Valve cover paint

[T-CAB]

A friend of mine showed me his nicely painted valve covers. He painted the inside with silver rust paint because there had been minor rust on them. I expressed a concern that the inside should not be painted as the paint may come off and clog an oil gallery . Am I correct, or would it be safe to leave the new paint as is?

Thanks.

T-cab

[Edsel G. Tattooer]

In MHO I would leave the inside alone. If you really wanted to do it get them powder coated then you would have no worries.

[StudeRich]

I think it is all about the preparation, the factory must have properly prepped the '61-'64 V-8 Valve Covers, because they appear dipped on the inside or litterly flooded with Red '61, or Yellow '62-'64 High Temp. baked Engine Enamel which in those days was High Lead and it STAYED there.

There are Very FEW paints Powder or Spray, today that are that tough in a High Heat situation, I have had Powder Coated engine parts as these that are exposed to heat and hot oil, peal right off, so I think your best bet is don't sweat the details, the Oil will protect them just fine!

[Dan Timberlake]

It is considered good practice to "paint" industrial gearbox sumps etcx with with some tough oil and heat resistant product to seal in casting sand. Around 2002 one of Sherwin Williams' (Polane?) products was specifically for that.
In the late 60s Bill Jenkins or some other race legend mentioned to Hot Rod or Car Craft ( was there ever a better name for a car mag?) magazine that to enhance oil drainback he painted the block's cast inner surfaces with the distinctive red Glyptal made by GE back then for electric motor service. The claim was it seals Nowadays Eastwood sells a similar product. The original is still around, separate from GE.

http://www.glyptal.com/1201tech001.pdf

I'd trust it to stick on a well prepped surface, although stamped steel is relatively free of sand. It looks pretty cool, for those privileged to see a the nether regions of normally quite shy and modest engines

[N8N]

The insides of Studebaker blocks were painted with Glyptal, or something damn close to it, from the factory.

nate

[Welcome]

The insides of Studebaker blocks were painted with Glyptal, or something damn close to it, from the factory.
nate

Identifying what Studebaker used is the easy part;

Paint: Synthetic Crankcase Sealer
Paint Symbol: XXY
Paint Number: 8070
Supplier: