Engine Block Cleaning Maintaining

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I haven’t had a lot of time lately but continue to make some headway on restoring my Series 81, the attached photo was taken yesterday. I have degreased and hand cleaned the block. I was talking to my local Auto Paint Supplier while picking up some more supplies and he mentioned he would recommend a sealer on the block to help keep it clean in the future. Has anyone tried anything like this before?

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Cylinder Block should is at a machine shop getting some water jacket broken bolts removed and then will be going to another shop to have the new valves seated. I cant wait to get it back so I can finally start putting things back together.

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A lot of the outside of early aluminum crankcases had aluminum paint “daubed” on them as somewhat of a sealant. I don’t know if this was done on Series 81, I’ve mostly seen it on ought and teens car engines…

The inside should be sealed with Gasoila, a red compound that will seal the porous aluminum and not flake off if metal is relatively clean.

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Glyptal is one product, commonly called crankcase paint, but really a casting sealer. Aluminum castings are commonly porous and will seep. I have seen castings smoothed with body fillers for that smoooth look. Seems to me that an exterior finish similar to the original is sufficient but for show cars a better finish is easier to clean and will withstand more cleaning. One shop I visited painted all engines with Imron 2-part: silver for the aluminum crankcases and gloss black or other appropriate color for the remainder. They did look really good. Maybe a clear sealer on the aluminum castings is what they were recommending, but the ones I saw which had the castings painted silver looked like new aluminum.

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I like the idea of silver and gloss black. I think that would look sharp. Thanks for the ideas ill discuss with my auto paint supplier.

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Charles,

Glyptal is paint for the INTERIOR of the crankcase.

It keeps the oil on the inside so it does not weep through the aluminum.

You apply it with a brush.

You can then paint the outside of the crankcase with AlumiBlast from Eastwood or whatever aluminum paint you prefer.

The block should be painted with high temp engine paint.

I believe Black or a Medium to Dark Green were the correct colors for the engine block.

Peter

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Eastwood now sells a 2k engine enamel that I used on my ’29 block for the first time. It is amazing paint, and if it does as advertised, will give you as good a sheen as you can get. It is, however, a challenge for the novice. It is very thick even with the reducer. If you don’t have experience with this type of paint, take it to a shop. Not sure if they have clear or aluminum, but the gloss black is better than regular basecoat clearcoat for sheen, and is tough as nails.

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An aluminum crankcase looks best if it is natural aluminum. When it is painted, it LOOKs, ‘Painted’. I do not really care for the painted aluminum look,, The ’29 and later cast iron engine blocks were painted, and look correct when painted..

Use Glyptal on the inside to seal the porous aluminum.. I’ve had more than one CLEAN aluminum S80/81 crankcase weep engine oil from the oil flinging off a connecting rod/journal.

Use an aluminum cleaner, like used on aluminum boats, pontoons, and railings near water.. The aluminum will come out clean and with little staining.. The natural aluminum surface is much better looking and IS authentic .

Greg L

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I do like the natural clean aluminum look, it is not perfect yet looks good. Once it’s clean Is it best to use a sealer to preserve the look and make it easier to maintain?

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I don’t know of any sealer that will stop oxidation of the aluminum. A coat of clear lacquer will work for awhile, but it will flake off and look horrible.. If the engine is kept clean, it will look good for a long time.

Greg Long

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On the other hand…there’s a process I can’t recount for you of getting oil out of the pores of the crankcase, but it’s not perfect.

*IF* you decide to paint the exterior of the crankcase, Eastwood’s Aluma-blast (sold in both quarts and rattle-cans) is the best in my experience.

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I don’t like the thought of cleaning a failed attempt to seal it and am choosing to clean and maintain its natural look.

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Here is a picture of the fan pulley with the Eastwood 2K paint. I am an ASE Master body guy with 40 years doing paint as a sideline. This was done with a cheap detail gun in a 60 degree garage and way too much air pressure. OK, I was in a hurry! You can see how I ran the stuff, and how thick it is. Having said that, you can also see how this can lay out beautifully if everything is done right.

I like Greg’s suggestion of the Glyptal. The best way to stop the flow of fluid is to stop it from entering the wall you are trying to protect. Glyptal also helps prevent sludge buildup.

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The fellows are right: Glyptal is for the inside. I did not mean to be so imprecise.

The aluminum crankcase on my Series 80 is plain not finished in any way far as I can tell and it looks fine to me, especially for a driver.

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