Painting engine cover. Advice needed

[rtbiscuit]

i suppose i could, i've never played around with the masking film, and also i'm not sure my cutter is big enough to do the whole enine cover in one stencil

[theheff]

Might be better free hand with some frog tape then. Ill give it a go and let you know if I need anything like that doing. Hopefully be done by next weekend.

[rtbiscuit]

if your building your template with frog tape, make sure all the ends are scalpel or knife cut and not finger torn. any kind of funny edge and paint will seep under the edge. and the coats need to be light, heavy wet coats seep as well.

[theheff]

I'm guessing scissors will be ok.

 

Also while we're on it will I be able to do the strut brace in the same paint or will that get hotter being metal and need high temp paint?

 

[cs2000]

Strut is colder. The engine cover even after a 70MPH motorway journey gets to no more then 60-70, the strut is metal so yeah it will gather heat better, but its also good at loosing it, plus its connected to the car which could act as one large heatsink

[rtbiscuit]

if your painting bits in the engine just remember that plastic parts need a good plastic primer as it keeps the paint flexible and stops it chipping off. if its metal it needs a good metal primer, and if its aluminium it needs an ally primer.

[ph 7]

I quite liked the idea of doing this under bonet...I saw one in blue and white but can't find a pic, looked great

 

[theheff]

And do I need to strip paint from the strut brace or can I prepare that and primer and paint on top of the old paint. It's all in good condition.

[DoogyRev]

Could you not use Vinyl's then put 200 coats of lacquer on to seal it in?

[Ricey]

I painted my engine cover with cellulose rattle cans, no heat issues

 

And with a combination of advice from Graham and Rich I did one with no problems at all.

 

Obviously best to key it first and if you want a really smooth finish then yes - lots of wet and dry required.

 

The nissan badge comes off by cutting the plastic welds at the back

[rtbiscuit]

the strut brace towers do some times have alot of dirt and stuff on them so they'd need a good clean first and a de grease with something like lighter fluid or meths. isoproponol wipes are even better. and then key the surface like ricey says.

[rtbiscuit]

Could you not use Vinyl's then put 200 coats of lacquer on to seal it in?

 

yes you can do, but he wants a faded pattern so the only way to do that is to see someone who can print on to vinyl and then print the image with the faded effect onto white vinyl then apply it. then clear coat over the top

[Bruton350]

Just google image the rising sun, print it out and stick it on for a template.

 

Did this to my front grill. Worked a treat

[theheff]

So far so good on this. Its all primered up and is currently drying following wet and dry sanding to smooth it all down. Should be getting the black paint on throughout this evening and then onto the sunrise tomorrow. Ill keep it updated and try and get some pictures along the way.

[rtbiscuit]

looking forward to seeing the progress on this

[theheff]

I jut hope it comes out as good as it looked in my head.

[14N]

Well you're going the best way of finding out. But if you do make mistakes, learn from them and try again

[theheff]

Here is my little spray booth in the loft. Dont tell 'her' about the over spray.

 

 

The cover and the badge in primer

 

[theheff]

4 Black coats are done and im happy with how it looks. Just waiting for it to dry.

 

Do i need to clear coat before masking up for the design or just go onto the black paint. If clear coat first how many coats, also how many coats to finish it off, is 2 enough?

[theheff]

Whats your opinions on this. Thinking about leaving it after one rough coat of red. Sort of has a weathered look. Problem is if i remove the tape now i cant really go back

 

[theheff]

The paint is still wet in this picture by the way

[Will370z]

Nah stay committed and keep going

[hensh65]

I literaly bought all the stuff to spray mine this weekend because of this topic looking good mate !

[theheff]

Finished, apart from the clear coat. Looks a little more oval than round but once on the car it will lookabout right. Few bits where the taper lifted slightly but overall im well happy with the outcome

 

[gsexr]

Not my cup of tea but a good effort if its the look you want