To Paint or not to paint

[lrdvdr41]

I know it's not the same thing, but I just pulled the engine out of my minivan that was replaced under warranty. The dealer that did the replacement didn't paint anything. Block was factory black with the warranty stickers still on it.

[Billohio]

Cover it with rust prevention magic! I am not sure if lacquer thinner would take it off if you wanted to paint later or not

[enio45]

ok - my view, if your doing a top of the line rest on the car - the unpainted block is going to look unfinished and detract from
the overall car. I would take pics of the block with the marks and display that - but would paint the block.

Would you leave paint off the bottom of the car because that is what GM did - or add a run to the paint . I know some guys like the exact original factory look - but this is not the factory look.

At some point in time , if you were to sell the car - what is the audience you want to appeal to?

Lastly - everyone looking at the car - you will be explaining this unpainted block......and if the mechanic painted the block - then you would paint it.

Sounds more like the block should be displayed with the car and another block found for the rest?

[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]

[marxjunk]

ive parted so many cars over the decades i cant even come close to remembering how many...many and i mean dozens...had CE or SR blocks or motors...ive owned dozens of SR blocks too..and every single replacement block thats gone thru my hands where painted..no bare blocks...but ive never had one still in a crate...they came from cars....i did have an L79 CE and it was painted..horribly...i could see thru it...but it did have paint on it.

I cant even imagine having a restored car with a bare block in it..document what you want with pics etc and paint it..or piss coat it enough to give it color and light enough to see the paint marks and clear it....id believe that would be closer to what happened back then then...

i am a strong believer in doing what you want with your car..its yours..but would you buy a frame off restored car with a bare block? and not think..man i gotta pull that thing and paint it....

[x77-69z28]

How about clearing it? It is cool to see all the inspection marks.

[Lynn]

A lot CE blocks that were installed got painted. I worked at a Buick dealer, and we routinely painted stuff like that. Think about it. New car owners are already disappointed that their vehicle is having to be fixed under warranty. The dealer is trying to keep the disgruntled customer satisfied. We wanted the car to LOOK like it was still a new car.

I say paint it. Not painting is kind of like those guys who graffiti a firewall with all the stuff they found UNDER the firewall black out, but they go nuts ON TOP of the black paint. Mark mentioned poor paint, which a lot of assembly line cars got on the engine.

[Plowman]

If you painted the warranty block and the warranty clerk said that if the paint is charged to the repair order, the manufacturer would bounce or deny the whole repair. So if you painted the warranty block and it comes back because the customer complained then who pays for the next said paint job? GM Warranty, the block people, the paint people, or the person who painted it (the mechanic)--as the warranty clerk pointed his finger at me the mechanic!