Posted: May-06-2008 06:59PM

I learned about a hugely helpful trick to paint removal today.  I was using commercially available paint stripper (Jasco) and it bubbled the top layer of paint while mostly leaving what was underneath intact.  An engineer I work with who is also a car guy told me about gasket remover and that it contains the same solvent ingredients as the paint removers, but about 4x more of the active solvents.  I had a can of Permatex gasket remover spray so tonight I gave it a shot.  I first painted my 5th coat of Jasco on one side of the block, and the other side I sprayed gasket remover.  The gasket remover side almost instantly started wrinkling and actually peeling the paint off.  In fact, chunks were falling off of the motor and onto the floor.  The Jasco side just had a few small bubbles starting to form. 

Gasket remover appears to cut through multiple layers at once and works scary fast right down to the metal.  I wish I would have known this trick before I started this stripping procedure 3 days ago.  I'd be done by now! 

"I drive a Mini. What are you compensating for?"

Posted: May-06-2008 05:00AM

Richard's Corvair

Selection of the Right Motor oil for the Corvair and other Flat Tappet Engines

Posted: May-06-2008 04:19AM Edited:  May-06-2008 04:39AM

Degreaser, high pressure water, miniature files or dremmel....... lots of better ways.

(you can also see my Bugeye Sprite on that link - one of these days I hope to convince a guy to sell his Leyland Mini pickup so I can restore it, but for now it sits in his backyard)

Richard's Corvair

Selection of the Right Motor oil for the Corvair and other Flat Tappet Engines

Posted: May-06-2008 12:36AM

Craig; I've already used a scraper as a chisel in a few of the flatter places to break off large sheets of paint.  The problem is that a lot of the nooks and crannies are impossible to get at with anything other than a paint brush full of Jasco paint remover.  Some of these spots are too tight for a wire brush to reach (where the differential case meets the transmission), so I've been using a screwdriver.  This was the point where I thought, heck I'll sand blast it.  Now of course, I've been set straight on that idea -- thankfully.

I already have the paint; the OZ metallic green that I had mixed up and aerosol canned a few years ago.  Finally had a reason to pull the motor to replace the 3.44 diff with a 3.1 I've also had for about a year, and it was always my plan to paint the motor out of the car. 

"I drive a Mini. What are you compensating for?"

Posted: May-05-2008 09:37PM

Talk to your paint suppliers

Posted: May-05-2008 05:30PM

Heck Craig, I even used a hammer and chisel on an engine some kid had painted super bright yellow.  It was easier than it sounds as the paint just popped off the block.  Of course I had to wash my hair a couple of time to get the "highlights" out, but it worked and then I painted it with Eastwood's Austin engine green spray paint.

Sand blasting will also embed sand into the relatively soft iron surface and can interfere with good paint adhesion. 

Craig in Campbell 

Posted: May-05-2008 04:56PM

My block and head was was bored and blasted by a machine shop. I individually media blasted the clutch cover, timing cover and plate, diff housing, other aluminum bits like the thermo housing, oil filter head and other similar items that I can't recall right now. We used silicone in spots where we didn't want any media -- it just bounces right off and you can cleanly pull it off in a single piece or two. Stuff a piece of cloth in the breather ends. I then primed and painted. Before all that I took it through two stages of parts washers and wire wheeled a bunch of the smaller bits, nuts, bolts, studs, dizzy mount and so on.

Definitely degrease everything you can before blasting (and scrape the old gaskets) and then get a coat of primer on the steel ASAP (clear on the aluminum).

Have fun. 

Posted: May-05-2008 04:55PM

Thanks for all the feedback.  I will scrap the sand blasting idea.  I'll give the Easy Off oven cleaner a try for the degreasing.  The paint stripper I bought at Home Depot does a pretty good job, but I'm on my 3rd coat now and down to the last layer of paint.  I discovered during this process that the engine has been painted 3 colors on top of the factory color.  It takes a long time to get to the bottom color.

I also have a good heat gun, so I'll give that a try followed by a wire brush.  

This is the reason I ask questions here first before doing something I've never done before.  The feedback I received may very well have saved my motor and loads of headaches for me!

Thanks again.

Craig 

"I drive a Mini. What are you compensating for?"

Posted: May-05-2008 04:52PM

Mark Looman, Ada Michigan 1967 Austin Cooper S

Posted: May-05-2008 04:38PM

Please, please, please do not sandblast your engine under any circumstances !!!!!!  You could end up cursed with an engine poisoned and ruined by grit even after several repair or rebuild cycles.  Any decent auto machine shop should have a jet spray washer that get parts really clean, usually clean enough to paint right over without any further preparation.  Just use good paint, even if in a spray can, and use several thin coats rather than one heavy coat and you'll get a good job of it.  An engine would have to have really thick crusted on rust before even contemplating sand blasting.  Even in that case, some kind of wire wheel attachment in a drill would probably get the rust off without sand.  If the block is really that bad, I'd have to reconsider if it was even worth using. Good luck.

Posted: May-05-2008 03:53PM

"Retired:  No Job, No Money, No Wife!  Will travel anywhere for Minis"

hockey91dad@hotmail.com

Posted: May-05-2008 03:06PM Edited:  May-05-2008 03:22PM

I would think that sandblasting an assembled engine is a recipe for disaster... 

The pic below is of my engine re-paint that was done in the car.  Engine was degreased by hand as best I could, then gone over with a brass wire wheel on a drill.  Then spray bombed with a Ford red engine paint I picked up at OSH hardware.  Came out looking much better than I expected. (This was pre-rebuild, when it was re-painted the same color again, but out of the car of course.)

Steve

Life is driving Minis.  Everything else is just waiting.

Posted: May-05-2008 02:47PM

i STRONGLY advise against sand blasting your engine just to make it bare metal/pretty before you paint. Simply use a good degreaser or engine cleaner and a stiff brush and then rinse it off. If you feel the need to do something to take off the old paint, use a small torch and heat it and wire brush it off.

Really, it's just a motor. It'll get oily/dirty again if you ever use it with any regularity. 

Heating the block before putting on the engine paint will help the paint adhere-- it sweats the block and gets out lingering moisture.

I don't think I would go through the trouble of priming a motor before painting it-- and this from the guy who took days to put a british flag on his motor (see profile pic).

--Spank 

Posted: May-05-2008 02:39PM

I'm going to sand blast my 1275 (out of the car) this weekend and as I've never done this before, I thought I'd run it by some of you who have experience with this.

I have removed the starter, alternator, fan, harmonic balancer, coil, clutch slave, oil filter head, starter solonoid and intake/ exhaust.

I have heard that duct tape is the thing to use to seal up all of the holes?

I plan on keeping an old valve cover and gasket on as well as the tappet covers and gaskets.

I was going to use regular silica blasting sand from a local hardware supply store.

I have left the clutch cover on as I thought that would create a seal to keep sand out. I'll tape over the starter hole and peep hole.

After blasting, is there anything that can be flushed through the motor from the head on down to wash away any sand dust that may have found its way in?  

How about degreasing before blasting.  I've put paint stripper on and the paint is wrinkled and bubbled, but there is still oil and grease on the motor. 

Is sand blasting better than steam cleaning for paint prep?  I want it down to bare metal as I am going to apply a self-etching primer before paint, and that adheres best to bare metal.  Also, I don't really want water getting into the motor and sitting for a while before I have a chance to put oil back in and run it.

Suggestions?

Thanks 

"I drive a Mini. What are you compensating for?"