Has anyone ever successfully paint stripped a complete engine without breaking it down and splitting the casings etc? Ive just removed the engine from my 998 and its heavily discoloured from a legacy fuel leak. Just interested to understand what would be a recommended product / technique to use and if there any risks to gaskets / seals. Its either this or a full breakdown and blast, which is not really an option due to the budget. Any advice appreciated. Thanks
Depends what you call successful, when I had mine out I made some blanking plates out of 1/4 ply to cover the exhaust and inlet's , then cleaned it of thoroughly, sanded it down and when I was happy masked it all off and applied an etching primer then a few top coats, I left it a week or two to harden before re-fitting and it's held up very well over the last four or five years, it will never be as good as a full strip down but I'm still happy with the results. Steve
Thank you, sounds like a plan. I was thinking more along the lines of chemical paint stripping and then leaving the engine with a plain ali finish. Appreciating i will need to keep ontop of the cleaning from then on. Would liquid paint stripper be ok on the gaskets and seals?
Not sure about liquid paint stripper, i,m no expert but I wouldn't try it myself, just take your time with a degreaser, then wire brush and sandpaper would be my suggestion, when I painted mine I left a blow heater warming the cases up for a while before spraying it. If you do the same make sure you switch the heater off before spraying. Steve
I have stripped the paint from areas of my engine (900SSie) with the engine still in the frame. I used paint stripper applied with a small brush and buffed it lightly to get a nice alu finish. I do not intend to re-paint it. In the pic below I have done this on the cylinder head to the first row of the cooling fins. I was actually not completely finished when I took the picture, still missing some last buffing and detailing in some areas, but it gives some impression of the final result. If you apply the paint stripper with a small brush and scrape of the dissolved paint with a little wooden stick (my wife has these small wooden sticks that she uses for her nails that are pointed in one end and flat in the other), then you can be very precise in delicate areas. If the engine was completely out of the frame it would be easy to do the whole engine.
Steve, Many thanks for the advice. Will give a few options a go and hopefully post some positive rebuild photos some time in the future. Cheers James
Thank you for detailed reply and photo. It looks like you got some very good results with the paint stripper. I’d be more than happy if mine came out close to that! What product did you use?
I used this product, but not sure if it is available near you. I think any paint stripper will do. The one I used is like a fine paste that stays on vertical surfaces and doesn’t drip, which helps getting it in only the intended places.
I completely repainted my 748R engine but it was out of the frame and on an engine stand. See photo of the stand, but this is not the engine I painted. The stand allows the engine to be turned and painted side by side and at any angle which makes the job very easy. The paint on a 998 is water based and can easily be easily removed by judicious stripping using decent paint stripper, I mostly use Nitromoors. With my 748R engine I just rubbed the paint down and feathered all the edges and then applied a good quality primer as the original paint base in most areas was still good. If you do strip to bare alloy then a good acid etch primer suitable for alloy would be a good idea followed by a decent coat of conventional primer and then a topcoat which you can then clear coat if you wish. I actually used alloy wheel paint on my engine which was mostly purchased because the colour was very close to the Ducati original shade. It was also hard and glossy enough not to require a lacquer topcoat.
The head unit was made by a forum member, not sure if he is still on here but it was Mike Shannon. I also have a cradle that the engine rests in which allows you to jack up the unit to put the engine back in the frame. The rest is just a standard engine rebuild stand.
Mike has just listed some stand brackets on eBay DUCATI TRELLIS + BEVEL ENG BRACKETS LASER CUT + DESMO+350/450 WIDE CASE eng https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/263533585319
hi yes it me still here any item i have listed is at 10% of to any one on this forum and via this forum only mike
