I'm trying to get various pieces of the engine painted (battery covers, engine cover, intake, etc.), and I asked my guy at the body shop this morning if he could do it. He said that if he paints it with traditional body paint, the paint will probably flake off in a couple months due to heat. He said he could try powder coating it, but the plastic might melt during the baking process. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, since those parts have to already be designed to tolerate the heat of the engine. Maybe the baking process goes a lot hotter? I dunno.

At any rate, I know a bunch of people on here have done this and I was hoping for the exact details on how you got it done.

Thanks!

 

It can be done but I can't tell you how. What I do know is that it's not easy to do it right. Basically the plastic is always "outgassing" & it makes it difficult for the paint to adhere. That's how it has been explained to me by a few painters in the past.

 

bump now that west coast guys are online

 

isn't there a high temp paint you can use? stuff that goes on calipers, etc

 

I think calipers are anodized. But yes, I think there should be a high temp paint out there. My guy would be willing to do it if he knew how to do it right. He said it's just not good for business if he sells me a bad paint job.

 

How about this:

Sand the plastic surface down for prep

Prime with a crylon fusion spray

Use high temp paint for the final color

 

mad, sounds good but I think the main problem my guy has is that he doesn't really have experience with using high temp paints so he doesn't know what he would buy. Do you know of a good product/brand to use?

 

Duplicolor high temperature engine paint is pretty standard

 

(sometimes called "high heat")

 

Getting paint to stick is all about the prep work.You can spray all you plastics with regular car paint.You can even spray your engine block if you wanted to. I have my battery covers and MAF sensor tube painted for over 1 1/2 years now.No you can not powder coat plastic.It is baked in a oven at over 300 degrees.G352NV has his valve covers painted.There are many others that have painted their engine covers and battery covers as well.

 

So if I follow madchef's suggestion with regard to sanding, etc. I should be good to go?

 

Yes,but make sure the parts are clean and dry.Use thin even coats.

 

2 years and no issues when i had my old engine painted