I used eastwoods ceramic engine paint on mine 3 years ago and it still looks good. 

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Absolutely can be done! Read this quote out loud so your remember it. "Do it once do it right" Shit in Shit out. If you want a nice finished product you need to spend the extra time doing the prep work. Clean,clean,clean. Buy at box of rags at Harware or auto parts store. It is made by Scott a yellow ,red and black box. Right on the box it says RAGS in a box. Get a parts cleaning brush, a gallon of parts cleaner, two cans of brake cleaner and prep-all. How I painted my engine in place!! Work in sections. Clean with parts cleaner and brush all the areas you want to paint. Then spray brake clean and wipe with clean rags Brake clean dries fast! When everything is grease free use the the pep-all for final prep. Make sure everything is good and dry before painting. The key to painting is patience, light thin coats and make sure it dries before applying the next coat. You can use the gallon of parts cleaner over and over to clean all your bolts. The bucket of parts cleaner comes with a strainer in it so you can put all your parts in it let it soak pull the strainer out of bucket so you don't have to fish for parts. I painted the intake,valve covers,front of engine and oil pan. You get a lot of overspray from a rattle can so make sure you cover everything you don't want paint on.

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has any one pressure wash frist     dwa

Thanks for the advice, RedWoman! 
Just printed out your shopping list and will get the solutions and rags this week.  Right now, I am scrubbing as much as I can with a wire brush.  Then, I'm going to take a can of compressed air to get all the nasties I've loosened from between crevices.  Here's where I am at so far...

In the last pic, I circled a hole I cannot find explained in Assembly Manual.  On the front of block right next to power steering reservoir.  It's nasty.  Do you know what that hole is for and is it worth trying to get spotless?











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"You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you'd say to somebody: You're gonna like this guy, he's all right. He's a goodfella. He's one of us. You understand?"

Looks like a frost plug, not all that deep stuff a rag in it and clean it out.

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LIFETIME MEMBER 151

Thanks, Ebo!

Now that you named it, I was able to Google Image it and sure enough that's what it looks like!  As you said it doesn't appear to be deep at all.  Will attempt to clean.

Side note:  Searched my Assembly Manual for "freeze plug" and "core plug" and it comes back with zero results.  Weird.

Thanks!

Jason D.


|UPDATED|9/13/2015 7:45:19 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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"You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you'd say to somebody: You're gonna like this guy, he's all right. He's a goodfella. He's one of us. You understand?"

As others have said take your time and be very detailed with your cleaning. The better the prep the nicer the finish will be. I use Por 15 all the time. I go to Ace hardware and I buy the CHEAP wooden handle 1/2" & 1" wide brushes. Make sure you get the ones that have the hair brush and not a vinyl brush. The wider ones seem to loose the hair quicker and then it ends up in your paint. The Por 15 has been very good for me but all my engines have been out and stripped to bare metal. As mentioned above thin coats and you'll probably need 3 coats although if any old paint is left you may get away with 2 coats. I have not used the metal prep they recommend. I just completed doing my dart undercarriage in their 2 part expoxy white. I find all the Por products harder to work with then regular paint but the results are very good. It will run if its to heavy so again thin coats. There orange is very glossy and I think it looks excellent. You need to wait about 2 hours between coats. Remember its an epoxy paint so it will make it a little harder down the road to get some bolts out. The only problem I see you may run into is the dreaded "now I have to make something else look better. That leads to the next thing, then the next thing after that and before you know it you are doing the resto!! lol

|UPDATED|9/13/2015 7:57:32 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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Freeze plugs are installed in the engines when they are assembled, not at the vehicle assy plant...that's why there is no mention of them in the assy manual.  
Don't poke too hard at it with a screwdriver, or anything sharp, trying to clean the funk out of it. If it is marginal, you'll wind up with another dadgum leak to fix! Soak it down with your cleaner(s), and use a paint stick, or something similar to clean the doo-doo out of it.
Once you have everything as clean as you can get it, make sure you rinse ALL of the cleaners off really well. It doesn't take much leftover cleaning agent to ruin the paint, or make it not stick.

You do realize, don't you Jason, that you are climbing down into a hole you may never crawl back out of? The "while I'm here" disease can get you before ya know it!  The rest(most) of us have been there, done that, and got the back-aches(and empty wallets) to prove it....


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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Thanks, Rod! Great tips with the brushes and how to handle the Por 15 properly! I've been on this forum for maybe a year now and I have to say the guys here are incredible. Some really go above and beyond to give me the insight, and in turn the courage, I need to tackle various projects on my vette. As a newbie I Couldn't be happier! Jason D.

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"You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you'd say to somebody: You're gonna like this guy, he's all right. He's a goodfella. He's one of us. You understand?"

Thanks for the heads up on the freeze plug! I was originally poking around in there with a tiny flat head screw driver and decided to stop and post about it instead. Last thing I need is another leak!! And you hit the nail on the head! The "while I'm here" bug bit me hard! It's such an easy trap to fall into, but I love working on her so I don't mind too much. My wife is another story lol I have given myself a November deadline when it's time to put her away until spring. That's my stopping point. What I'm undertaking now has to be done by then! Fingers crossed :)

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"You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you'd say to somebody: You're gonna like this guy, he's all right. He's a goodfella. He's one of us. You understand?"

Hey Guys!

Just a quick update.  Got the engine as clean as I could.  Used Purple power and oven cleaner and tools to scrape grime from tight spots. 

I think the progress is coming along nicely.  On my second coat.  Going to let it sit and set for a few days before I do a final.  I now have the cleanest freeze plug in the Midwest!  :)

This is after a first coat!




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"You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you'd say to somebody: You're gonna like this guy, he's all right. He's a goodfella. He's one of us. You understand?"