Painting Volvo B20 Engine

This weekend I finally painted the engine.
I started masking the engine block and cylinder head. It took me almost 6 hours to get them ready for the paint job...

Before and after masking I cleaned everything thoroughly with acetone.
The acetone also ate my "chemical resistant" rubber gloves from Bunnings, strong stuff......

I used an old masking trick invented by old school gasket makers;  First apply the masking tape and then hit the edge of the masked area softly with a hammer, this ensures razor sharp masking edges.
For the spark plug holes I used washers wrapped in a piece of masking tape, filled the little bolt holes with aluminium foil and ear plugs and used carton and toilet rolls for the expansion plugs openings.

I applied 3 coats within one hour, two light coats and a thicker wet top coat.

VHT Engine enamel, acetone, masking tape and a hammer will do the job

Engine block masked and cleaned with acetone

B20 just after the third wet coat

Cylinder head with 3 coats

Masking tape removed

When the paint was completely dry I baked the parts at 93°C for 60 minutes. Sometimes a big oven can be pretty handy..I really like the smell of fresh engine paint in the kitchen ;)

My Kitchen Rules

Smells good

I used a heater to "bake" the engine block, it was too big and heavy,
even for my big kitchen oven.

Next job will be painting the black and silver engine parts and get rid of the red dust on my clothes, shoes, floor, lawnmower, bike...