Engine bay paint

[jeff71]

I'm looking for aerosol spray in a semi or satin gloss black to paint my fender wells, firewall & frame rails.

Any suggestions on the best product? And any tips on prep?

[HPIcustoms]

As a past painter/ auto-body prepper.

Prep is key. On my Subaru WRX engine bay that I sprayed last Summer, I washed the bay down with a pressure washer and scrubbed with a sponge and soap. Also de-greased and sprayed again. Then I used your standard "grey" and "red" scotch-brite pads to scuff up the surface. (personally I'd of blasted it, but that wasn't an option for me) Washed down again, and de-greased.

Then proceeded to mask anything off I didn't want sprayed (I did my bay in candy anodized purple), then sprayed an adhesion promoter and then my base coat, let tack then sprayed another coat. Let dry, then sprayed my layers of colour, light coats are key to a good finish. I did about 8 light coats on the bay. Let it dry, then proceeded to clear coat with an HVLP gun in high gloss.

For the purple, I used a standard rattle can from Dupi-Color and its held up all Summer, and throughout the Winter.

The photo doesn't do the paint any justice, looks much better in person. I also sprayed the cradle and fender wells in black as a contrast, its a Dupli-Color product also, sprayed really nice and is a gloss. The cans come with a blue aeresol tip, which makes a "fan" pattern opposed to most cans that make a "circle" pattern so you can achieve a better coverage that's even.

Link to a photo of my bay:
http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xpf1/t51.2885-15/10453967_727330630668254_2017869029_a.jpg

Hope this all helps.

[Rick D]

Sikkens makes a Rally Black in spray can the works awesome for under hood stuff!! If you have bare metal then you will want to prime it first then finish said with 600-800 wet or dry sand paper. Apply it even as you can and wait at least 10-15 mins between coats depending on air temperature and metal temperature. Let me know if you need a place to get the paint as I can get it for you if you want??

[LS7 Z/28]

Go to your local John Deere and buy some cans of John Deere Blitz Black. It sounds like a hillbilly paint but it's not. It's made by Valspar and it's really durable. It has a great satin finish that isn't too flat. It looks similar to chassis black. A lot of car guys are using it and some people paint their entire car with it. You can buy it in cans or buy a gallon and use a gun.

Scuff all the surfaces very well, then use reducer to clean off any residue before you shoot it. Obviously blasting the parts completely clean would be the best starting point and then using a quality spray can primer before paint, but that's up to you.

[jeff71]

No John Deere in my area that I know of. Anybody use SEM or EastWood?

I was gonna degrease, pressure wash with soapy water, scuff then expoy primer before paint.

[HPIcustoms]

Eastwood has great products. I've used their powder coating systems and products before with zero issues. They have paint specially for underhood areas.
http://www.eastwood.com/paints/underhood-paints.html

No John Deere in my area that I know of. Anybody use SEM or EastWood?

I was gonna degrease, pressure wash with soapy water, scuff then expoy primer before paint.

[clill]

SEM is great and dries right away. I'll take a pic of a can.

[clill]

.......

[jeff71]

Thanks for the pic Charlie. Have you sprayed anything recently? Can you post a pic?

I'm leaning towards LEM cause I can buy it local if I need more.

[SSLance]

Huge fan of the Eastwood paints here. My whole under the hood area was done in their Underhood Black. The cans cost a bit more but I think it's worth it because the paint covers so much better and really seem to last longer. I've spilled brake fluid on it, hit it with pressure washer and it's been through about 4 years of hard abuse...and still looks real well.

[SSLance]

Quite a few pics of my work on it here...

http://www.montecarloss.com/community/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1019916&page=4

[GregWeld]

#1 rule ---- NEVER scuff anything before it's been cleaned and decreased. The reason for that is because if you scuff first - you push the grease and dirt and wax etc into the scuff groves (for lack of a better description).


Simple Green is good for a first couple rounds of cleaning....


Then I use PPG DX 330 - which is a wax and degreaser... When it's SQUEAKY clean (yeah you can actually get it to squeak)... then you scuff.


Make sure you test a spot with your paint of choice -- you'd be surprised at some of the bad reactions you can get. No point in finding that out after you've shot the whole area.

[Rick Dorion]

As said, the prep is key. I did an engine compartment in Rustoleum satin, #7777 I think, and it came out fantastic. Only downside is that it is an enamel and takes several days to fully harden. Now I'm in the SEM camp,. Did my inside floors and roof on the Bel Air. Awesome product.

[69hugger]

#1 rule ---- NEVER scuff anything before it's been cleaned and decreased. The reason for that is because if you scuff first - you push the grease and dirt and wax etc into the scuff groves (for lack of a better description).


Simple Green is good for a first couple rounds of cleaning....


