Repainting 350x cylinder

[sunfire704]

I'm in the middle of repainting my 350x engine. I powder coated my engine cases already. I'm just wondering if its risky to use high temp powder coat on the cylinder head? Will it trap the heat in to much? I like powder better than spray but if I have to spay the cylinder with high temp spray I will. Any suggestions?

[81ATC185S]

Id just spray it, but thats me. I have no experience with powder, maybe research what they used from the factory and use as close to that as you can?

[atc007]

It was sprayed at Honda,and they still are by top builders ,,,But I digress...

[christph]

I've been told powder coat acts as a thermal barrier and makes the engine run hotter. If it were me I'd powder coat the cases and use hi-temp spray on the head. You want the fins to shed heat as quickly as possible.

[sunfire704]

I powder coated my cases with satin black. However the color wasn't exactly the black I intended it even is a little metallic. It looks good but far from factory. 227445

[John Tice]

We heat 2 stroke cylinders to 500 deg twice each time a new sleeve is custom made. I can tell which cylinders have been powder coated by the way they react to elevated heat. I’ve never thought of this situation but would guess that half of the cylinders which we work on are powder coated. I also doubt that overheating & dissipation are a problem with powder coated water cooled cylinders. Air cooled cylinders may have a slight negative reaction to heat dissipation.

John Tice
503-593-2908 Alternate 541-508-3944
www.smallenginemachineworks.com & www.nwsleeve.com
Turning Custom Cylinder Sleeves Since 1971

[oldskool83]

I have done motors a few ways.

Engine paint and then heated to 400 degrees for 15 mins. (chipped right off when installing bolts) Worst results
Sand blast and epoxy enamel spay can. left dry 12hrs no heat but what came from motor (only moved paint when installing bolts) Best results
Sand bland and powder coat. (light chipping when installing bolt holes) nicest finish but a mess to clean out holes and alots of masking for keep out areas...plus if you plast the backsides of the cases gaskets to not seal properly.

Now days....I do not care about what the motor looks like. Just clean it up and go ride it.

[barnett468]

.
If your engine has high compression and you run pump gas and you ride it hard when it is hot out, I would not powder coat it . . Irregardless of what you read, the facts is that the best thermal costing in the world is ceramic, and when this is applied, the most amount of heat it can hold in is around 30% . . The powder coating is not a thermal barrier, however, due to the thickness of which it is applied, and the fact that it is not a dedicated heat emissive paint, it will cause your engine to run slightly hotter than it otherwise would and my best guess at the increase in temp would be around 10% which is extremely small and might be the difference between riding in 60 degree temperatures as opposed to 80 degree temperatures . . Keep in mind that people beat the crap out of these bikes in the sand duns in the middle of summer when it is two thousand seven hundred degrees uot and they still usually don't have problems, especially if they have a high quality oil in the, that is not 30 years old.

Also, if you bore is at least a little on the loose side, it will greatly reduce the chance of seizing.

One of the best things you can do is let the engine idle for at least 5 minutes before riding it and then start of slowly before beating the crap pit of it, especially in the winter.

You can also add an oil cooler and/or a temperature gauge.

Bottom line is that in my experience, you will not have a problem if you powder coat it unless you subject it to extreme conditions.

[Dirtcrasher]

PC is not forever and neither VHT paint on an exhaust. I tried the VHT jetted right and that 9$ can lasted 2 6 rips.......

PC is not the best all, end all, that many of us thought it was.

[oldskool83]

problem with alot of powder coating is who think you apply it. You need a thin layer of paint. I did my banshee head with rustolem after sand blasting....Then road it, then took it apart, then sent it out for re doming and milling then put it back on and after cleaning it off with wd40 and soap it looked as nice as the day I painted it.