Engine compartment Paint Prep.

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sharpstang72

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 3, 2011
Messages
111
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Location
MD
My Car
1972 Mustang Convertible
351C 2v, 4bbl,FMX, 9" Rear 3.50 gears
Hey guys, just thinking about painting my engine compartment and dont know exactly what brand and what type of Black color to pick. Plus, can any give me any ideas or hint as to how to prep the compartment with paper, plastic, etc.? I will cover up the whole car, plus underneath so the paint doesn't get anywhere else on the car (dont want to ruin my new paint job).

Should I use primer, if so what kind?

What should I use to clean the grease area around the master cylinder and power steering box?

How should I cover up the engine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 
Good questions, I'll be doing the same thing this fall and don't want to mess up my new paint either, so post up those recommendations.

 
Hey guys, just thinking about painting my engine compartment and dont know exactly what brand and what type of Black color to pick. Plus, can any give me any ideas or hint as to how to prep the compartment with paper, plastic, etc.? I will cover up the whole car, plus underneath so the paint doesn't get anywhere else on the car (dont want to ruin my new paint job).

Should I use primer, if so what kind?

What should I use to clean the grease area around the master cylinder and power steering box?

How should I cover up the engine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is what I did:

  • I removed everything that was not welded in leaving only the sheet metal.
  • I pressure washed the whole engine bay.
  • I sandblasted the whole engine bay
  • I pressure washed the wole engine bay a second time.
  • I wiped the whole engine bay with paint prep.
  • I spray painted the whole engine bay with PPG DPLP epoxy primer.
  • I painted the whole engine bay with PPG DAR 9000 with a flattening agent mixed in.
  • I reassembled the car.


I can post up pictures of the pocess tonight.

 
As far as cleaning goes I used Castrol Super Clean on my engine compartment. It is a real good degreaser. I sprayed it down and towed the car to the local quarter car wash and power washed it.

As far as paint prep what I know is the cleaner the better. I'll leave any further discussion on paint to the many here who know more than I.

 
Hey vertstang73, can I get these two products

(PPG DPLP epoxy primer & PPG DAR 9000)

in aerosol can? Im not a professional painter, I just want to spray it in my garage with can, don't have any experience w/spray guns.

Thanks,

 
Hey vertstang73, can I get these two products

(PPG DPLP epoxy primer & PPG DAR 9000)

in aerosol can? Im not a professional painter, I just want to spray it in my garage with can, don't have any experience w/spray guns.

Thanks,
I know that some paint supply houses will mix your paint into a aerosol can. I should have said PPG DPLF.

Mike

 
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Hey guys, just thinking about painting my engine compartment and dont know exactly what brand and what type of Black color to pick. Plus, can any give me any ideas or hint as to how to prep the compartment with paper, plastic, etc.? I will cover up the whole car, plus underneath so the paint doesn't get anywhere else on the car (dont want to ruin my new paint job).

Should I use primer, if so what kind?

What should I use to clean the grease area around the master cylinder and power steering box?

How should I cover up the engine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The process vertstang73 described is the Correct way if you have the engine out & can spray My process was similar but different products & I'm a firm believer of not using water on bare metal or sandblasted metal..No matter how good you think you dried it off all it takes is a small amount in a crack or crevice to start the rust process..Here's how I prepped mine which is similar to verts process but no water involved..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4PVATPY94o Seems to me you need the "down & dirty method" 1--wrap motor electrical etc with tinfoil 2--remove what ever bolt on's you can 3--power wash clean with simple green purple industrial(home depot) after it's dry scratch up all panels etc with a red scotch brite pad followed by a grey scotch brite pad 4--blow out dust etc with compressed air 5--wipe down all areas to be painted with wax & grease remover 6--mask off all areas (fenders windshield) USE KRYLON SATIN BLACK (walmart) I've done quite a few engine compartments with this paint & it works great & looks great for the quick down & dirty method..Watch my vids here www.saturdaymorninggarage.com

 
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I'm a firm believer of not using water on bare metal or sandblasted metal..No matter how good you think you dried it off all it takes is a small amount in a crack or crevice to start the rust process.
I too feel the exact same way and although not a professional like Scott, I try to do the right things when it comes to my automobiles. I used a more user friendly and by this I mean those who don't have the facility and equipment to do Scott's method. I used a 3 step system by a company called KBS http://www.kbs-coatings.com Did just about every part on my car that I could. The awesome thing too is that the paint comes in almost factory colors like the brick red used on the 3rd member and driveshaft, satin black used on rearend etc... You can brush it on and you won't see the brush marks. How cool is that?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hey guys, just thinking about painting my engine compartment and dont know exactly what brand and what type of Black color to pick. Plus, can any give me any ideas or hint as to how to prep the compartment with paper, plastic, etc.? I will cover up the whole car, plus underneath so the paint doesn't get anywhere else on the car (dont want to ruin my new paint job).

Should I use primer, if so what kind?

What should I use to clean the grease area around the master cylinder and power steering box?

