Boat Buzz

I have been cosmetically restoring my 1951 KLC engine. We took it down to bare metal then cleaned/primed and repainted us in the prescribed Chris Craft Blue engine paint offered by all the suppliers. We noticed that the finish was Soft, for lack of a better word. It is fully cured and dried however it chips very easily. Just laying a wrench on the head left marks. Imagine what it'll look like after a year of use!!!! So back to the drawing board and research as to what kind of engine paint would be durable and at least close to the "correct" CC Blue. after speaking with many different people about durability I decided on Dupli Color. YES the stuff available in Auto parts stores. It has a ceramic hardener which many have told me will hold up and NOT CHIP so easily. We decided the Chrysler Corp. Blue Engine Enamel with Ceramic™ looked closest and I purchased several cans.

We are still replacing all the copper plumbing so I'm not ready to repaint. Also we need it to warm up a bit here in the North East. However I laid a can of the Duplicolor along with a can of the CC Blue on the already painted engine and the Duplicolor cap actually looks just like the repainted engine, more so then the cap on the CC Blue can. We may repaint one of the the detached parts next weekend to see what it looks like out of the can but you tell me which looks more "Correct"?

Ed, don't know the exact shade of blue and I doubt if anybody else does either. There are just too many slight variations and paint tone changes over time. From what I've seen,I'd say pre-war is lighter than post-war. You'd have to know the exact chemical factory formulation from your year to get it exact and it's doubtful if this information is still available.

I used POR Chrysler blue engine enamel on my restoration of a post-war W. Its super durable paint when applied correctly and holds up much better than the rattle can stuff. It's a system with a degreaser, etching primer, and self leveling urathane type enamel applied with a brush. Check it out on line. I'm very happy with the results.

I am pretty sure the can on the right is the proper color for the V8 engines but would not be exactly correct for a post war K. There was a Brass Bell article on this a couple years ago. Try searching the archive for it.

Yes, there is an excellent article on cc engine paints in the Brass Bell. the pre war is darker, the post war is a bit lighter, and then when they went to the chevy, it is lighter still. Brian Robinson has info on current sources of supply for these, I believe.

The correct post war paint can be purchased from Dave Nan Ness at 201-445-8685.

Thanks for the replys, the engine as you see it is from the can on the right which is the same stuff sold by Dave Van Ess and others. To me the actual engine looks like the cap on the left can. I read the article in the BB in fact I saved this image to help me decide what to do. If the Duplicolor doesn't hold up I think I'll try a POR 15 type product.

I agree with the hardness of the can on the right. I used half a case during my restoration and the stuff chips if you even look at it wrong.

quitchabitchin wrote:I agree with the hardness of the can on the right. I used half a case during my restoration and the stuff chips if you even look at it wrong.

That's exactly what's been happening with our project! I'm hoping the Duplicolor will be much harder.

The post war paint I got from Dave Van Ness was in a can. My boat restorers added a hardener to it after checking with Dave, and have had no problems with it at all.

This thread has 3 references to Dave with three different spellings of his name. I feel like I am on Woodyboater!

I have used POR for years on my auto and boat engines with excellent results. I always go to bare metal, apply POR, then repeat with the color immediately in the same sequence just as the POR sets up a slight drag. Trick is to avoid going on too thick with the POR. I second coat the color after 24 hrs. Everything is brushed. CQ

I have used Plasti Kote #221 GM Corporate Blue engine enamel on two engines and it has held up very well and looks good. Can says it is made by Valspar. Check the Plasti Kote web site for stocking auto part stores,also available at Amazon at higher price