Painting engine bay bits

[chirag1988]

I'm looking to paint a few bits of my engine bay and wanted to know what's the process of preparation and painting and where's the best place to get the paint from (recommended suppliers). I'm looking to start with the battery and brake fluid covers and the engine cover and also the ends of the strut brace.

 

When removing the strut brace is there anything I should be wary of as I've never removed it before. Also as it's metal do I prepare it differently to the plastics for painting?

 

Going to go for a shade of orange as I have the alezan seats inside already and thought it would be nice to continue the theme throughout the engine bay too.

[Vlad]

Just make sure surface is clean, so no oil etc on it. Sand it down a little bit with something like 600 grit sand paper, prime it and sand it down again with 1200-1500 grit, then prime it again, sand it down and spray. Why prime it few times? I find it helps to get rid of tiny scratches...as primer basically fills them in,...sometimes they really hard to see...but ones painted and lacquered - they will be more visible! Also try to use sanding block or something flat to wrap sanding paper around - to give you flat sanding serface.

I think white primer works the best - as it will bring colour up, make it a bit brighter. Would also recommend to lacquer bits as well to give them that shiny glossy look. PlastiKote 2k clear lacquer is pretty good.

Spray (primer/paint/lacquer) is few thin coats instead of 1 thick - makes it easier to dry etc. I would leave 30mins-1hr between coats and leave overnight to dry

All common sense really

If you dont have any local paint stores that can mix you some paint, www.paints4u.com can do it for you if you provide paint code

 

Nothing to worry about when taking strut bar off.... its as straight forward as it looks, takes few mins

Good luck

Edited January 11, 2014 by Vlad

[chirag1988]

Thanks for the tips Vlad. I assume it's the same process for the metal ends of the strut bar? Also once primed, how many coats of paint and lacquer should I apply?

[Vlad]

For the metal I would use primer for the metal...not sure what's the difference between them 2, but I guess there is since 2 different types of primer lol

Layers of paint- ones everything is fully painted, that should do! I'm not body-shop specialist, but try sure you don't want it to be to thick... Lol

Lacquer- same...ones you get that glossy clear finish - that will do as well...hard to say about layers - as everyone sprays at different angle/distance which will make layers thicker/thinner...just do it by the eye I would say!

something like strut bar towers- may be better to consider to get them powder coated as normal paint might chip away at places where you bolt it down-due to pressure...unless you really carefull:) that's my opinion, someone might be more professional and will correct me

[GMballistic]

Thanks for the tips Vlad. I assume it's the same process for the metal ends of the strut bar? Also once primed, how many coats of paint and lacquer should I apply?

I think Vlad is talking about the strut ends as well in his above post. Can't see that you would need to sand the plastics at all before priming & painting unless they had some major damage to them.

 

If you've got a Dremel or even a cordless drill this will save you time when preparing the strut bar ends for priming. I haven't done mine yet but I've looked at them and I'm going to using metal wire brushes (sandpaper paddles) with my Dremel to get at some places on the strut bar ends where I'd struggle with sand paper & my fingers.

One other thing Vlad forgot to mention is that after you have sanded it is advisable just to give the ends a gentle wash with water just to help get rid of any grit/debris ~ you can use a hairdryer afterwards to help it dry quicker. I usually also use wet & dry sand paper as it doesn't clog as much when your using a little water with the sanding process and can help stop you from ruining the primer you've just painted on as well.

[chirag1988]

Thanks for both your replies guys. I'll probably start with just the plastic covers to see how I get on. Probably even practice on some scrap bits of plastic stuff before trying it for real and leave the strut bar till last. Just gotta decide on a shade of orange now!

[GMballistic]

This may help you for when you do think about doing the strut brace. From the Motordyne plenum spacer fitting guide;

 

Strut Bar Removal for 350Z owners:

Remove the strut bar. Loosen the (two) 24mm jam nuts on the left hand side. Mark the center hex adjuster

and loosen it one full turn. Remove the (6)14mm head bolts and (2)14mm head nuts. Use a screw driver on

the lock of the slide on wire connector and slide off. Use needle nose pliers to squeeze the snap in wire

connectors and push them out. Carefully lift bar out of the way and set aside.

 

[Vlad]

Just don't spray too close (to avoid runs) and leave it to dry-and you'll be fine

Good luck

[GMballistic]

^^ What he said and thin even light coats of paint.

Build up the paint layers slowly so that you give the previous layer of paint time for the solvents to evaporate out. It's not rocket science and I'm sure you'll be fine. Like you said chirag1988 have a practice first on some scrap before you do the car parts.

[chirag1988]

Thanks for the above GMballistic regarding strut brace removal.

 

I'll have a few practice goes before I do the actual thing so as to not mess it up lol. Does it matter which brand I use for primer, paint and lacquer? I checked the paints4u and they have a few different brands.

 

Can you guys also recommend where I can find a selection of colours and shades?

Edited January 11, 2014 by chirag1988

[Vlad]

I've used few different primers - as far as I could tell-they all same! Even halfords one will do!

