Engine paint/protection

[mikedefieslife]

What is the deal with owners completely spraying/painting their engines? I've seen so many imagine of engines on used boats will all the hoses, cables, and even the oil filler cap sprayed red/green/silver.

Is it just laziness? Or is there a specific reason?

On rust prone bits, do any of you use something like ACF50 at all?

[capt jgw]

A lot of them come from the factory that way. Not really a bad thing, you can easily tell what's been replaced.

[LLizzard]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

What is the deal with owners completely spraying/painting their engines? I've seen so many imagine of engines on used boats will all the hoses, cables, and even the oil filler cap sprayed red/green/silver.

Is it just laziness? Or is there a specific reason?

On rust prone bits, do any of you use something like ACF50 at all?

I know what you mean, I hate the paint all over the place. I've seen overspray on bulkheads and in the bilge. On hoses it stops you from seeing if they are cracked and needing replacing. People also use it to hide heavy rust without wire brushing/ grinding off the rust, to make the engine more presentable to a prospective buyer.

First I grind off loose rust with a wire wheel or 3M nylon wheel chucked into my drill. then I'll prime with zinc chromite paint or some other inhibitor/ primer. Re prep, it's not that hard. I move whatever is moveable off to the side. Wrap hoses, cables, and whatnot with newspaper or even wax paper and tape. Geesh, even strategically placed pieces of cardboard can block 90% of spray where you don't want it. It takes just a few minutes to protect things that shouldn't be painted. So yes, you could call it laziness or perhaps a more correct term is expediency.
After painting, on places where it is prone to rust, I'll spray Corrosion X HD/ Marine spray lube. Similar to AFC 50 but easier to find. My local Ace has it.

[tkeithlu]

I think you are just looking at hurry up efforts to make the used boat look pretty. I'd take my pocket knife to some of it to see if there is extensive rust underneath, and crush a few hoses to see if they are old and cracked. Otherwise, I'd ignore it and check the condition of the engine the internal way- compression, exhaust, cooling, etc.