Paint um!
Why not?
I'd go with grey if it were me, and i'd do the whole block and all. But,
i've been told that any paint will come right off as soon as the oils that
are hiding in the pores heats up and comes back out. Supposedly if you want
to paint an engine, the proper prep involves cycles of heating and
degreasing.

I've left bead blasted heads unpainted to no bad effects. They just started
looking like the rest of the engine will in a few years.....

-Craig
'85GL turned WESTY
BOSTIG in the back

On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 9:17 PM, pdooley <psdooley@verizon.net> wrote:

> The heads are aluminum, right?
> If they were blasted and left bare they will corrode.  Not sure but I would
> bet the factory uses a coating on the bare heads.
> Maybe try a high-temp engine paint?
> I always heard flat black is best for heat transfer, but that shouldn't
> matter with the internal water cooling.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> B
> Feddish
> Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 8:32 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Painting the heads...
>
> When I went to get my engine in Boston last week Gary told me that since he
> bead blasted the heads that I should paint them.  What would happen if I
> don't? Do they get real discolored?  What kind of paint should I use and
> what's a good color?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
> Bryan
>