Painting Engine Compartment and Motor

1972 Mach 1. Just finished complete interior restore and underside of Ram Air hood.

Time to refresh the engine compartment.  I'm going to strip it down to pretty much a short block.

I'll replace all hoses, spark plug leads, p.s. pump, ect., replacable parts..

Wash out the engine compartment until clean with degreaser.

1. I'm looking for a good BLACK paint to use in the engine compartment.  Something I can spray (rattle can) on. Like maybe "chassis black" by Eastwood.

    Anybody had good results lately with a product lately?  Any recommendations on a paint?

2. Need to repaint valve covers and Ram Air air cleaner assembly.  I guess just clean, sand and spray?  What is the correct "Ford Blue" for a 72 Ram Air 351C

    cleaner and valve covers?

Anyone done a project like this?  Cleaning up and painting as best as possible without pulling the motor?

Thanks...

One trick I've read about is to wrap all of your wiring in aluminum foil, protecting it from the paint. A simple, elegant solution that's also cheap!

I hate dealing with painted wiring harnesses...

One trick I've read about is to wrap all of your wiring in aluminum foil, protecting it from the paint.  A simple, elegant solution that's also cheap!

I hate dealing with painted wiring harnesses...

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That is slick and timely as well.

I just painted my engine compartment with rattle can black semi gloss bought from Menards. It's for BBQ grills and withstand 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. It looks decent though and I like it. I had everything out of the car for 2 years. Makes it a lot easier and saves you a ton of aluminum foil!

For those that want the look AND durability, but don't have guns and compressor Eastwoods https://www.eastwood.com/ew-2k-ceramic-aerosol-underhood-black-26896.html 2K is the best I've found. (again this is for "rattle car restos")

Be prepared for $50. And you can't reuse it once activated. But it is a the right finish, holds up to chemicals (after the fact) and Wertz sound deadener sticks to it on the firewall. Ironically, info stickers can be removed if you find you bought the wrong ones and need to redo.

Mark

P.S. Just delete this "if too expensive" !

I guess it all depends on the results you want to achieve. I found pulling the engine and moving the wire harnesses and P/S pump back to the firewall and out of the way was the best way to really get the whole wngine bay clean and painted. With the engine out I also then painted the block and exhaust manifolds. I used Duplicolor Ford Dark Blue (1606) and VHT ESP139007 Engine GM Satin Black or Eastwood Satin Black.

i used the auto zone car paint when engine was out also. satin or semi gloss black don't recall

Perhaps this will help. Search thread 'Engine Bay Detailing-71 Mach 1' dated 10/02/16 from myself. (if I knew how to add the link, I would!)

In a nut shell, I chose Eastwood 2K ceramic semi-gloss black, took 2 cans. This is NOT a cheap paint, but if is standing up extremely well, easy to clean and very tough.

For the blue, I used Duplicolor 1606 Ford Corporate Dark Blue. I like this better than Plasticoat's Ford Dark C/B. NPD sell a paint they claim is an exact match. Another reason I chose rattle cans is it's easier to touch up. For the shock braces and other parts that are supposed to be painted "Slop Grey" I used NPD's Slop Grey. You could mix your own, but NOT Battle Ship Grey!!!!

Prep is key. the end result will reflect this. Take your time and you'll love the look.

I have also posted several pictures of my complete engine bay.

Here's a couple.

rackerm just reminded me. For the factory exhaust manifolds, I used Eastwood High Heat manifold paint. It is supposed to be "cast", but looks a little bit on the grey side. Still looks good though.

Nice looking engine compartment!

Nice looking engine compartment!

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 Thanks. I definitely like the "Factory" look, but not to the concours level. That gets insane cost wise.

I painted my engine compartment about 20 years ago. The engine was out. I went to a local paint shop, told them what I was doing and the young lady provided primer and paint. They sold me prep material as well. I used a compressor. I don't recall the paint brand. It has held up extremely well. I also paid extra for a decent mask/ventilator.

You will not get an even finish if you try painting with the engine in the car. It is impossible to get the paint can/sprayer in the right positions. Also, if you are trying to paint around wires, even covered in aluminum, the paint will be noticeably uneven.

To add to being a bummer, you cannot do proper prep of the surface with the engine in the car. And prep is always the key to a decent looking paint job that will last for years. The surface needs to be cleaned and prepped or the paint just won't stick.

