[4 eyed mustang]

I have the heads and front of the engine apart for a HCI swap. My block is still in the car and was thinking about trying to shoot some paint in the bay to clean it up. I was going to try to do it in steps 1 side at at time by moving all the wiring aside to access what needs to be painted. I want to paint it to match the body, factory blue color. I have never painted anything before and need any advice I can get from prep to finishing. I would like to just use premixed spray cans because the color does not have to be perfect, not a show car.

What can I use to clean all the old stuff off to get ready to prep it?
What type of primer do I use I have seen some different types, self eching or just normal primer? Do I need to use primer?
Who sells factory matched paint in spray cans, and will it need to have clear over it?

Any advice would be great to get a decent finish.

Or would it be easier just to shoot a satin black over the engine bay instead of trying to color match it?

 

[Decipha]

if its not a show car and your first time painting I wouldnt recommend attempting to color match it

best bet would be to get some large contractors trash bags and wrap the engine and everything else up and out of the way.

Remove the wipers, cowl panels, battery, reserviors etc... anything that can be removed.

Get a degreaser like purple power or the like and remove all the deposits and what not from over the years. Once youve got it all cleaned up start over and clean it all up again. Allow ample time to dry and inspect.

Then get yourself a wire wheel or sander and brush up all the areas accessible. Youll need some sandpaper to get all the intricate areas.

Blow it all down with some compressed air and clean it up again.

Then tape up anything you dont want to get over-spray on.

I would recommend a semi gloss black and rattle canning it is fine. You want the first coat to be very thin if you skip over areas its better to have less paint than too much. Give it 30 min to an hour to flash depending upon ambient conditions and go at it again for a second coat. Repeat til you have a rich uniform coating.

Once its cured put a very light layer of clear coat over all of it. The clear is the most difficult step as too much will make it change color. You want very thin even coats. 2 thin coats of clear should be all you need. Be sure you spend the money on a good clear as a poor quality clear will ruin even the greatest of paint.

Take your time with it and Im sure youll be happy with the results. Painting is a slow and tedious process so take your time.

 

[Decipha]

Also to answer your question no you do not need a primer. Your not removing the paint you only want to roughen it up for the new paint to adhere to it.

 

[Chuck_D]

If you want your body color in a spray paint can most Napa’s by me can make those for you. Or a body shop supply store that sells paint might be able to get a can made for you.

 

[96pushrod]

I really like the tractor magic paint from tractor supply. It works great for engine bays and is super cheap.

I use hsi black max to degrease an engine bay. It’s by far the strongest stuff I’ve ever used, just do not breath it in as it contains sodium hydroxide.

 

[4 eyed mustang]

I think I may just stick with black for now. No tractor supply stores near me, any other recommended brands to try. Thx for all your advice too Decipha and others too.

 

[96pushrod]

I think I may just stick with black for now. No tractor supply stores near me, any other recommended brands to try. Thx for all your advice too Decipha and others too.

You can actually get the whole setup off Amazon, base and hardener are like $60 total for enough to do a gallon.

But if that not your thing, por15 actually works great for doing engine bays, kinda nice to be able to brush it on to help avoid overspray. The rustolem 2x paint works great too. Just be careful and mask everything off properly. Wax and grease remover is your friend as well.

 

[4 eyed mustang]

Does the por15 looked brushed on, I want it to be smooth? Not familiar with this product but if it finishes smooth that may be an option.

 

[96pushrod]

No, it flattens out after you brush it on.

 

[4 eyed mustang]

Did some reading on this product, does anyone have some pics of what they have used it on?

 

[Mustang5L5]

POR15 will eventually peel of applied to smooth metal. It’s really best in rusted metal (Paint Over Rust).

I did my entire underside in POR15. Cleaned the metal and prepped per their instructions. It was clean smooth metal. It lasted a good 10 years without issue, and then all the sudden, it all peeled. No idea what triggered it.

it’s stuck fast on the rusted areas, but anything smooth and clean is peeling. I’m actually just going to clean it up and reapply

 

[Stangdawg]

Does the por15 looked brushed on, I want it to be smooth? Not familiar with this product but if it finishes smooth that may be an option.

I use Eastwood’s chassis black on my underside. I wiped with their Pre product and sponge brushed it on. It’s been super durable.

 

[96pushrod]

Did some reading on this product, does anyone have some pics of what they have used it on?

Those bays were done with por15 for 95% of them. Around the edges were sprayed with the tractor magic or the rustolem 2x as it’s a little easier to blow it into some areas. They match pretty well to each other. It comes in gloss and flat black.

POR15 will eventually peel of applied to smooth metal. It’s really best in rusted metal (Paint Over Rust).

I did my entire underside in POR15. Cleaned the metal and prepped per their instructions. It was clean smooth metal. It lasted a good 10 years without issue, and then all the sudden, it all peeled. No idea what triggered it.

it’s stuck fast on the rusted areas, but anything smooth and clean is peeling. I’m actually just going to clean it up and reapply

Yes, it sticks very well to crusty metal. You can also give it a good scuff and the por15 will adhere well to painted surfaces. With good adhesion it lasts very well though.

 

[allbizns]

Another trick to help with masking things up. Go to the Dollar Store and get some cheap heavy duty aluminum foil. Use this to mask things like wire harnesses or any thing irregular. Way easier than trying to tape those things up. Just wrap them in the aluminum foil.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[Saleen 88-656]

I did just this last winter. I was able to find body color in duplicolor. I used their paint and clear after cleaning compulsively. I actually used this same process on some Scott rod panels. They turned out great as well. I must second the aluminum foil trick as well.

 

[azmack]

I’ve used all kinds of different engine bay paint over the years; the Eastwood stuff used to be pretty good but the newer formula doesn’t hold up real well. I don’t care for colored engine bays so it’s always black for me. I’ve been using VHT chassis and roll bar epoxy and I’m impressed with the finish and durability. You can special order a quart can and use a sprayer ( my go to), or go rattle can too. No matter what paint you use, you are bound to get scratches etc over time while working on your engine, that’s another reason I like the VHT, you can touch up using the rattle can and it looks just as good.

 

[Mstng93SSP]

I did mine base coat/clearcoat. Factory color. Cheap amazon paint gun, paint from Napa paint store. It's not difficult to get a good finish....and it is an engine bay....good place to learn. I would never paint my engine bay anything but body color....but that's just me.

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There are a lot of good vieos on youtube showing how to paint.

Chris

 

[4 eyed mustang]

Thx for all the advice. I am going to try to paint without removing the brake booster and master. Is this doable with a decent outcome, doesn't need to be perfect.

 

[Mstng93SSP]

Yes. Just mask it off

 

[4 eyed mustang]

I did mine base coat/clearcoat. Factory color. Cheap amazon paint gun, paint from Napa paint store. It's not difficult to get a good finish....and it is an engine bay....good place to learn. I would never paint my engine bay anything but body color....but that's just me.

From this...


To this









There are a lot of good vieos on youtube showing how to paint.

Chris

Looks great, did you have to primer it first before painting?