Lifter galley paint

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Captainkirk

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I read somewhere a long time ago that guys were using Rustoleum to paint their lifter galleys for better run-off of oil to return to the pan, and to keep the cam lobes oiled. Sounds like a great idea, but wondering what sort of mess it could create if the paint started flaking off and getting into the oil passages or blocking the pickup screen? Any comments and/or feedback on this practice?
 
For a street engine I never bothered. Clean up the galley (and heads, for that matter) of casting flash and make sure the drainback holes are wide open and clear of slag and flash. Do some smoothing if it makes you feel better. Paint won't add that much to draining back, and if prep isn't perfect you run the risk of peeling over time- there was just a thread about that in the last few days...
Some may disagree, but I'm talking a street engine, not a track-only build.
 
I read the same thing back in the early '70s and did this on the 340 that I built for the '69 340 Swinger I had way back then.
I never noticed any evidence of peeling or flaking, but it was done on a block that had been hot tanked and then freshly machined.
Today I would use Glyptal but only after completely cleaning the block following machine work.
 
I read the same thing back in the early '70s and did this on the 340 that I built for the '69 340 Swinger I had way back then.
I never noticed any evidence of peeling or flaking, but it was done on a block that had been hot tanked and then freshly machined.
Today I would use Glyptal but only after completely cleaning the block following machine work.
My block is fresh out of the hot tank, which is why I'm asking. It's now or never.
 
I cleaned all of the casting flash & smooth the drain holes on my race blocks before painting the lifter galley, I've never experienced any flaking or peeling in 20+ years.
 
Captainkirk heres some cleaning up on a small block. It still needs to come apart for tanking, cleaning, and machining. You can see the cleaned up lifter valley return hole. Note pic 5. I did all of them the same way. Also clean up the casting parting lines to reduce stress risers. Use the same type of carbide burrs you would use for head porting. I would be leery about painting the lifter valley, and it peeling out and plugging your oil filter when running down the road.

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Captainkirk heres some cleaning up on a small block. It still needs to come apart for tanking, cleaning, and machining. You can see the cleaned up lifter valley return hole. I did all of them the same way. Also clean up the casting parting lines to reduce stress risers. Use the same tyoe of carbide burrs you would use for head porting.

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I don't put anything in my engine that doesn't need to be there. Paint is a good example.
 
I would also be a bit leery about paint coming loose and clogging up your oil filter. Only one type I would trust and that's a big big if. That would be Akzo Noble 10P42-NF fluid resistant epoxy. I would be afraid of it not bonding well with the cast iron because of all the oil that's soaked into the pores of the metal over the years.
 
This procedure was popular many years back, but rarely see it these days. Problably because it does nothing that makes a measurable difference....
 
Don't worry, the paint (RustOleum rusty metal red primer) does not flake off. However, it takes a long time to dry/cure (two weeks minimum). These posts regarding paint on engine block/cylinder head internals come up every once in a while.

In conclusion, for all the warnings about paint flaking off, I have never once found anyone offering a photo "evidence" of a real life block interior with the paint flaking off on this or any other forum.

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Don't worry, the paint (RustOleum rusty metal red primer) does not flake off. However, it takes a long time to dry/cure (two weeks minimum). These posts regarding paint on engine block/cylinder head internals come up every once in a while.

In conclusion, for all the warnings about paint flaking off, I have never once found anyone offering a photo "evidence" of a real life block interior with the paint flaking off on this or any other forum.

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What did ya use? Spray or brush?
 
I don't have photographic evidence, as it happened prior to the advent of digital cameras and cell phones, but I had a 426 Hemi that the moron Bill Richardson at RAM painted the lifter valley on. The oil ran red soon after start up, and continued to run red for the duration of the engine's life. Luckily, Bill ensured the engine had bigger problems by using lots of bearing-eating orange silicone, so the paint coming off was the least of my concerns.

But, on tear down, the red paint was not 'flaking' but simply coming detached from the block, dissolved by the hot engine oil it would seem. Regardless, this expensive paint (Glyptol) which was applied by a genius under I'm sure laboratory conditions, failed to stay adhered. It offered no benefit, only detriment. I don't mean to state that Bill is lazy and stupid, only that he is unproductive and unintelligent.
 
If your engine is a stocker it will never know if it's painted or not. Mopar's don't have issues with poor oil drain back unless you race it at high rpm. Just sayin'. Clean things up like @moparmat2000 showed above. That will do the trick.
 
Your engine will never know if it's painted or not. Mopar's don't have issues with poor oil drain back. Just sayin'. Clean things up like @moparmat2000 showed above. That will do the trick.
First I ever saw mention of the painting of lifter galleys was from the old P.A.W. catalogs with the various short block offerings, listed in the features. Purely cosmetic, just window dressing and a feel good waste of time.
 
Regardless of the naysayer's comments, it is a beautiful sight when you tear down a motor for rebuild or maintenance of some kind and find the interior clean as a whistle.
 
Regardless of the naysayer's comments, it is a beautiful sight when you tear down a motor for rebuild or maintenance of some kind and find the interior clean as a whistle.
Oh I guess I’m just being flippantly cocky and arrogant due to reading too many other posts by some of the various arrogant and cocky posters on this forum!! LOL!! Actually I also recalled reading of painting things in the old Mopar Performance book and I consider that book the Gospel so I recant my previous blasphemy!! But I won’t be painting even though it does look nice

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I though it was generator armature paint? Turns out that is Glyptal also....Once you hot tank a motor it gets flash rust on it pretty fast. Probably just a window dressing. Looks nice though....
 
I have seen it come off on a AMC engine, and made a mess. A friend of mine did his small block 340 Mopar, and swears by it. Said it keeps his oil cleaner. I am not going to try it.
 
If I were losing sleep over the thought of my top end oil having a hard time running down an oily surface, and felt I had to do something....I'd smooth the casting with some discs then load the block in my magnificent Ram (formerly known as Dodge) truck and get the boys at PolyDyn to Teflon coat the lifter valley. That would be way better than paint and would never come off. Luckily, I do not suffer from any lifter valley-related sleep disorders.
 
One more anecdote. Back in the '70's when gas station attendants frequently pulled dip sticks to check crankcase oil levels, I had one attendant call me over to say no oil on the dipstick. I pointed out to him the oil level was right on the full mark. He was obviously accustomed to seeing oil as a dirty black color, whereas in my internally painted bracket motor, it was easy to keep it clear with frequent oil changes. One just had to be careful when checking the dipstick.
 
There is no reason an internally painted motor would have cleaner looking oil. None.
 
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