spray painting cold engine
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 367
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From: denver
spray painting cold engine
I am in the process of restoring my 73 f250, and I would like to paint my engine with the typical auto parts store engine paint. The problem is the weather is cold here in Colorado, and so is my garage, and I don't want to wait till April to spray the engine. Is it OK to spray a cold surface? I realize the cure time could be days, but will spraying the cold engine significantly affect the long term durability of the paint? Any help is appreciated!!
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,101
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From: Malvern, Ohio
If you have a small area heater you can face towards the engine block and let it flow the heated air across the surface for while, then spray the block. Or you can use a heat gun to heat it up also, give it time for it to change to higher temperature though. And get the can of Paint warm too which will promote adhesion.
Shake the can some then heat it, shake it again then heat again. Just repeat that until the can feels luke warm. It may take while but it works. I have painted stuff with rattle can when it was 25 degrees out before but the work piece I kept at about 45 to 50 degrees with a heater or heat gun.
Shake the can some then heat it, shake it again then heat again. Just repeat that until the can feels luke warm. It may take while but it works. I have painted stuff with rattle can when it was 25 degrees out before but the work piece I kept at about 45 to 50 degrees with a heater or heat gun.
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 575
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don't know if you have painted this block yet or not but for posterity... what I would do is go get a kerosene heater, and set up an area in your garage with a tarp (sort of a room within a room; think of a Teepee). Weight the bottom of the tarp down with bricks or whatever, hang part of the tarp from the rafters, leave an area to enter and exit, and then let the kerosene heater warm up the area. leave the block in there, and your paint, let it warm up, and then go in and paint it. Another thing your could try and do is set up the heater under the block, since heat rises, and leave the pan and heads off so it heats more evenly.
We did a setup like this in the barn when installing injectors in a 95 PowerStroke. The floor area was probably 10'x10', the outside temp was 25-38*F, and the area we were working in was about 65-70*F.
We did a setup like this in the barn when installing injectors in a 95 PowerStroke. The floor area was probably 10'x10', the outside temp was 25-38*F, and the area we were working in was about 65-70*F.
