Getting ready to take my block out to the local machine shop for a hot tank, bore and hone ($80). They don't offer blasting so I have been debating whether or not to take it somewhere to be blasted first.

Anybody got any pics of a tanked block compared to a blasted & tanked block?

I am assuming that is the correct order ... blast it first so the tanking removes any left over media .... confirmation on that?

Thanks

 

If your block is oxidized then hot tanking wont fix that. If its covered in grease then hot tanking is sufficient. A local shop tried a baking soda blast on my block, but it didnt really impress me. I ended up just painting my block VHT silver.

If you blast it your going to have to clean the crap out of it and remove all the oil galley plugs and clean it super duper good. You dont want any sand in there. Hot tanking is not enough to safely clean it after blasting.

 

Muckman pretty much covered it, unless you are prepared to THOROUGHLY clean out the sand, just go with hot tank/paint to get your desired finish.

 

Blaaahhhh paint so hokey

I guess I have seen too many blocks with paint peeling off of them ...

Maybe I could attack it with a wire brush drill attachment after tanking.

Hmmm ....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jfoster &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Blaaahhhh paint so hokey

I guess I have seen too many blocks with paint peeling off of them ...

Maybe I could attack it with a wire brush drill attachment after tanking.

Hmmm ....

</TD></TR></TABLE>

its all about prep, and proper materials, if you do the right steps the paint wont come off

 

Damn. I might just have to paint it. So VHT primer and paint immediatley after being hot tanked ....

The thing is I have a bling'n new head and I would like the block to look just as brand new.

 

I would sand blast it, pressure wash it, hot thank it and put 2 light coats of clear on it after its all done.. Of course you would mask a bunch of **** off for this.

 

Did you just call me a honky? My paint hasnt chipped off at all. If you want bare clean aluminum then your going to have to blast it. Make sure you cover all bearing and gasket surfaces, basically any orifice.

Heres mine painted.

 

i wire brushed mine and it made the block look really nice

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Muckman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Did you just call me a honky? My paint hasnt chipped off at all. If you want bare clean aluminum then your going to have to blast it. Make sure you cover all bearing and gasket surfaces, basically any orifice.

Heres mine painted.
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That looks pretty good. Does anyone have any info on painting and heat transfer? Does it affect running temps substantially?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdm94eg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i wire brushed mine and it made the block look really nice </TD></TR></TABLE>

I am thinkin I will give the wire brush a shot ... if it doesn't turn out to my liking I'll break out the paint.

People with blasted or brushed blocks, does the motor keep that clean look for very long ??? Or does it go right back to old lookin after some time in the car??

 

ive cleaned my blocks and I've painted them. If its in a daily Driver you'll have a dirty block in a matter of months unless you clean it regulary. I took mine to flag stop 2 times a month to keep road trash from maken it look ugly.

 

The big advantage of using a paint, specifically an engine enamel is that it resists chemicals and solvents like gas and oil. So they will clean up alot easier than a bare block. The paint wont affect temps at all however the better paints made specifically for engine blocks handle the heat without problem.

I would have prefered to blast mine as I think it would look cleaner but as JDMs1eeper said it wont last long. Blocks from the north tend to oxidize alot faster than ones in the lower states away from snow, salt and moisture. Go check out a block from Arizona then look at yours.

 

I will add this to your post Muckman...

Ive always painted my blocks but I also use a clearcoat on it after ( VHT or something like that make an high temp clearcoat )

It makes the block a lot easier to clean and look better too !

 

I never thought of that. Have you ever found a better shade of silver/grey that more closely resembles bare aluminum than the paint I used?

I have used their clear on other surfaces and it seemed to dry with a yellowish tint to it.

 

Here is my block I just painted.

 

solid chrome lol

my friend painted his with that and it faded after awhile

muckman what kind of paint did u use?

 

bling bling. i use to hot tank my new jersey block (rofl) and wire brushed anything crazy like corrosion, and then painted it with PPG aluminum motor paint ($4.99 a can at any car paint store)... turned out like this




Modified by tegasaurus at 6:22 PM 3/22/2006

 

if you are bead blasting the block, you should hot tank it first to get the grime and grease off.
When you bead blast, you want it to be clean as possible so the sand isnt sticking to the grease/grime.
then you can do the bore/hone and hot tank before you put it back together.

 

I was thinking about using gloss clear powder coat when I pull and clean mine. Any reason why not?

 

Looking great guys. Any tips on the paints you are using (high temp?) or # of coats of primer.

 

VHT-SP995

 

becareful when you hot tank...depending what chemicals they use...your threads can sometimes become soft and weak being that its an aluminum block...therefore...stripping it when u thread a bolt in....i had two of them in my block after i hot tanked....luckily it wasnt the head threads...it was the bottom thread on the driver side mount, and the bottom one for the powersteering on the bottom...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Muckman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">VHT-SP995 </TD></TR></TABLE>

Satin silver huh ..... I tried VHT Aluminum and it looked super fake chrome like ^^ dudes ... I then exchanged it for a VHT Flat Aluminum and that was closer but it came out with a powdery texture ... used it on my IC pipes ...

I agree I am looking for paint that resembles bare ... I don't want it to look like I painted it . I think I am set on painting it now though since tank + bead blast + tank again + hours of cleaning after just for it to get shitty lookin in my DD right away seems dumb. And since painting will make it easier to keep clean I am in.

 

ok so i'm fixing to take my block out, i'm gonna clean it and have it hot tanked, how many coats of paint and should i clear coat it

 

I usually use plasti-kote rebuilders cast finish because it actually looks like new aluminum instead of the typical semi chrome that most of that 'aluminum' paint looks like. Heres what to look for:
http://www.plastikote.com/plas...ilder