Painting our 4.0L Jeep Cherokee XJ engine - Hagerty Media

Now that our 1993 Jeep Cherokee’s 4.0-liter inline-six engine has been disassembled, Davin has some prepping to do before it heads to paint—specifically, removing the casting shrapnel from what he calls “a poorly designed mold.” Using a die grinder to clean up the mess, Davin’s time-consuming task was becoming a bit tedious. Then he had an idea: Why not try a tool that’s designed to remove rust? Moments later, a descaler is making quick work of the shrapnel.

With that job finished, Davin cleans up the block in the wash cabinet, blows it out, and begins taping it for paint. That’s when he offers another time-saving tip, showing that he made plastic coverings on a 3D printer that slide nicely into the core plug holes. And off we go to Traverse Body & Paint to “let Darryl do his magic.”

With the parts laid out on stands, Davin offers his RockAuto.com Tip of the Day: “If you want paint to stick to anything, the surface cannot be smooth, and it needs to be oil-free.” That means, for example, the coating on the oil pan needs to be scuffed up, and then it needs to be wiped clean to remove any finger prints/oil residue.

Check out the results for yourself and also be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel so you never miss an update.

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit RockAuto’s Help pages for further assistance.