what do you think about the possibility of ceramic coating the outside of a block? weather it be iron or aluminum, I would like to see a discussion of both.
my ideas and concerns:
1. for the iron it would be a better looking alternative to paint
2. is there any possible performance gains from such a venture?
3. may it insulate and inturn hold in too much heat, and cause overheating?

I have heard of ceramic coating piston tops and valves but never anything on the block

also what about the possibility of ceramic coating the insides of the ports inside a set of heads, ideally it would allow cooler air in, and hotter exhaust out - by not allowing the head to absorb so much of the heat from the exhaust.

 

some will have better info. I am a little rusty.

You would be looking for a heat dissipation coating and not a ceramic coating. My pistons are done in a thermal barrier on top and anti scuff on the skirts. I have been known to run barriars on the valves and chambers and ports. Ran a thermal barriar on the bottom of the intake and in the ports and plenumn with a dissipaion on the surface. I did the crank and rods but I never did the block back in 92 not many wanted to try working on the block after the machine work due to possible shift/warpage from cooking

Good luck!

 

Ceramic coating the outside of a block is probably a very expensive way to protect the surface. That is probably the only thing the ceramic will do for you. The block surface temperature is only 240 degrees or so as most of the heat is carried via coolant to the radiator. Headers are a different story. 600 to 1000 degree temps make the use of ceramic coatings and other thermal barriers viable.

If you want to move away from paint and want that glossy, slick look, you might want to check into powdercoating. There are some awesome powdercoat processes involving a base coat and clear coat that will hold up to 250 degrees continuous, 300 degrees intermittant temperatures. Tiger Drylac makes an aluminum matrix powdercoat that looks a whole lot like polished aluminum. Add a tinted clear coat like yellow and it'll look like solid gold. I've seen some great pieces with tinted purple that look like pure candy. This is probably the best coating for your block. Unfortunately it will require curing, so you wont be able to do it in your garage. (Same thing for ceramic coatings). I've seen some shops that will powdercoat a block for $200 and that's the cheapest I've seen.

As an alteranative, try stripping the block and painting with VHT1600 in flat aluminum. It'll make your block look like a Bowtie aluminum block, assuming you use sandpaper rolls and really de-burr the block first.

Cheers,

Daniel Burk
(Powdercoating services for small parts available)