PowderCoating or Ceramic coating an entire engine.

[Ashmon]

I was very curious how feasible it is to powder coat the entire engine? engine covers, cylinders, oil cooler, etc...

Would that affect its ability to transfer heat? I would be doing this on an air cooled engine, so that would be a deal breaker. Do any of you guru wrenches think this would be too much of a hassle to dismantle the entire engine to prep it for paint?

I just hope the dream of a true dark is within reach!

[Ashmon]

Evidently my searching missed the thread at the bottom of the page about painting the engine with VHT. That would be a hell of a lot cheaper, but would powder coating be more durable?

[Duck-Stew]

VHT is durable enough provided the prep work is done correctly.  P'coating an engine would be a monumentous task to achieve only a slightly better result than VHT would provide.

Btw, prep work = clean engine & use scotch-brite to scuff the surfaces & then wipe them clean.

[Capo]

As DS said, its a lot of work, EVERY thing has to be stripped out from the cases, the masking skills of the PC is paramount.
My PC expressed reservations about coating an aircooled engine with the high gloss that I used.

Here is a pic of the parts.

[z0mb1e_DUC]

Capo, you truely need to post pic's of this bike when complete.  It is looking like it will be beautifull.

[Norm]

I've painted a couple of motors with brake caliper paint and it's held it's color & been quite durable. No heating problems, but don't know about powder coating, etc.. The VHT will discolor and fade from the head over time. If it's in a really easy spot to redo, go ahead & use it, but if you're going to dissasemble everything, do it right. Harley also makes a rattle can in a black wrinkle that works well. It's the same as their dark series bikes.

[mmakay]

Ceramic coatings keep heat in.  That's why they are popular for pipes ... no burns on the legs, good gas flow.

Do you suppose that might not be the best idea for an air cooled engine?