Cast coat or raw Aluminum?

[rang-a-stang]

Bottom line up front: Should I leave the timing cover/filter housing aluminum raw or paint it with cast coat?

I just finished blasting the timing cover and oil filter housing for my 401. I LLLLLlllove the color or raw, clean aluminum and think it looks especially awesome against AMC blue.
Here's my cover/housing:


Here is how I want my engine to look, generally


I have a can of "Cast Coat raw cast aluminum" left from a previous build. it looks OK, not great. Here is what it looked like on my previous project:

[wiley-moeracing]

don't take this the wrong way but who cares what everyone else thinks, what do you like, that's your answer.

[Cecil14]

If you like the look of the true raw aluminum, see if you can find a good high heat clear coat and call it done. You can often get clears in different gloss levels, if you want the dull look of the aluminum as it is now, see if you can find a high heat flat or low gloss clear.


aa

[mwood65]

I saw somewhere a high temp engine enamel in clear coat.


You could just clear it to protect and keep the color.

[rang-a-stang]

don't take this the wrong way but who cares what everyone else thinks, what do you like, that's your answer.

Good question!
Part of me gets worried that raw aluminum will be a to keep clean. I thought of clear coats but almost everything I read says they won't stick on raw metal (needs to be primed).

[babywag]

don't take this the wrong way but who cares what everyone else thinks, what do you like, that's your answer.

x2

Do what you want!
But do not clear coat paint engine bay stuff it just yellows after time.

[SJTD]

Have it anodized.

Or maybe powder coated.

[FSJunkie]

Don't leave it bare unprotected aluminum. It will oxidize to a dull gray-white color. Any salt or corrosive chemicals splashed up off the road will corrode it even worse. It'll look like trash in a few years.


Dupliclor clear engine enamel. That will keep it looking the way it looks now.

[Heavy_Metal_Thunder_81]

Don't leave it bare unprotected aluminum. It will oxidize to a dull gray-white color. Any salt or corrosive chemicals splashed up off the road will corrode it even worse. It'll look like trash in a few years.


Dupliclor clear engine enamel. That will keep it looking the way it looks now.

x2
Plus any amount of dirt oir oil that gets on it will stain it. I left an Edelbrock intake bare aluminum once and it looked like crap in a real hurry. No amount of cleaning could get the stains out. The Duplicolor As Cast paint line looks pretty good. Probably on par with what you have there. I'd use it on any of your bare aluminum IMO.

[babywag]

Aug. 1 2016 - Blasted and painted some LT1 alum. parts with engine clear enamel.



About month later still looked decent.



Today not so much...YELLOW and craptastic looking.



Your mileage may vary? But I won't be using the crap ever again. Wish I would have gone with my gut and just left them bare.

[joe]

Bah humbug on clear coat.
Bare cast alum isn't terrible to clean up so long as you don't let go too long. Let it go till the oil leaks grease etc cooks on and stains and you got work to do. On cast alum motorcycle eng cases, gearboxes the alum looks good for years and years if kept up. I think you're in Calif so salt corrosion shouldn't be a problem unless you play on ocean beaches. Never used clear coat but have painted lots of alum in the marine industry and if you paint with an enamel paint and you expect it to stick for any length of time you need a Zinc Chromate primer. Getting rid of a bad paint job on alum is A LOT more grief than just keeping it clean.
Clear coat...bah humbug.

[rang-a-stang]

I replaced my water pump about 3000 miles before this and left it raw aluminum. It's a bit grubby but not to bad (in it's defense, my engine was a giant ball of grease before this).

I love the idea of anodizing or powder coating but that would be outside my price range.

I think I am going to cast coat it. I don't want to have to spend time cleaning it later and I feel like a good quality coat of paint will make it easier to just hose off when it gets oil, coolant, or dirt on it.

[rang-a-stang]

Cast coated. Here's how it looks.

[johnsonic]

Looks awesome!