crip

i am in the process of rebuilding a motor and i am trying to figure out the best way to recondition the block. the last one i just cleaned it and repainted with engine enamel alum. color. it worked pretty good but would like something closer to the factory block surface/color. i have seen guys beadblast rbc manifolds after cutting and shaving them and to me it looked factory as hell. anyone got any info on beadblasting and could this be done to a block and would it give it the factory look? i want this block and tranny to be super clean. i also just don't like the idea of spray painting this motor. any help would be great, thanks

careawholelot

hot-tanked (cleaned)

crip

the block was alreadyhot tanked at the machine shop when it got bored and stuff. it came back clean of all the grime and oil but felt like it had a film over it and you could take a piece of fine grit and sand alittle and see the metal come back. after did that i went ahead with wire brushes and sand paper and started cleaning. this is what they look like now, as you can see it is hard to get in the corners real good with the sand paper. really want this to look as factory as i can get. i will paint if i have to but would like to find a way to resurface the metal.

gmn.96type r

that looks pretty sweet to me nice job!

DC40

Shiny! Wish mine looked like that. I'd say paint would work. You could bead blast it, but I wonder if it will oxidize again eventually?

steveDC2

like what shop do u take a motor to get it hot tanked? and how much does it cost?

crip

i took mine to a local machine shop, cost depends, its not that much though.

dc10, what do you know about bead blasting?, could it be done to a block? i am sure eventually it will oxidize. most metal tend to do that depended on conditions. will bead blasting give me the factory look i am looking for?

keepinitrehaal

I have a picture of a block that looks great. I think all they did was spray something like simple green or something similar and pressure washed it. I have it saved somewhere. I'll post it when I find it.

keepinitrehaal

Here is the link for it. They show a before and after of the cleaning. Looks good to me and was thinking about doing it myself.

http://hondamarketplace.com/showthread.php?t=2625332

racebum

it's around 50

trueblood

cleaned and painted. Looks good though. painted my block but not the head. still in the build stage right now.

crip

i cleaned and painted my last block and it did not look that good. wonder what paint he used. anyone know whatthe difference in the duplicolor engine enamel in aluminum and cast coat aluminum? the cast coat looks a little dingy er. but might be closer to stock color idk

steveDC2

damn i want my motor like this! how do u do it? or where can i get it done and how much?

keepinitrehaal

I havent heard of any shop doing this. It should be that hard tho. I'd imagine some type of degreaser to spray on there and let sit, pressure wash and spray away but correct me if im wrong.

crip

for most motors that will work, clean with good degreaser, mask off and paint or paint will it tore down. my block started to oxidize witch is why i started sanding. you could paint over the oxidation but just not as clean of a surface. just don't have the same texture as facory.

DC40

I've done media blasting on mostly body items (doors, deck lids). Depending on how bad the rust is you can go from organic media like walnut shells and to more abrasive stuff like glass beads and sand. The only concern with an engine block is the media getting into the block. You could always call up shops that do media blasting and get their opinion on it. Here's a link on the different types of media. http://www.kramerindustriesonline.co...ting-media.htm

trueblood

I didnt do any media blasting to my block. I just cleaned it up with degreaser, sanded some tough spots next and then painted.
Started with self-etching primer, then basecoat/clearcoat.
Mine is painted spectramaster grey, looks good in the sunlight. Tranny is next. Head will probably stay the same (maybe). Crappy cellphone pics in my gallery if courious.

Yall think I should paint head too?

crip

i would paint the head to, would look funny if the head was the only thing still silver

all-mtr-teg

Media Blasting works good, but if you want a real luster looking block or head, use engine paint primer, then the aluminum base, then a few coats of engine paint clear. The cast aluminum looks just like the name suggest, CAST. It's duller than the Aluminum paint.

Here's one of the blocks I did

all-mtr-teg

For sure. Here's another block I built, tight wad customer didn't want me to do a valve job and clean the head and paint it. Now it looks like crap.

crip

this is my last one, i used duplicolor alum. came out ok, i just want it to look stock and imo it is not quite the same. i have a brad new oil pump. i am going to test the cast coat alum. next to the new oil pump and see if that is any closer.
homies motor is whack, why clean/paint the block and not the head or spring for new oilpump ect.

crip

here is pics of the above sanded motor, painted with the cast coat aluminum engine enamel. you can see it almost matches the new oil pump. i think its looks better than the aluminum engine enamel. but still not perfect. i can see some scrathes from sanding. wish i could find a way to recondition it back to the factory metal surface. but i guess this will have to work.

steveDC2

can i degrease my engine and pressure wash it while my motor is in my car?

crip

yes, just be careful of area's that you don't want water in(dizzy, sparkplugs) and it helps to have compressed air to blow the motor off.

steveDC2

wat degreaser should i use in specific?