Engine Paints

Hycote

The British aerosol maker on every motor factor's shelf: two engine colours, a gloss black rated far lower than retailers claim, and a separate range for exhausts.

Updated 2026-09-18

On this page
  1. Who they are
  2. The engine enamels
  3. Extreme Heat, for exhausts
  4. Where it fits
  5. Sources
  • Made in Greater Manchester by James Briggs, which has belonged to Tetrosyl since 2019.
  • Two engine enamels are on sale today: gloss black and red, in 400 ml aerosols.
  • Hycote's own data sheet rates the gloss black at 140°C. Retail listings often say 300°C.
  • The enamels prime themselves. The sheet says to use no primer.
  • Exhausts need Hycote's separate Extreme Heat range, which must be heat cured.

Who they are

Hycote is a brand of James Briggs Ltd of Royton, Oldham. The brand's site dates the paint business to 1982. The company behind it goes back to 1830, when it supplied the textile trade, long before it filled aerosols. That makes it one of the oldest chemical manufacturers still working in Britain.

Production runs across four sites in the north of England. Aerosols are filled at Royton. Liquid filling, packing, the laboratories and logistics are at Chadderton. Car care products are made at Bridge Hall, and solvents, adhesives and household chemicals at Beverley. James Briggs also fills and packs products for other companies as a listed service.

In September 2019 Tetrosyl, the Rochdale car care manufacturer, bought James Briggs from the private equity firm Endless. Hycote now shares an owner with Tetrosyl's own brands.

The engine enamels

The current range is two products: Engine Enamel Black, code XUK0121, and Engine Enamel Red, code XUK998. Both are 400 ml aerosols, and the gloss black also comes in 500 ml. Both are one-step, self-priming paints for blocks and cylinder heads, resistant to petrol, oil and grease. The data sheet is blunt about primer: use none.

On temperature, the shelf and the data sheet disagree. Hycote's sheet rates each colour separately. Aluminium is 300°C. Matt black is 300°C. Gloss black is 140°C. Gloss red has no figure at all. Retail listings for these same cans often quote 300°C for the lot. By Hycote's own numbers the gloss black is a 140°C paint, which is enough for a block and nowhere near enough for a manifold. If you take one thing from this page, take that.

Two further catches. The 300°C colours carry an asterisk: they only reach full solvent resistance after a heat cure at 220°C for 90 minutes. And the aluminium and matt black on the data sheet aren't in the range Hycote currently shows online. The two colours you can buy today are the 140°C gloss black and the unrated red.

The paint is a solvent-based blend of modified silicone and alkyd resins with heat-stable pigments. It is extremely flammable, with a flash point below minus 20°C. Apply it between 15 and 25°C. The method on the sheet runs as follows:

  1. Degrease with detergent or a solvent cleaner, and rinse.
  2. Remove rust and loose material with a wire brush or abrasive paper.
  3. Wipe with brake cleaner, white spirit or thinners and let it dry.
  4. Shake the can for two minutes.
  5. Spray lightly from 20 to 25 cm. Apply at least two coats, 20 to 30 minutes apart.
  6. To add more later, use the same paint and wait 24 hours first.

Applying engine enamel sets that beside the other makers' instructions.

Extreme Heat, for exhausts

Exhausts need a different Hycote range. Extreme Heat paints are matt and self-priming, and again the rating depends on the colour: 650°C for black, 500°C for blue, 450°C for silver. They have to be heat cured to develop their resistance. Hycote gives a choice of schedules, from 8 minutes at 230°C to 100 minutes at 160°C. The alternative is to cure in use by building the heat up gradually and holding it for an hour. The sheet warns that sudden high temperature will destroy the coating. A hard first drive on a freshly sprayed manifold does exactly that. The exhaust guide has the full table.

Hycote still files that data sheet on its website under a "VHT" filename. That shows how loosely the abbreviation is used in Britain. The American brand of that name has its own page.

Where it fits

Hycote is the default choice for plain reasons. It is made in Britain, it is on every motor factor's shelf, and a can costs far less than an imported pint. It does not offer a range of colours. It has black and red, against two dozen from the American brands, and nothing named for a marque.

If the engine is going back black, or a plain red block is what the car had, and the rating for your colour suits the job, Hycote will do it and there is little reason to spend more. If you need a factory shade such as a BMC green or a Triumph blue, Hycote has never made one. The colour reference says what the shade should be, and the shop shows who sells it.

Sources