What paint to use for engine bay?

Does anyone have a recommendation for black spray paint? I need to find something good to paint all the under hood panels and brackets. I'm thinking semigloss in finish.

Is POR-15 chassiscote or blackcote any good? I want something that will look nice, be tough and not fade over time.

I have used the Krylon 1613 flat black under hood with great results.

I have not had any personal experience with any others. You should be able to get the Krylon 1613 from NAPA or any Sherwin-Williams distributor.

Hope this helps!

BT

Yeah, I'm worried about the finish...not sure if I want semi gloss or flat. I'm sure gloss is out. The whole 'theme' under the hood is going to be black and silver (either stainless, chrome or natural aluminum casting color) The block is black and the fender aprons, pulleys and brackets will all be black so I want to choose the best finish to compliment the engine...LOL. I am leaning towards semi gloss, but I'm open to suggestions. It will also be used to paint the cowl, firewall and hood hinges. I really like POR-15's Chassiscote. It is UV resistant and has high strength against chips and abrasion. I'm not going to base coat everything in POR-15 though...way to expensive!

I am going to have to use rattle cans because I have a ton of little things to paint and no room to do them all at once. I plan on sand blasting a few items and painting them right away. So getting the paint gun out and cleanup after each session would really suck! Rattle cans will be much more effective.

I used low gloss dupli-color engine paint and it did a pretty good job

That does look nice! Would you call low gloss a flat or more of a semi gloss finish? It's hard to tell in the pic.

That does look nice! Would you call low gloss a flat or more of a semi gloss finish? It's hard to tell in the pic.

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It said low gloss on the can.It is not fully flat it does have a little shine to it makes imperfections harder to see lol.More of a satin finish I guess

PPG DAR9000 with the flattening agent.

I have been using Rustoleum rattle can in Satin. Seem to adhere well and self levels. I did my rear spoiler in it and came out fairly well...I am seriously considering taping off the hood and shooting a coat of satin on the flat hood paint just so they match.

I recpomend SEM trim black you can get rattle cans or get a quart and use the spray guy, shoo tit over epoxy for a nice finish.

I used to use the Krylon satin black... they quit making it. The Rustoleum satin is a little bit glossier but nice. The rustoleum is what i used last time. I've heard good things about the Eastwood chassis black. My talents extend to rattle cans at this time. You can get custom blended colors put into rattle cans at most NAPA paint stores. I had some yellow mixed for touch-up on my car.

Eastwood under hood black---their chassis black is darn close to it--really takes alot to tell the two apart.

I would go with the epoxy about everything and then 2K high build primer to sand. I am not familiar with the Omni line, so can not suggest on what their products are able to do so, or price. I use SPI products and epoxy is a good basis to bare metal, and is also superb with a sealant on other paintings. You can either use a floor or BC / CC in this area.

I recpomend SEM trim black you can get rattle cans or get a quart and use the spray guy, shoo tit over epoxy for a nice finish.

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+1 i used this on my engine bay I used the SEM self etch and Trim black over top.





I've seen a lot of guys use the eastwood paint, its too dark and glossy for my taste, ford would basically mix together scrap paint to shoot the engine bay and it was always dull and the hue would be different batch to batch, based on some survivor cars i looked at i felt the SEM was close to the original paint which was grayish and went with it. it really came out nice and laid down fast.

now ford would also lay the stuff thick and it would run down the aprons, so concourse guys will do the same to emulate what ford did from the factory.

a lot of guys swear by the krylon 1613 semi gloss stuff, and its good to but i really liked the SEM paint.

just watch out if its REALLY humid out if you shoot it in those conditions it will turn whitish and you will need to re shoot the area or touch up.

Years back I had the problem of my semi-gloss blacks turning white if I sprayed lacquer or rattle can black. I use a spray gun and live in a much less humid place and no longer have that problem. I don't like using rattle cans for such large areas for two reasons--I feel they lack durability and with such a large area they dry too quickly and you get dry spots.

I still have a supply of Sikkens Ralley Black I am using up, but will be switching over to PPG next time. Ralley black is a semi gloss single stage black that sticks quite well and leaves a very nice finish.

I use Dupont Centari 99A single stage black with gloss hardener and flattener. You have to experiment to get the right gloss, and the components are expensive. However, one gallon will last forever, and you can use it for gloss black stuff too.

I use about twice the flattener, as the amount of gloss hardener. ie: if you use 8 to 1, paint to hardener, then use 2 parts flattener. Also, this is a very durable, hardened finish, that will not wipe off with solvents such as paint prep, or gas, (as does rattle can paint.) It's a lot of effort, but the results are dynamite!!

Wow! Those engine bay pics are awesome! I can't wait to get to that point! Getting close though! Should be able to post my pics this winter!

(Just re-posting, since my previous post was listed as "unregistered")

I use Dupont Centari 99A single stage black with gloss hardener and flattener. You have to experiment to get the right gloss, and the components are expensive. However, one gallon will last forever, and you can use it for gloss black stuff too.

I use about twice the flattener, as the amount of gloss hardener. ie: if you use 8 to 1, paint to hardener, then use 2 parts flattener. Also, this is a very durable, hardened finish, that will not wipe off with solvents such as paint prep, or gas, (as does rattle can paint.) It's a lot of effort, but the results are dynamite!!

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OK, mine is not nearly so nice as these above but here is what mine looked like after changing my batter apron. While I was there, I did the rest of the wheel well...

Before and after...I think you can tell which is which...

I used plastikote self etching primer and base primer and finished it with semi gloss black Krylon paint bought at the local Walmart. In the fender well i used truck bed liner to give it a durable finish after cleaning the frame and replacing many of the panels this truck bed liner paint did a good job in hiding some imperfection that where hard to finish.