Not sure about colours and shades...I got "paintstore" not far from me, they great at mixing paints and do have booklets with every possible colour! Just search tinternernet and you'll find something

[chirag1988]

Coolio, looks like I've found something else to spend my money on now and it won't be breaking the bank either

[GMballistic]

For doing metal items I will only ever use one primer as it's the best I've used & never had any problems with it. They also do lot's of normal paint colours and there clear lacquer is great too.

 

Hycote grey metal/plastic primer; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hycote-Grey-Primer-Car-Van-Spray-Paint-400ml-/170769436948?pt=UK_Body_Shop_Supplies_Paint&hash=item27c2a6d114

Hycote white primer; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HYCOTE-WHITE-PRIMER-ACRYLIC-SPRAY-PAINT-400ML-/181273762733?pt=UK_Body_Shop_Supplies_Paint&hash=item2a34c21bad

Hycote lacquer; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hycote-Clear-Lacquer-UK0232-400ml-/370744005186?pt=UK_Body_Shop_Supplies_Paint&hash=item5652109242

 

Do an eBay search though for the best prices if you do decide to use Hycote as I just picked the first one's that popped up.

[14N]

Some good advice from the guys above Chirag

 

Remember to use plastic primer on the, erm, plastics' I got all my stuff from Halfords. Depending what colour(s) you choose will depend on the colour of primer you'll need. It will tell you on the rattle can though. I needed white for my orange parts and as Vlad said, it made the colour brighter.

[chirag1988]

I've just bought the hycote white plastic primer and the hycote clear lacquer from eBay for roughly fiver each. Now just gotta find a shade of orange!

 

[GMballistic]

^^ Cool.

Maybe try a trip to Haldfords so you can look over various shades of orange? or try eBay again.

[chirag1988]

I've got a day off on Friday so will make a trip to halfords to check out the different shades. Hopefully my primer and lacquer will have come by then so will be able to have some practice

[rtbiscuit]

i always buy my paints from paints4u best spray nozzles in the business good colour matches and quality paint.

 

make sure you use a plastic etch primer (plastic primer) for the plastics. its flexible so once dry it allows the paint to move with the plastic and reduces cracking. if its metal you can use normal primer, if its aluminium use an aluminium primer.

 

also if your spraying, a DIY painters biggest enemy is the temp, make sure your not spraying in temps below 10 degrees, or in high humidity (which is alot in winter(high moisture contnet in the air)) paint does funny things in cold temps.

[14N]

There aren't a huge amount of oranges to choose from off the shelf in Halfords. I used the Focus ST on my engine bay, but there's a rather nice bold orange from Fiat.

 

I wouldn't pick your shade/colour off the Internet, as screen settings etc means it never looks quite the same in the flesh.

[Spatt]

Just picked up on this thread and i havn't read it all but rather than start a fresh..

 

Im about to paint my engine cover... I have managed to remove the Nissan badge from the centre and i want to start priming it, i will rub down with paint thinners to remove oily residue first then sand then rub down again before painting with primer (Hopefully white)

 

My question is... It gets hot under there and i have had bad experience with paint cracking on rocker covers..

 

Do i need to use high temp or some kind of special paint / primer to paint the engine cover?? i also intend to paint some other parts too.

 

Cheers for any info,

 

Matt

[14N]

No special paint needed, but you do need plastic primer.

[Spatt]

cheers dude.. Reckon i can get that at Halfords? do i need white?

 

Also, ive tried to get this chrome covering off my badge but only some has come off.. am i good to go with the primer if i scatch it up enough for the primer to key?

[chirag1988]

There aren't a huge amount of oranges to choose from off the shelf in Halfords. I used the Focus ST on my engine bay, but there's a rather nice bold orange from Fiat.

 

I wouldn't pick your shade/colour off the Internet, as screen settings etc means it never looks quite the same in the flesh.

 

Yeah I'd go to look at the paint in person first and then see if I can find it cheaper online. Otherwise just pick it up off the shelf. Did you get your orange from Halfords?

[Easty]

I did all mine,

Plastic Primer and them Paint,

But remember to do very very light coats and build it up so it doesn't run into the holes :-)

[GMballistic]

cheers dude.. Reckon i can get that at Halfords? do i need white?

 

Also, ive tried to get this chrome covering off my badge but only some has come off.. am i good to go with the primer if i scatch it up enough for the primer to key?

With regards to paints in hotter temperature environments you can get HT & VHT paint (High Temp & Very High Temp) which can cope with hotter temperatures under the bonnet.

 

If the Chrome has come off your Nissan badge then you ideally should remove it all off before you paint it especially if it's a big chip as it will show up after painting.

You could just try sanding the effected area until you can't feel any step and it is smooth but the difference between a chromed surface and the non chromed surface may cause a different finish to the paint finish after spraying. For the sake of an extra 10 minutes with some sand paper (or a Dremel with a wire brush attachment) I'd just try & removed all the chrome if I was you.