Paint for engine tins

[DavidSwedem]

Is high temp paint required on engine tins and how hot can they get?

Thanks

[John Rogers]

The ones I made from aluminum sheet when my 914 had the big four was painted with an aluminum primer and then a dull black color. The paint chipped or scratched mainly on the bottom from road clagg but never suffered from heat issues. The six conversion had Jim Patrick's sheet metal which was powder coated. You could get a powder coating setup from Harbor Freight and it might hold up a bit better.

[pSquared]

Never could get any thing engine wise that was painted to work, or work for long.

Very pleased with all the engine tin and other various stuff I had powder coated tho.
Been very durable. Neither heat, nor spilled fuel, nor vapor of oil seems to faze it.

Close as I've been able to find to behaving like orig stuff from the factory.

Was so happy with the engine bits, did the fuel tank (exterior) and suspension parts
as well.

Did I mention was relatively cheep compared to other stuff. Good luck.

p2

[TheCabinetmaker]

Engine enamel in a spray can works great for me. I have used I think it is Duplicolor, brand, Just look for engine enamel at an auto parts store, or hardware store. for best result you need to degrease the tin and sand. the old paint may have a lot of oils trapped in it, making adhesion an issue. The engine enamel resists many automotive chemicals, and dries fast. I prefer it to rustoleum for this application, however rustoleum has worked ok also (do not mix the two, and rustoleum take much longer to dry and longer for recoat time.

so clean clean clean, sand then follow the spray can instructions, pay close attention to recoat times, and you should be golden.

I have spray painted many an engine tin and it holds up so well, that even DECADES later it is still nice.

powder coating is an option, but frankly I have not been too impressed by it. It is costly and it too can fail.

With the spray can you can also do quick touch ups to a perfect match if you scratch the finish

So Duplicolor Engine Enamel is my first choice for cooling tin and intake runners.

High temp paint is needed for things like the muffler or heat exchangers, that is what I use there , for that I often select rustoleum BBQ high temp paint.