painting aluminum heads and intake

[piantm]

I've got a nice looking 340 with the entire top end made of aluminum aftermarket parts. The car was a complete restoration, but after a few years, I wasn't satisfied with the stock performance or sound. So I pulled the motor, did fun stuff to it, ending up with an orange block and aluminum top end. Performance and sound are what I was looking for. But now, Im longing for more of a stock look. I always like the orange motor and black air cleaner of the stock motors. So now, I'm considering painting the heads and intake hemi orange and putting the stock vlv covers and air cleaner back on.
My question: will the paint stick and maintain color? I don't want to end up with regretting the effort a few months down the road if the paint flakes off or changes color. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[moparleo]

Just prep for paint and use a high grade engine enamel, preferably with ceramic content.

 

[IRON MAN]

Prep is extremely important: solvent degreaser, wax & grease remover, sand with 320 grit. wax & grease remover again. I like VHT Engine enamel with ceramic formulate for temp up to 550 degrees. First spray VHT SP148 eng enamel primer. Then, VHT Engine Enamel SP120 HEMI-orange. Then, SP145 VHT Gloss Clear Coat enamel. Should turn out nice. These are the instructions on the recently purchased cans I got from Summit.

 

[Grady Cain]

I know a lot of pro guys use an epoxy primer like PPG DP90 first after thoroughly cleaning and degreasing everything. Then top coat over that. Like IronMan stated, "Prep is extremely important."

 

[piantm]

thanks all. I look forward to going through it and having an orange motor again