painting engine bay, no spray guns

[IDriveFords]

Ok so I finally got the KA completely out and preping for the SR swap. I got a few rust spots and some chips and peeling areas so I figured I'd just repaint under the hood. However, I am without use of my air compressor and spray guns at this time and probably will not have use of them anytime soon (power is cut off to my garage waiting on PITA power company to fix it). So anyway my thoughts are to brush on aircraft stripper to take off whats left of the old finish, put a light primer coat on, and use some high temp engine enamel to finish it off (flat black color). I just want to be able to pop the hood and have a very presentable engine bay and I know the way its painted has alot to do with this. I also don't mind taking the extra time to have it right but I'm not really a bodywork type of person. Lets just say if I did enter it in a small local show I'd wanna be able to stand some sort of a chance. I want a clean, plain engine bay free of rust spots, cracking and bubbled paint etc... I just need some advice from somebody thats skilled in this sort of thing as to whether or not primer+high temp engine enamel will show up decent and if so what brands are most durable/where do I buy em. I'll also do some sanding and stuff to try and get it as smooth as possible. Thnx in advance for any advice/input.
-Rob-

[chmercer]

get a spray gun

[Rittmeister]

I used Duplicolor hi-temp (500 degree) primer and "Low Gloss Black" engine paint in my engine bay while the motor was out. I didn't follow any special steps (and luckily had no rust to deal with).

1. Remove engine/tranny/wiring harness and power steering gear, etc. I didn't remove the brake MC/booster, clutch MC, or the other stuff that's not necessary to take out for a motor swap.
2. Power wash engine bay. I rented a power washer from a tool rental place and went to town, took several hours. I also used a bottle and a half of Simple Green and a toothbrush to really get all engine bay surfaces clean.
3. Let dry
4. Wire brush - I just went over the whole engine bay with a wire wheel on a cordless drill.
5. Sand - 400 grit and 600 grit. Rinsed the dust away and let it dry again.
6. Mask - anything you don't want painted. I had the fenders and bumper off to do a Silvia conversion, so I draped cloths over the windsheild/roof/doors, covered the wheels. Masked the master cylinders, relay boxes, etc etc with tape.
7. Three coats of primer - didn't bother sanding.
8. Three coats of black.
9. Two coats of clear.

It's not special, doesn't shine, but I don't care. It's all one color, spills are easy to spot (liquid is shiny and the paint isn't) and it's easy to clean. If it needs touched up I grab the can.

Hope that helps.

[Jefferson]

I would just use degreaser and a wire wheel like the above poster said.
Aircraft remover just makes a mess and complicates things further, at least all the times I've used it did

[NemeGuero]

I think you really just don't own a spray gun/air compressor.

If you do, why not wait for the power company to straighten that ish back out and get your lights back on? How long is it possibly gonna take? 48 hours?

Wait.. and do it right.

[KA-T_240]

Originally Posted by NemeGuero

Wait.. and do it right.

I second that.

get a quality paint job that is like everyone esles aka flat black....

do something like this.

[smelly240]

if u in fact dont have a air compressor - maybe u could try bbq grill paint. I seen it at home depot and i heard people use it for just this type of thing... Takin the engine in an out twice messed up my shiny black bay a lot this summer - so i might try it sometime... it comes in a bucket or spray cans - i guess u can get it smooth if u thin it.

[j20accord00]

might be a ghetto job but i painted mine with herculiner, truck bed stuff. actually turned out really good. its like rugged so when im wrenching im not afraid of chipping anything. I drive an 04 f250 v10 as my daily car gas is expensive so that was the cheapest fasted solution lol

-Evan

my pics of it are on my webshots: http://community.webshots.com/user/j20accord00
ill put more on there when i get them off my camara

[smelly240]

what about getting a wagner painter for the engine bay - not for a car - but a engine bay i can see it being done

i like that bedliner stuff tho - its a really dark black.

[IDriveFords]

I actually have two 33 gallon air compressors and my friend has 3 detail guns and a regular gun. The problem with waiting for the power is that i've been waiting 4 months now. The people that previously lived in the house had the power rigged up without a meter and when they moved out the power company cut the lines at the pole. Since reconnecting those lines isn't an "emergency" they keep putting the date back of when theyre gonna hook it up. I live in Virginia, a commonwealth, nothing is unionized so nothing gets done. Aside from that I'm probably looking at another two weeks be4 I can even dream of getting power in my garage and another week be4 I can get the 240 volt line needed to run the compressor and I only got a month to finish this swap be4 I just won't have any time. I guess with the right amount of sanding the sanding+primer+sanding+high temp paint+sanding+clear coat+sanding would turn out nice. Thnx for the input guys.

[Luvs2slide]

I used spray paint from Home Depot. It says its made out of epoxy, I think for fridges and shit like that. It did my engine bay yesterday and works and looks like a champ. Like everyone said, make sure you mask off what you dont want painted and make sure to cover windows and all that.

[IDriveFords]

got ne pics? Hmm, I also just thought of something and its gonna sound pretty ghetto but I think my dryer runs off a 240 volt line so maybe I could unhook that and run an extension cord to the garage and plug up the air compressor off the dryers socket and do it that way. Last time I tried to do that with a 110 volt air compressor I just kept tripping the breaker for some reason. lol I'm not gonna have power in the house either after I'm done here.

[the head]

after I pulled my engine and all the vitals I put the car on a trailer went to the local do it yourself car wash with some degreaser cleaned out the engine bay sprayed it with self etching primer then with 500 deg semi gloss medium grey that way no matter what color the car is it will look fine and semigloss paint is really easy to spot leaks on

[origin_s135]

man that red engine bay looks kick ass...i shouldve done that when my engine was out.... i have pearl white on the outside, while the inside has the nasty old plain white color... : (

[NemeGuero]

Don't use spray paint, you cheap bastard.

Go borrow a friends power.. no excuse. Run an extension cord from your neighbor's house.

Do it right or spend the rest of your days wishing you had.
Make it work and GETURDUNN!!

[kdaniels]

or go to paint scratch.com and get some cans filled

[aNskY]

i used semi-flat black over a few coats of primer and it looks fine. not perfect by any means but come on.... were talking about 240's

no sense in going all out unless youre building a show car

[NemeGuero]

Or unless you give a damn what it looks like. I take pride in my work.

He's got the right tools.. he just has the excuses to do it "240 owner" style..

[chmercer]

Originally Posted by aNskY

i used semi-flat black over a few coats of primer and it looks fine. not perfect by any means but come on.... were talking about 240's

no sense in going all out unless youre building a show car

yeah man as long as you aren't building a show car, you should drive around in a car that looks like hammered ass that you are embarrassed to get out of.

[smelly240]

i still say someone needs to try the grill paint with brushes and show pics - if my bay wasnt glittery gloss queermo effin black id do it.

[sccrstar011]

IMO I wouldn't run an extension cord from the house. I've heard it will eventually burn out the motor on your compressor from all the stress. Plus you dont want to get half way into the job and blow a fuse. I live in VA too so I feel your pain with the power company. Even in an emergency it can take days for them to come.