RX-7Impreza

with my new engine i am definitely going to paint the cast iron housings and i want to put a clearcoat on the polished rotor housings. In all the pictures of rebuild housings ive seen, i haven't seen one with the rotor housings painted. the only reasons i could think of for this would be the fact that paint changes how the metal radiates heat or that people like the look of aluminum.

all i want to do is put a engine paint clearcoat on there to keep it shiny and keep it from corroding. will this hurt my engine or will it bake the paint off or what? i think the engine paint is good for up to 1500 degrees or something.

thanks
Justin

Taranis

I think the housings would heat up so much any clearcoat would just bake and turn from "nice & shiny" to "ugly and pale"...

What about flex when it's hot vs. cold? Wonder if there would be enough to crack the clearcoat... I'd think there would be.

- JB

RX-7Impreza

that is what i am afraid of, but they wouldnt flex any more than the side housings and center housing..... i would also think that the temperature would be cooler on the rotor housings since they dissipate heat much quicker than steel or iron.

i am sure that Rob at pineapple racing would know because i have seen many engines painted on his site. is anyone in contact with him or can someone email him or RB for info

Justin

mazdaspeed7

I dont see the rotor housings getting any hotter than the iron pieces. I have never seen painted rotor housings. Is it because the paint doesnt stick to aluminum good, or what?

RX-7Impreza

Im en kollege an i speek reel guud english

live4boost

iTrader: (2)

mine are painted and it still looks OK. I hate the fact that their yellow though.

fcturbo2

I might paint my new side housings with RED and keep the rotor housings aluminum..

RX-7Impreza

the rotor housings right???? why dont you like the yellow. i am painting my side housings yellow and i will have a black car.

Justin

live4boost

iTrader: (2)

It just doesn't stay in the best shape. It has faded to a light yellow, and doesn't match the rest of the engine. Its only been a year. If I would have done it, I would have chosen red.

RX-7Impreza

what color is the rest of the engine, did only the rotor housings fade

Justin

niner

I think that powder-coating will last a lot longer and look a lot better. Its also more expensive though.

RX-7Impreza

i think powder coating would either mess up the heat dissipation characteristics or burn off

niner

Mess up heat dissipation??? Not really, no more than paint at least.
I guarantee you it would last a LOT longer than paint too.
I've seen powdercoated rotor housings, they looked very nice.

scathcart

exhaust manifold clearcoat should work prefectly for you. Doubt the outside of the rotor housings would see up to 2000 degrees farhenheit. aluminum is very soft at that temp....
Sean Cathcart

BLUE TII

iTrader: (9)

A couple of different kinds of "powdercoat" are available now. The old style powder that is heat/IR cured will hold up to engine heat great! I read a comparison once of aircooled enines painted different colors and unpainted- the black engine ran noticeably cooler due to the superior heat dissapation.

RX-7Impreza

where do you get that..... autoparts store????

is a clear powdercoat even possible?????? or is there a shiny silverish powdercoat i can get

Justin

BLUE TII

iTrader: (9)

Yep, they sell clear powdercoat. I like the idea of silver PC so you don't have to polish the housings or ceramic coating if you are worried about temperature. BTW, almost all aluminum engine blocks and bits are painted silver at the factory to prevent corrosion but still look aluminum.

RX-7Impreza

cool.

now i am thinking about getting the ends and center housing powdercoated instead of painted. then clearcoated. i will have one shiny *** engine. now i just need to rig it so that they dont PC anything other that the outer surface.

i kinda wanna hear teds opinion too

Justin

BLUE TII

iTrader: (9)

Powder coated and clear coated? Do you mean color powder coat then clear powdercoat over that? If the powdercoat is put on well so that the surface is flat it has a deep look, if it is not smooth it is dull looking just like paint. My point is if they can't get it smooth in the first place another coat of clear isn't going to help, it would just be matte clear. I work in and industrial shop and we get stuff powder coated all the time. Hurriedly done, mass produced brackets have a slightly bumpy look, but say a motorcycle frame carefully done to return a favor is smooth as the best paint job. Not that we would have personal projects at work or anything...

BLUE TII

iTrader: (9)

Oh, yeah. Masking is a bitch since its high heat/IR process. They sell special high temp masking tape and sil. plugs.

RX-7Impreza

my friend had his cobra r rims powder coated black and they put a clearcoat on them. i thought that was standard procedure. could you clarify why they would do this.

Jsutin

BLUE TII

iTrader: (9)

Again, was clear coat paint based or powder coat based. If they couldn't get the PC flat enough to be gloss they might have shot it w/ clear coat paint to make it glossy. Obviously, this wouldn't work if you wanted to retain the high heat capabilities of powder coat.

Angel Guard Racing Team

Polish them real good, do not use spray can clear coat. Go to a local body shop and have someone coat them very carefully. I just paint the side housings red and spray the rotor housings with mag wheel cleaner (some kind of acid) and scrub with a toothbrush they become almost white. Looks neat and clean. Mazda logo also painted red (very carefully)

RX-7Impreza

not sure, i am leaning towards paint though

Justin

Wankel7

Mine has painted housings from Atkins Rotary. It looks great

James