Then I use PPG DX 330 - which is a wax and degreaser... When it's SQUEAKY clean (yeah you can actually get it to squeak)... then you scuff.


Make sure you test a spot with your paint of choice -- you'd be surprised at some of the bad reactions you can get. No point in finding that out after you've shot the whole area.

Really good advice. I painted my tail light panel in matte black (finally used SEM trim black as Charlie suggested), and tested 7 different matte/ satin/ semi-gloss brands to get the sheen I thought was right. After sanding & scuffing for hours, the paint curdled (for lack of a better term) in a couple areas. I re-sanded those areas, cleaned with adhesive remover, followed by IPA, and re-shot. Curdled AGAIN, but in smaller areas. Went through this 4-5 times. Finally tried another primer (was using Krylon), and that worked. There was an incompatibility between the Krylon & the SEM.
Wish I had tried it on a piece w/o all the details that I had to sand time after time.
This was the sheen the SEM provided...

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k513/bsternz06/DSCN4940.jpg

[clill]

Did the SEM curdle ? I'm pretty lazy and have never done more than maybe wipe clean with windex usually or lacquer thinner on bare metal and just sprayed it and never had a problem. When working on stuff I get very impatient and hate to wait for paint to dry. The SEM dries before I run out of patience otherwise I would have fingerprints etc in the slow drying paint because I just gotta move on to the next thing I wanna get done. The SEM also seems to hide imperfections very well.

[GregWeld]

Did the SEM curdle ? I'm pretty lazy and have never done more than maybe wipe clean with windex usually or lacquer thinner on bare metal and just sprayed it and never had a problem. When working on stuff I get very impatient and hate to wait for paint to dry. The SEM dries before I run out of patience otherwise I would have fingerprints etc in the slow drying paint because I just gotta move on to the next thing I wanna get done. The SEM also seems to hide imperfections very well.




No.... say it's not true!! LOL



SEM is great paint - usually found at pro stores.

[jeff71]

I've already started the 1st round of degreasing & pressure washing 44yrs of grime is not going away easy.

[GregWeld]

While I'm adding to my post count....


Plan on removing - cleaning - and repainting ANYTHING that is remotely next to or bolted on to the area you're going to put fresh paint on!! I will guarantee that what looks to be "okay" now - won't - once you've put fresh paint on. Take the opportunity to just go ahead and "do it" while you're at it.


Oh yeah -------- that's how these projects get started.... LOL

[69hugger]

The SEM DID curdle. But it was not the SEM's fault. It was the #$@*^ Krylon primers' fault. These flipping aerosol paints are NOT the same as they used to be. I used Krylon satin black for many years, and like Mr. Lillard professes to be, am lazy as far as prepping and can't wait for the stuff to dry. I have finger prints in most everything I have ever repainted. Except the OLD Krylon, which was dry in 15 minutes.... 5 in the sun! And it was almost impossible to make it run. The new stuff runs if you even think about more than a dry coat. They claim they haven't reformulated, but many others say all the manufacturers did several years ago because of VOC regs.
I just spent 5 hours touching up my engine bay before my rebuilt motor goes back in. Was trying to match the catalyzed epoxy that is on it. Found semi-flat Krylon to be the closest sheen match. Actually went on pretty good.

[TheJDMan]

No John Deere in my area that I know of. Anybody use SEM or EastWood?

I was gonna degrease, pressure wash with soapy water, scuff then expoy primer before paint.

Do yourself a favor, look up a Deere dealer in your area and buy the Blitz Black. It will be worth your time I guarantee it. The Blitz Black is the most durable paint you will find in an spray can. I worked a Deere dealer for many years and I can tell you straight up Blitz Black is a very durable paint. We sold more Blitz Black to hot rodders than we did to farmers. It dries quickly and gets harder as it cures.

[Justin@EntropyRad]

As a past painter/ auto-body prepper.

Prep is key

Agreed; prep is 90% of the job

Evan, didn't know you were a Scooby guy...EJ25 in it?

[HPIcustoms]

Agreed; prep is 90% of the job

Evan, didn't know you were a Scooby guy...EJ25 in it?

Yeah I've always loved the Subaru's, I bought this JDM Subaru Impreza WRX two years ago. Was a steal of a deal for $1,600cdn, I couldn't pass it up. She's got the JDM EJ20G in the car with the JDM TD05H 20g turbo. Quick spooling and pulls nice, gonna be great for the auto-cross season.
I might do the EJ25-EJ20 hybrid engine later down the road with the EJ25 block and then EJ20 heads, machining everything to work and make more power than an STI engine with supporting mods, also helps on the low end and high end power curve.
Also have an '89 Nissan 240sx with a JDM SR20DET swapped in with complete engine rebuild/ overhaul and upgraded Greddy manifold/ turbo etc. That's my drift toy.