Looking for opinions on using Opti-coat on high temp engine parts?


FIFTY-FIVE

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Hi everyone, this is my first post. I've already found some great info on these forums! I've searched around and didn't get exactly the info I was looking for, so I thought I'd start a new thread to be safe.

 

Anyways, my Father and I did a frame off restoration of a 55 Chevy post a few years back. We are currently in the process of swapping out the SBC 350 we put in it originally for a built SBC 427. The engine is going have a painted block, polished aluminum heads, polished billet valve covers, polished aluminum intake, and polished aluminum Holley carburetor. We like the fresh look of polished aluminum, so we decided not to powder coat or anodize the polished parts. I've been tossing around the idea using opti-coat on at least the valve covers, intake, and carburetor. Thoughts on that?

 

Next up I've been thinking about using Opti-coat on the engine block itself, and the cylinder heads, thoughts? I've read a few post from Chris Thomas about OC handling the heat of exhaust pipes, and the coating adhering to a properly prepped metal surface that gets that hot. I just want to be sure I don't screw anything up, I want to protect the engine and keep it looking nice, but not at the risk of hurting the painted surface.

 

Here are a few pictures of the items I'm referring to in case you need an idea of what I'm talking about, along with a few pictures of the car.

 

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The old engine setup...
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sweet car! and the engine bling looks great.

 

i can't say for sure if you will have any issues, but i talked to Chris when i was coating harley pipes, and I have had zero issues. not sure about some of the temp in the engine block, but the valve covers and intake should be fine, but I'm not sure about the headers. they will get seriously hot.

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sweet car! and the engine bling looks great.

 

i can't say for sure if you will have any issues, but i talked to Chris when i was coating harley pipes, and I have had zero issues. not sure about some of the temp in the engine block, but the valve covers and intake should be fine, but I'm not sure about the headers. they will get seriously hot.

 

Thanks for the response Primo. I'm not too concerned with the headers themselves, more like you mentioned the valve covers and the intake. If you put it on your motorcycle pipes, I shouldn't have any issues putting it on the block, heads, intake and valve covers. That's good to know. I'd like to have protection on the block for long term looks and cleaning. And the polished parts to preserve the polished look without having to keep polishing all the time.

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You can safely use Opti-Coat Pro on those parts with no worries about heat. On the chrome parts normal thickness will be fine, but on the aluminum parts I would use 2-3 coats to form a solid barrier for oxidation. You can use a heat gun or hair dryer to speed drying between coats if you don't want to wait.

 

Thank you Chris! That's awesome to hear. I'm going to go for it when the engine is ready. Just so I'm clear, Opti-Coat Pro = Opti-Coat 2.0 in my case right?

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Opti Coat pro is what you should look for. Check with a local installer to get some. OCP has a higher heat resistance. Also polished aluminum should be repolished with hyper polish to remove the polishing oils from what was used to poilish at the factory.

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Opti Coat pro is what you should look for. Check with a local installer to get some. OCP has a higher heat resistance. Also polished aluminum should be repolished with hyper polish to remove the polishing oils from what was used to poilish at the factory.

Yvan;

 

i really hope that a local installer isn't going to be selling OC pro to someone.

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