He who dares... Paints?!

Well I went for it and painted the engine.

Photo of it while wet.

I blasted It with the heat gun and a portable fire for about an hour. It doesn't look too bad, however it's dark outside so I can't tell what it will look like under natural light.

It may need some extra paint in places....

Additional touch ups next and then I'll sand the fins back to ally. I've got a few weeks until the frame arrives and I wrestle to get it back in the frame.... I'll learn some new swear words in preparation for the task!

Prepping engine for paint.

With the frame out for powder coat, today I prepped the engine for painting.

3 coats in alternating directions, allowing 5 minutes between each coating. Then a blast with the heat gun is my approach. 

However, I'm going to practice with the top engine mount first.

Before:

During:

It says on the can to give it a heavy coating, there are a couple of paint runs on it due to the quantity of paint. Currently waiting for last coat to have its 5 mins drying before blasting with the heat gun.

After:

During heating the paint blistered in one area, so I tried popping it with a cable tie. Won't do that again. Overall though I like the finish so onwards to the engine.

I'll go easier with the heat next  time.

Final weld prep.

Happy with the belt guard. It's fits well and just clears the exhaust. I wrestled with the engine to get it out of the frame again. Took off the rocker covers in the end and pulled the frame clear. Will remove the covers for install too as space is so tight. 

Frame is all set for final welding. 

Tap arrived in post, pulley is now tapped to suit the cover fixings.

Looking forward to seeing the frame when it's coated.