What is the consensus on Glyptal?

It looks like the consensus here is that people swear at it.

Sounds like a lot of people won’t try it. Two people say they have seen it fail. I have never seen photographic evidence of a failure. I have seen a few engines and dozens of photos of Glyptal intact after usage. Applied PROPERLY it is an extremely durable coating.

Way, way, way back in my formative years I was told by an old school hot-rodder that it will keep your engine cleaner by sealing the pores of the cast iron. It was more about keeping oil clean than drain back. This was before the widespread use of synthetic oil.

Generally most people that do something they think will be good, don’t want to admit they wasted their time or they didn’t see any difference. IMO I think it will keep the oil cleaner. Whether it does or won't I would never be able to prove or disprove. In the grand scheme of things it won’t matter because at 2-3K miles a year for a toy car, I will be dead before there is any appreciable engine wear, assuming I keep the car till my death.

Of all the engines I have done so far I have not used it, mainly due to price. I am old, in poor health and have a young son. We will be building an engine together. I want to instill in him the value of doing something right the first time.

I would not consider Rustoleum as a viable coating.

 

That right there is the single most important part of this or any hobby
In the end it s all about family as nothing else matters
God bless you and yours
Good Luck

 

In regards to Glyptal, or other internal engine paint, I don't really recommend it. I see a fair share of Hercules and other inboard marine engines that are painted from the factory. They probably do it for corrosion resistance, but it is sort of counterproductive. If the engine does ever get any corrosion, the paint will be compromised in any spot that was not prepped to a "T". I have seen it flake off, plug the oil pump pickup and eventually lead to low oil pressure, or worse.

I have a customer once who told me he painted the insides to keep the "trapped" casting sand from falling out of the block....He also told me that cast pistons are stronger than forged because the grain flow structure is more uniform. (A GM "engineer" told him this). Hmmmm. He had no answer as to why Top Fuelers don't use cast pistons.

I'm sure there are probably some insulating qualities that could be argued either way when it comes to a painted valley as well.. I guess it just comes down to personal preference. If you're going to paint one, it's best to etch or blast that surface and prep it better than anything you've ever done before, just to be safe. Investing in a oil filter cutter would be a mandatory purchase too. I would want to check it every time.

I will admit, it does look pretty when it's done right, but equal time with a grinder, as previously mentioned, may be time better spent than the whole painting process, without any risk.

 

While I am no expert I have to say when I built and raced Mustangs and Boss 351 engines in particular I found a Australian 351 block and they had the lifter and internal cast surfaces looking polished not to a high shine but oil slid off quickly and back into the pan. I was told due to the severe conditions . I have seen several local shops that swear by the coating but they also run Chevies