Cleaning and Paint engine

[TrailerCruiser]

I'd like to clean and paint my engine. What is a good product to use to cleam off the build up of oil off my engine. is brake cleaning on a rag a good option?

Once motor is clean and old flaking paint removed. How should it be primed. I notice i have some aluminum and some steel. Would like to use a single product. What products do you recommend for priming and finishing to be westerbeke red.

Any recommendation for how to paint or prep to reduce over spray. Should I be painting by hand, with a little brush?

[tkeithlu]

This is just the very basics. There are people on the forum who can answer complex painting questions, but this is not a high tech job unless you are going for an award for engine appearance. I suspect it's just ugly and you'd like it to look better.

Engine degreaser is a start, and less poisonous in confined quarters than brake cleaner. You may need a chemical paint stripper, which is nasty stuff. Sand (not wire brush) the metal surfaces with very fine (500-1,000 grit) paper, spray prime and spray paint. Avoid putting too much paint on at any point, so it won't sag. Use bunches of blue painter's tape to cover tightly hoses and other places you don't want to paint, and hang newspaper around the job, again taped tightly, because aerosol paint can really get into the cracks.

Paints? High temperature, readily available. Visit an auto parts store, or

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=engine+pa...b_sb_ss_i_5_12

It won't take much to make it look a lot better. Aerosol paint disguises all sorts of sins. Just don't paint rust unless you have converted it with Corroseal of Ospho first.

Good luck with it.