn't find answers to a few questions I have regarding engine painting...

Getting close to reassembly of my 525SC...bumped up a bit.
I want to paint it with more than just spray can engine paint. I'm assuming that base coat / clear coat will hold up, but I'm wondering about the prep. Should I spray a good epoxy based primer, a sealer, then base?

I plan on painting the block, o-pan, & heads with a grey metallic, & the manifold, blower, v-covers, & carb with a blue candy. Should I assemble entire engine, tape off & paint, or paint disassembled? My concern is trying to avoid spraying gasket surfaces, & after assembly, I find bare metal.

Thanks for any input...just looking for a bit of insight from folks who may have went this route.

Yes you will need to lay down a good sealer. PPG's DP epoxy sealers work well I would also recomend their single stage Concept line of paint instead of base coat clearcoat. You should have no trouble with that product and its pretty user friendly. Probably best to assemble the long block and paint that as an assembly. I prefer to do all the other components separatly. Looks cleaner and I never liked paint on nut and bolts.

Thanks Dave...
That is the epoxy primer I was looking at going with.
At least I'm going in the right direction

So you dont need a zinc primer?

The PPG's DP epoxy Primer/sealers will work great and comes in a few colors so you can use what will be close to the final base color.

You won't need a zinc primer.

i use zinc on alunimum, dp on metal and nothing if it already has good paint on it..just scuff and shoot, i like imron on my stuff tho..

I use an etchng primer, but it is hard to sand and smooth, so be careful. Then I use a saning primer on top.

long block and intake all assembled and then masked off is what I have had the best results with. Sometimes the accesory brackets as well. All accesories, valve covers, carbs, bell housings etc I paint and then assemble.

Good luck, take your time and it will look great.

If you are shooting candy, make sure you paint all the pieces that are going to be that color at the same time, or you will have a hard time matching everything.

Put a lot of clear on everything. Gas and oil and the rest of the crap in the bilge will not stand up to single stage paint.

How good does a rattle can job come out with just solid black? I can understand with a fancy engine scheme

I use single stage imron on allot of engines including mine in my x,10 yrs and still looks as good as it did when i first painted it,i even shot clear on the (bare) aluminum intake and cylinder heads and it still looks new.now if your in salt water then that's another story..

looks good for a little whyle,then it will start to rust..if your going to rattle can it go to a body shop supply co and have them mix the clor in poly urathane and paint it..that will last..