Engine paint suggestions

Can anyone suggest some paint that also looks really really cool on the engine. I want to paint the valve cover black. I also wan to paint the front calipers and master cylinder. I don't like the super shiny look but more of that matte finish. Any suggestions or how to go about finding what I want would be great.

josh

 

Good question. Other show machines & trailer queens i can't say I've seen any of these air cooled engines painted. Reason being that i can think of is they are air cooled. What better way to cool an air cooled engine than a plain aluminum surface. Reason why most or all water cooled engines are painted is internal to external cooling capabilities.

These air cooled engines came from the factory unpainted for a reason. I myself wouldn't change that.

 

I always cringe when I see someone paint an automatic transmission for that exact reason. It holds in the heat instead of helping dissipate it through the case. Some will disagree and that's fine. As far as XJ's though, my 750 midnight engine came painted black from the factory and even my 650 has a black section of the cooling find that were also painted from factory as far as I understand

 

The engine came painted from the factory, but how much of it was painted varied by model. Paint has almost no insulating value.

Scroll to the bottom of this link for engine paint info.

 

Black is the best absorber and emitter of radiated energy. Since an air cooled engine runs so hot, I think we would be interested in the most efficient means of radiating energy, which happens to be black.

 

Bigfitz write-up on the valve cover - probably a bit of overkill on the cleaning process but it sure looks good.

https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/valve-cover-refurb-step-by-step-with-pics.22125/

The drawback with this and doing similar on the engine block is the rattle can paint will not be fuel resistant or solvent resistant, so something down the road like looking for a vacuum leak using carb or brake cleaner might leave you crying a bit when the solvents drip down on your freshly painted fins. However, knowing what you have done as far as painting that could be avoided, and the rattle can paint will give a very nice look if done with patience and care.

 

When I painted my swingarm, the auto-parts guy recommended an epoxy paint they sold. It wasn't costly, but was supposed to be good against various fluids and durable to road debris. time will tell!

 

There are fuel resistant paints avaialble in spray-bombs, but they cost quite a bit more per oz than when buying a pint can.

 

Yea, the 2K paints are available in rattle can formulas, but I believe they contain the isocyanates so I don't like to recommend them - standard respirators are not recommended and to be truly safe a fresh air respirator (expensive) should be used as well as a ventilated paint booth.

 

Enamel paint works well enough anyway. With proper prep and cure time it takes decades of fuel spills before you'll see damage to the paint.

 

the XJ motors have clear coating and paint as well as being painted black from factory.

check out the xj4ever paint catalog you will be surprised at what is painted
XJ PARTS CATALOG, SECTION O: EMBLEMS, STRIPES, DECALS, PAINT


Cylinder Heads and Cylinder Jugs:

On the top end of the engine, most XJ engines feature the Code 162 Satin Silver Metallic flat metallic painted cylinder jugs and cylinder heads, with Code 98 LGB low-gloss black or Code 33 Competition Yamaha Black semi-gloss black cylinder head valve covers, while all 1981 XJ550 models, and the 1981 and 1983 (but not the 1982 model!) XJ750 Seca models featured un-painted, machine-polished and clear-coated valvecovers.

Other models are equipped with Code 58 Intense Gloss Black painted cylinder heads, cylinder jugs, or both. On models with black-painted heads or jugs, the edges of the fins may or may not be painted black also; if not, they have a natural cast aluminum look to them.

Some later model (1983-later) model engines may have come with un-painted heads and jugs.

Once again, although not originally used, we strongly recommend a high-temp clear-coat be used over all painted surfaces for protection.