Paint my engine

[Polishicebreaker]

My Engine's getting a bit rusty in it's hole.

 

Had a crazy idea to paint it 'in situ'-   please talk me out of it!

 

Engine is a 1952 ford 4D as used in Fordson Major Tractors. It starts better than most cars I've owned.

 

x   Ed

[Tony Brooks]

Why not, as long as you can get it thoroughly degreased. Plenty of old newspapers under it to catch the inevitable drips. I would use "machinery and engine paint" because it tends to be heat-resistant, covers well, and I was told it tends to be more tolerant of less than ideal prep.

[jacko264]

What colour will you paint it Ford major blue I hope 😀

[David Schweizer]

2 hours ago, jacko264 said:

What colour will you paint it Ford major blue I hope 😀

 

Like This, perhaps.

 

[Momac]

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

https://www.tfmsuperstore.co.uk/products/tractol-syn-enml-post-office-red-3102-11/
 

 

The farming shop at Penkridge is brilliant. 
Recommend it to anyone passing, 

 

[blackrose]

Mine could also do with a repaint. Doing it in-situ isn't an issue but I think the wiring loom and other bits will need to be removed before the old flaking paint and grime is cleaned off?

[magnetman]

Do people keep their engines in special glass cabinets? 

 

i can't see why the paint would make any difference unless the unit is in a terribly damp atmosphere in which case it might be better to arrange sensible ventilation. 

 

If painting a Diesel engine it seems to me it should be a light cream or silver colour so one can see it properly. 

[blackrose]

10 minutes ago, magnetman said:

i can't see why the paint would make any difference ...

 

It only makes a difference to the aesthetic appearance, which is the idea I think.

 

I don't really understand your glass cabinet comment. There's no practical need to paint an engine, but engine manufacturers seem to do it fairly regularly without supplying glass cabinets with them. There's also no real need to paint the inside of some dry engine rooms but they tend to look better painted.

 

 

Edited March 26 by blackrose

[magnetman]

Painting engines is a branding thing in a way. 

 

I can see why they are painted but I am not sure why one would need to repaint the thing. 

 

As for unpainted steel one of the problems with doing this is if you were to brush clothing against it then the light rusting would come off onto the garment. A lot of people would not like that. An unpainted dry steel panel is never going to rust through from that side obviously but it makes a shocking mess of one's blazer. 

Edited March 26 by magnetman
edited for a number of different reasons

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

I understand/believe BMC’s were painted depending on what degree of reconditioning they’d had.

Gold or Silver. 
 

https://mgaguru.com/mgtech/engine/be100a.htm

 

 

mine’s gold 😃

Edited March 26 by beerbeerbeerbeerbeer

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, magnetman said:

Do people keep their engines in special glass cabinets? 

 

i can't see why the paint would make any difference unless the unit is in a terribly damp atmosphere in which case it might be better to arrange sensible ventilation. 

 

If painting a Diesel engine it seems to me it should be a light cream or silver colour so one can see it properly. 

Of course its damp, you have to have the engine open in daylight hours, regardless of weather so people can look in and go Oooo Arrrr

[dmr]

14 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

I understand/believe BMC’s were painted depending on what degree of reconditioning they’d had.

Gold or Silver. 
 

https://mgaguru.com/mgtech/engine/be100a.htm

 

 

mine’s gold 😃

 

Yes, I remeber all those dodgy adverts for gold and silver recon BMC's.  I wonder if they did a bronze version too....no recon at all, straight from the scrapyard with a quick coat paint 😀.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

3 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

Yes, I remeber all those dodgy adverts for gold and silver recon BMC's.  I wonder if they did a bronze version too....no recon at all, straight from the scrapyard with a quick coat paint 😀.

Talking of golden, I’ve discovered a new (to us) bar!

Its very good, I won’t tell you where but instead will keep you in suspense til we meet again. 
 

[dmr]

5 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

Talking of golden, I’ve discovered a new (to us) bar!

Its very good, I won’t tell you where but instead will keep you in suspense til we meet again. 
 

 

Do they sell BMC recons?   or maybe Golden Glow?

[Polishicebreaker]

17 hours ago, jacko264 said:

What colour will you paint it Ford major blue I hope 😀

absolutely!

15 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

 

Like This, perhaps.

 

 

wow that's tasty

[Tracy D'arth]

10 hours ago, dmr said:

 

Yes, I remeber all those dodgy adverts for gold and silver recon BMC's.  I wonder if they did a bronze version too....no recon at all, straight from the scrapyard with a quick coat paint 😀.

 BMC used to paint their engines to stop the oil leaks.

[Peanut]

There is no need for a glass cabinet when one has a whole room to display the engine in.

[Tony Brooks]

1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

 BMC used to paint their engines to stop the oil leaks.

 

It is the early detection of leaks that makes me favour a clean engine painted in a lighter colour, so stains are more obvious.

[magnetman]

13 hours ago, magnetman said:

 

If painting a Diesel engine it seems to me it should be a light cream or silver colour so one can see it properly. 

 

 

 

17 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

It is the early detection of leaks that makes me favour a clean engine painted in a lighter colour, so stains are more obvious.

 

 

Yes 

Also if the unit is painted in a colour close to white it will generally reflect more light and therefore be easier to work on it unexpected situations when it might be a bit dark. 

 

 

 

 

[Momac]

6 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

 BMC used to paint their engines to stop the oil leaks.

But it didn't work

I did have an A series in one car that dis not leak oil but I think that was unique 

[cuthound]

4 hours ago, Momac said:

But it didn't work

I did have an A series in one car that dis not leak oil but I think that was unique 

 

I had a Riley Elf that didn't leak any oil (except for the time I changed the oil and didn't tighten up the bolt securing the oil filter... 😒)

[manxmike]

4 hours ago, Momac said:

But it didn't work

I did have an A series in one car that dis not leak oil but I think that was unique 

Ha! Almost certainly it had completely run out of oil, or the oil was so full of gunge it wouldn't leak even if the sump was cracked, you have to love the old A series - almost as awful as the K series (why build an engine that the bolts holding on the head also hold on the sump?)

 

A clean, painted engine, not only looks good, it's easier to work on without getting covered in centuries old oil and grime

[Momac]

7 minutes ago, manxmike said:

A clean, painted engine, not only looks good, it's easier to work on without getting covered in centuries old oil and grime

I agree 

Also if kept clean , which in many cases is not really very challenging, its easier to spot any developing fluid leaks. 

 

[blackrose]

23 hours ago, magnetman said:

I can see why they are painted but I am not sure why one would need to repaint the thing. 

 

Because some of them aren't very well prepped and painted by the manufacturer or mariniser in the first place and the paint flakes off after several years. That's the case with mine anyway.

 

As I said, the only real reason to repaint them would be for aesthetic reasons. As you can see from pictures in this thread, a nicely painted engine looks impressive.

Edited March 27 by blackrose