Last year I did my 73 vert with the engine in but would pull the engine to do a much better and easier job if you have a lift. You can probably pull the engine in 3-4 hours and save you days of fighting to do stuff around the engine. Most of my engine compartment I washed the rattle can paint the PO had sprayed on off with lacquer thinner so that the original paint shows. I did have to paint the radiator support and just used a satin black. The two part that another member mentioned that mixes in the rattle can is the best you can do for a rattle can.

I would pull the hood and front fenders off there are lots of places under the fenders that hold trash and the sealer cracks and lets the water get to the bare metal and feed the rust.

I did pull everything off the engine, PS, fan, radiator, grill, valve covers etc.. If you have regular steel valve covers I would actually strip the paint off with Aircraft stripper. The original paint will have rust under it that needs to be sanded or blasted off.

The correct color of blue is called Ford Corporate Blue. There is another blue that is lighter and is incorrect.

Also it does not cost any more to do the "Concours Correct" than to just paint. It just takes using the correct colors and finishes.

Slop Grey is the color for the following. Shock tower braces, under fender shock tower caps, center hood latch bracket. Some of the grill attach parts.

The hood hinges, shock mounts on the shock towers and hood latch all have the phosphate coating NO PAINT. I order the materials and do my own. You do have to have a very large stainless container to do the hood hinges and I suggest taking the springs off to coat.

The headlight bucket and some brackets are satin black. There are several posts on the forum with great info. It will not cost you any more to make it look correct than to just spray it all black. It will look so much better is it has the correct finishes like a member posted.

BTW there is no decal on a Ram Air air cleaner lid just the Ford Corporate Blue paint. There never was a decal on any models with Ram Air under the hood.

Also new bolts in the fenders and grill will make it pop and not cost a fortune.

The car in the pics is my driver Mustang and not meant to be a perfect show car. I have to keep telling myself that when I work on it. It only has 48,000 miles and is a California car. The PO put the MSD on so I left and a stock air cleaner will not fit with it installed.

If you pull the engine you can also take the wire harness out and to a re-wrap with the special tape they use that has no glue on it. You can order from NPD or one of the suppliers and makes the harness look new. Remember to put a new rubber hose for your windshield washer in the harness wrap when you do it. Also be sure to clean all ground connections of any paint and put a spot of electrical lube to prevent rust.

Getting it all clean is the key to the paint sticking. You do need to sand or scuff with a scotch brite to give the paint something to grip on to.

You can get a seal kit at any parts supplier for the PS pump and do it while off. I also took my air conditioning system off and cleaned and detailed it. The bracket for the belt adjuster on the air conditioning is also phosphate coated. I did not coat mine ran short on material.

Pull the engine you will be glad you did. I would replace the core plugs in the block while out they do tend to rust and leak. Oil pan gasket is also a good time to replace. This type job tends to snowball but pay me now or pay me later I guess.

David

I used the Eastwood chassis black spray cans to paint over the cowl and front half of the engine compartment. Even though it was from a spray can it looks very good.

Prep is 90% of the job. In many parts i sprayed over Rust Bullet that i had brushed on.

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I used the Eastwood chassis black spray cans to paint over the cowl and front half of the engine compartment. Even though it was from a spray can it looks very good.

Prep is 90% of the job. In many parts i sprayed over Rust Bullet that i had brushed on.

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I did use Eastwood Chassis black on the frame and cross members. Forgot to mention that before.

My engine compartment was painted with acrylic enamel with a catalyst, mixed to the eggshell recipe with a flattening agent. Still looks great after 15 years. If I were to do it again, I'd use a single stage urethane for the reduced drying time and improved durability.

My first couple cars were simply done with Krylon semi-gloss black. Worked just fine for the investment. I still use it for brackets and such.

If you don't have a compressor, I'd recommend you make the investment. They are not that expensive and I'd be lost without mine. Spray guns from Harbor Freight are fine for an engine compartment.

Here the link to the Ford corporate blue that NPD sells. I think it a good match to what Ford used back in the day. I used it on my air cleaner. Came out well.

https://www.npdlink.com/store/catalog/Mustang_Restoration_Paint_Engine_Engine_Compartment-2249-1.html

John J

Thank you all for the information and thoughts.  It gave me a lot of great ideas.

My goal from my first post was to do it pretty nice without pulling the motor.

I'm almost down to the block. Radiators out, harness pulled back to the firewall, ect..

Looks real doable.

Thanks for the engine photos!

Andy

Check with your local auto paint jobbers , If they carry spray max products there ya go. 1k, 2k, primers, 4 gloss levels of black. Matt and gloss clears, plus adjustable pattern nozzles. Plus some stores can put any color in a rattle can . It's a good line of aerosol products