Painting an engine

[sean_bullock]

Hi guys,

Just throwing this out there for a bit of advice...

I've got a 1981 GPZ 550 D1 engine that I want to paint black. What's the best way of doing it to get the best/sturdiest finish? I've painted it before myself with VHT paint but the finish wasn't great and it was flaking by the end of the year.

Cheers!

[Geordie Mick]

Preparation, preparation, preparation...

I've done the casings on my SV and the whole of the Ducati Supersport motor. Slightly different tack in each case.

On the SV, I sanded the side cases down to bare metal, as if to polish but just stopped at the finest grade of wet and dry to leave a key for the paint. Then rattle can VHT, building thin coats slowly. No flaking as yet.

Decided that would be too tricky on anything but the flat-ish side covers so soda blasted the SS motor (whole, not split) then sanded any bits that needed it before acid etch primer and then VHT again. Looks decent if not exactly showroom, but it's still just a rolling chassis so no idea how it'll last..

Mick..

[sean_bullock]

Soda blasting sounds like a better option on mine since it's pretty much made of cooling fins. The SV still looks fine, so that should be fine for a few more years yet!