So I just pulled the engine and tranny out of 71 gt today and thought this would be a good time to attempt and dress up the engine bay. I know nothing about body work - so I figured I would ask the forum what the best way to go about this is? Is there any good spray paint out there to make it look halfway decent? And should I just go over the bay with a sand block to rough it up? Im obviously not looking for show car stuff here, just something to make it look a bit better. Any help is greatly appreciated! BTW - I saw the original paint codes in another thread but I dont have a sprayer
I should mention that right now im thinking I should borrow a friends pressure washer to go through there. Any info on a good spray paint that will look good in the engine bay? Or are most spray paints going to chip away in no time....?
degrease and pressure wash good,get a scotch brite pad and scuff it all down and topcoat with a semi gloss black professional series rustoleum semi gloss leaves a nice finish and is pretty durable my truck is done with it been that way for over a year and still cleans up nice (only the frame is done in this pic)
Rustoleum is nice, it has a mild primer built in. I made a mistake on my first Comet resto and used Krylon spray paint, which is water based. Bad idea, it was peeling within months and could not handle the heat in the engine compartment. But Ive heard of others using Krylon, so it could have been my prep. I think Rustoleum is the way to go, its durable and also pretty forgiving.
here is what I did. After engine and trans pulled, fasten wiring harness up to wipers to get it outta the way. go to a cheap store and buy 5-6 cans of oven cleaner. wash off all lose dirt and then spray all engine compartment with oven cleaner and let soak for about 2 hours. rince with power washer and repeat first step. let soak again for 2 hours( do not let it dry) rince and check to make sure all grease and oil is gone, especially in small corners or tight spots.(Now you have used 4 cans). If not repeat a 3rd time. rince off with soapy water, then clear hot water if you can, and then blow dry with air pressure.Let dry over night. Sand with 220 paper by hand and make sure you miss no spots.blow off dust, wipe with laquer thinners and then let dry over nite. Tack in the mornin and I painted mine with self etchining EPOXY paint from VHT(rattle cans), about 10 gives 2 good coats). I used satin black for mine but it comes in many colors. I did mine 3 years ago and is still looks great today. I rince it off with clear water or soapy water first if need ed for dirt , then just wipe dry with a old towel. looks great all the time. Hope it works for you.RON
Wow thanks guys! I am actually thinking about painting it white now (color of the car). I know I can order the exact paint in a rattle can online - but I wonder if it can withstand heat in the engine bay? Black would be the easiest but white would look oh so good in there.
This may not be true of all Rustoleum paints, but I know many of them don't take well to contact with gasoline. Just something to keep in mind.
I'm all for body color but just keep in mind that for a driver you are going to have a helluva time keeping it clean if you go white.
mine was brown and undercoat overspray. i just used a spiral saw with wire wheel and removed the undercoating. then I sanded with 220, down to 800. I sprayed high heat gloss black (3 cans) and sprayed engine, put everything back and it looks 10 times better. For about $30-$40 mine gets compliments from everybody who looks at it. I don't have a big budget cause I'm still in High school but black compartment with ford blue engine turned out good for a budget paint job and looks close to original. -1st time you drive it in rain a white engine bay will look dirty unless you garage keep it and baby it.
I used these to clean the engine bay http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/4ZR18 I used this to paint http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2PE10 Shop around for prices grainger is expensive, only reason i bought there is i work there and get a discount, and im to lazy to drive to another store to pick some up
