why paint the inside of the block ?

To aid the oil draining back to the pan faster.

Because it tastes better.

I think the name of the maker is Glyptal, Inc., and they make quite a few different special paints for different purposes.

What has been put in engines to aid draining, etc., was originally formulated by Glyptal for painting the innards of power plant generators.

Get it for $50 a quart here:

http://www.eastwood.com/glyptal-red-brush-on-1-qt.html

I wonder if Ferraris have this?

yes it looks nice and professional but personally i just pressure wash the living crap out of blocks (with a 0° nozzle) before i assemble an engine. one thing's for sure none of my engines have paint chips in them. imho i've never considered drainback a huge problem to the point i would bother with the paint but that's just me.

I have a '69 440 HP motor that was painted on the inside back in the late 70's....so the idea has been around for quite awhile!!!!!

I've always been to paranoid of the idea of the paint falling off and the chips going straight to the cam and eventually into the oil pan. Maybe it's not a big issue but I'm not in love with the idea.

Why? Mother Mopar would have done it, if it was GOOD.

buy a new koleno block,they are powder coated inside and out.

Glypytal was developed by General Electric as a coating for the insides of oil-filled transformers. In the '70s, when I first heard about it, the consensus among PRO engine builders was that the only paint they trusted to not peel off and clog the oil pickup screen was Glyptal. Most all the pro engine builders about whom I was reading were doing this. I even had a friend swipe a quart of Glyp from the electrical shop where he worked (I still have it).
The reason they gave were what was mentioned above. It aided oil drainback and it sealed in any casting sand that may still be in the iron.
The physical requirements for Glyptal are still the same as they were 40 years ago. There are probably new formulations, but they have to be equal in performance to the original.

Modern oil-shedding coatings are probably a step up from Glyptal. Now there are specialized coatings for every part of the engine.

R.

DogDays,Your post is dead on. I've used it for 30+years Works great.

Ma Mopar & her engineers have used it You just don't use on daily drivers because the coolant temp tends to run a tad bit higher. Oil is a coolant as well as a lube

I know a guy who bought up a bunch of stuff that came from S&M/Jake King & the lifter valleys were all painted with it in the blocks that he bought Those engines were supplied by Ma Mopar

I think if it were a race block and I was trying to gain every advantage I would look into it, but if it's a street motor and you kept if full of oil, I can't imagine how the payoff would be worth the hassle of getting it right.

I've been using Rustoleum Red Damp Proof Primer to paint the inside of the Mopar blocks ever since Mike Landy told me what it was in one of there old Modified Production race Hemi motors in a Challenger motors at the 1970 or 71 MHRA Winternationals. I use it to seal the lifter valley and timing cover areas after deburring them with a high speed grinder, it seals any tiny cast iron grit residue not washed out after hot tanking the block the final time It also helps oil drain back some, I've been told I worked for a (actually three different ones) phone company for over thirty years, we used Glytol to seal screws and nuts onto electrical switches, just like Loctite does Glytol was developed as a sealer and corrosion resistant coating in a very harsh enviorment, oil transformers get very hot and some of that oil is highly toxic Is it needed, you decide BTW, I've never heard of the Rustoleum primer coming off, anything is possible though. I can't say the same thing about the red Glyptol though, I have seen chips of it in a oil filter we cut apart and inspected on one of my motors after being dnyo tested I used it once, not anymore after that

parts left out cost nothing and cause no service problems,
how many races have been won because of this procedure