So my enigine bay is looking pretty **** poor these days, I was wondering if anybody has painted thier bay while the engine and components were still in it. If so how'd you go about it? paint type? How did the finished product look?
thanks

 

This is what I did

Materials:
Regular Masking Tape
Newspaper
Dupli color Paint Match Spray can(autozone)
Metallic Silver High Temp engine Paint
Black spray paint


I took out the coolant bottles and masked the entire engie off. Then sprayed the firewall and strut towers.

After that dried I masked the firewall and strut towers off, then painted the plenum, alternator and valve covers with metallic silver. The metallic silver gives it a stock look, with a nice shine in the sun light. It doesn't even look like it is painted.


Before


After



And she has 150k miles.

 

Damn thats nice, looks like I have something else to do. Thanks for the pics.

 

Thanks and no problem.

Here is a thread with some good info. Plus more pictures of other peoples' work.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...ngine-bay.html

 

Thats a nice engine bay man doesnt look 150k lol

 

I did a couple years ago using satin black high temperature engine paint on my '82 Trans Am. However, the only thing I left in the engine bay was the engine and brake components. Everything else was removed completely and really this is the only way to do it if you don't take out the block, otherwise, you'll be taping off for days and fighting to get paint under and around things like hoses and wires.

This is what it looked like before:





EVERYTHING removed, engine covered in plastic:







A few days of sanding and prime:





The finished bay after several EXTREMELY light coats and everything reinstalled:





In my case, I wanted a nice satin look so this was the best way to go.

Some tips: you will have to mask the ENTIRE car off. If you think just because you are spraying up front, the back of the car is fine...guess again. Mask it all. When you paint an engine bay, you are spraying in all different directions. Sand with scotchbrite pads and use the thick heavy duty ones for rust. Sandpaper can be used but will take you an extra week and your fingers will be raw and useless after getting in every little nook and cranny.

2 years later and an engine upgrade and the paint is still looking the same as the day I did it:



Prep is key.

 

Do you have pics of your engine bay as is? Could give people a better idea. Honestly IMO, unless the paint is chipped and peeled away over time, you can buy Purple Power. Cover all the necessary parts, and spray it down with that. Get some different size scrub brushes and toothbrushes for nooks and crannies and go to town. Let it sit for a little while, and then with a mist setting for a hose or something with even more less power, wash it away But make sure everything is covered. It honestly worked wonders in my bay. Granted the car is white..I really noticed a big difference i was happy with. Just got my dyno don headers installed, and putting on black proform valve covers this weekend. Gonna look great in there with everything clean. I respect everyones opinion and ideas, but you dont need to paint it to make it look nice. Purple Power goes for about 8 bucks by the way

 

damn nice bay! I was just looking at all the components and working it out in my mind on how to get them out of the way. Seems its worth the effort after i do a AC delete. I have some purle power ill do now, ill get some before after pics up using only purle power.

 

Here's a thread I made a couple years back after I did exactly what you are setting out to do.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...bay-cheap.html

Here is a picture a couple years later of how the paint is holding up:

 

Nice write up and great job. I have the same color as you so you've made it that much easier for me. I need to realign my doors and fenders so ill do the paint while tackling that job.

 

What's the color name on the outside of your car?

 

How has the paint held up?

 

2 years and still looks the same. No issues.