How should I cover up the engine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The process vertstang73 described is the Correct way if you have the engine out & can spray My process was similar but different products & I'm a firm believer of not using water on bare metal or sandblasted metal..No matter how good you think you dried it off all it takes is a small amount in a crack or crevice to start the rust process..Here's how I prepped mine which is similar to verts process but no water involved..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4PVATPY94o Seems to me you need the "down & dirty method" 1--wrap motor electrical etc with tinfoil 2--remove what ever bolt on's you can 3--power wash clean with simple green purple industrial(home depot) after it's dry scratch up all panels etc with a red scotch brite pad followed by a grey scotch brite pad 4--blow out dust etc with compressed air 5--wipe down all areas to be painted with wax & grease remover 6--mask off all areas (fenders windshield) USE RUSTOLUM SATIN BLACK (walmart) I've done quite a few engine compartments with this paint & it works great & looks great for the quick down & dirty method..Watch my vids here www.saturdaymorninggarage.com
Hi,

What kind of rustoleum satin black dit you use ( have to look if it's available in Europe ) , did you use a spraygun for the job ??

John

 
Hey guys, just thinking about painting my engine compartment and dont know exactly what brand and what type of Black color to pick. Plus, can any give me any ideas or hint as to how to prep the compartment with paper, plastic, etc.? I will cover up the whole car, plus underneath so the paint doesn't get anywhere else on the car (dont want to ruin my new paint job).

Should I use primer, if so what kind?

What should I use to clean the grease area around the master cylinder and power steering box?

How should I cover up the engine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The process vertstang73 described is the Correct way if you have the engine out & can spray My process was similar but different products & I'm a firm believer of not using water on bare metal or sandblasted metal..No matter how good you think you dried it off all it takes is a small amount in a crack or crevice to start the rust process..Here's how I prepped mine which is similar to verts process but no water involved..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4PVATPY94o Seems to me you need the "down & dirty method" 1--wrap motor electrical etc with tinfoil 2--remove what ever bolt on's you can 3--power wash clean with simple green purple industrial(home depot) after it's dry scratch up all panels etc with a red scotch brite pad followed by a grey scotch brite pad 4--blow out dust etc with compressed air 5--wipe down all areas to be painted with wax & grease remover 6--mask off all areas (fenders windshield) USE KRYLON SATIN BLACK (walmart) I've done quite a few engine compartments with this paint & it works great & looks great for the quick down & dirty method..Watch my vids here www.saturdaymorninggarage.com
Hi,

What kind of rustoleum satin black dit you use ( have to look if it's available in Europe ) , did you use a spraygun for the job ??

John
Made a mistake it's KRYLON SATIN BLACK No paint gun, spray cans

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM195744230P?sid=IDx20101019x00001a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=SPM195744230

 
Hello Folks! We certainly did some other threads about this topic, not that long ago...

In my opinion, there are several ways to do it and the main subjet is if we are going to paint the engine bay with or without the engine on the bay.

As sharpstang72 was saying, he is not familiar with the spray gun use so i can assume that if you have a running car as is, you are not going to take the engine off to paint the bay either... I trully don´t know nothing about what products can you use because i´m from south america and here the story is far diferent, but what i can tell you is some practical tweaks i did on my car...

P1010002.JPG

P1010005.JPG

Well... here you can see a close to finish engine bay job... Not show quality but really decent and as close as stock original I can get by this days (with no money on new parts :))

I did all my work in there with the engine ON the car, i didn´t want to take it off because it has never been of the car before, so... Even if the results are not show quality, the process i did was kinda simple...

You have been well guided here on the steps and the materials to use... But you are not gonna sandblast the engine bay with everything on i suppose... I didn´t do that either....

What i did, before everything was to take all elements attached to the aprons off... My goal was to leave the working surfaces as empty as i could.. From radiator to wiring, I unmounted everything in order to get full access there...

Then, i used paint remover to go to bare metal... I did that in every apron, the cowl and the radiator support, as well as the visible parts of the shock towers... My car was never been involved in an accident so i was sure no body work was going to be needed...

After few hours of work mi engine bay looked metallic shiny, super clean and ready for some primer... I painted it with the spraygun but i know you can buy primers and paints in spraycans so, the job is the same...

First primer, then a little sanding to that primer and then the 40% PU semigloss black from PPG.. that´s what i did use in this bay... For me it is too shiny but it is what it is!! ejje

I went far from the engine bay per se and painted the hole components under the hood but that is not necesary really.. Looks good but again, it is a matter of tastes...

Well.. hope to be helpful somehow my friend!!

 
DOG GONE IT DAMIEN.. THATS NOT CONCOURS IS IT. ARE YOU SURE THE DIPSTICKS WERE RED? ( laughing ) great job my friend....
They were in my car ;) jeje... Naaa... the Orange was a bad decission day in my run to the stock originality race... jeje...

It was Sunday and that was the only available paint can in my garagge so i said.. what the hell... let´s paint it orange and then we´ll see...

Now i see it... jeje But as i don´t know the right colour to my orange horrible parts, i keep it orange protected :p

If you have some info regarding the right colour for the fan blade, and the other orange cancers i have on my engine bay, PM me!!!

BTW... how´s your car doing pappy!!! ;)

 
For an engine compartment, you can "skimp" a bit on the prep products. A simple value priced automotive primer/sealer after a good degrease and thorough scuff will do the job nicely. For a durable but low-buck job, I prefer a flattened single stage urethane Black for the engine compartment, but catalyzed enamel will do as well, it's just not as durable. The rattle cans come lower on the scale.

If you wanted to go the whole way, strip off the front sheetmetal and suspension, sandblast the entire front clip. After that, hit it with POR-15's Metal Ready or any other similar product (Picklex, etc). This will leave a nice clean surface with plenty of grip for the primer. The PPG epoxy primer goes on next, followed by your topcoat of semi-gloss black. For the ultimate finish, use PPG's DCU2060 flattened clear over a black base coat. See link below for details.

http://429mustangcougarinfo.50megs.com/paint_info.htm

 
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