My girlfriend and I are repainting the car and I was wondering if anyone has ever painted an engine bay with the engine still in the car? We don't have time to rip the engine out to repaint it, so I was just wondering if anyone has done this with good results?

 

Shannon (Redraif) did it, and did a fair enough job to win some shows with her car.

I did it on my '92 Camaro back when I had it, and it came out ok. I did it using the same method she did, which was on the cheap. Rattle can. If you go with a black engine bay, Barbecue paint works well. Why? Because you can buy it in brush on (for those hard to reach areas) and spray to do a normal job with it. It's also, obviously, able to hold up under high temp's. Do NOT mix brands, because they will not match shades. I also recommend bedliner, for similar reasons, and bedliner is much more durable than almost any paint you're going to find if it's thick enough.

It is extremely possible to do your engine bay black and still have a nice paint job of a different color outside without it looking trashy. If you can do it, I recommend removing the front end entirely and the fenders, this gives you a clear shot at the entire front doghouse. You can paint the entire thing black and it will never be visible outside the vehicle except under the hood by the wiper cowl area.

I believe you could paint the engine bay using normal 2 stage paint as well, but the real trick to doing the engine bay with the engine inside is moving as many of the peripheral items in the bay as much as possible.

Drain and disconnect your washer fluid bottle and remove it. If you have the time to drain your radiator, do that and remove the reservoir. Disconnect your electricals as much as possible so you can move the wiring out of your way. Definitely remove your air box and radiator cover. Remove as much from the firewall as possible.

Now... due to the nature of these cars with the engine pushed tight to the rear, and slightly below the wiper cowl, you're not going to get the best 2 stage paint job laid down without really stripping as much as you can from the engine bay.

I think you see where I'm going with this.

Now..... Masking is going to be a big deal with this method... Getting pieces out of your way is going to be a big deal. Aluminum foil is your friend. It will help you mask things like wire looms and such and keep overspray off. Harbor Freight sells some cheap steel wire for like $2 a spool. This stuff is extremely handy for tying things out of the way.

The rest is pretty standard paint procedure. If you insist on going 2 stage and using an actual paint gun, I recommend you get a touch up gun for the larger areas, and an airbrush for the hard to reach areas.

Again, the more items you can remove from the engine bay (shock towers, intake, distributor, blower housing, etc.) the better the job is going to come out.

Mathius

 

the more you remove from the bay the better the job will be. it is hands down much easier to do with the engine out and its simple to remove and put back in...

 

Do it right or don't do it.

--No barbecue paint
--No bedliner
--No Wally World rattle can
--Take the engine out
--Spray the correct automotive paint
--Use a paint booth

It's just cosmetic, and obviously not important, so why do it wrong? Do it right or just don't do it. I'd take crappy factory engine bay paint/appearance than shiny barbecue paint any day of the week. I certainly would never spatter bedliner under the hood...

If you're going to do something purely cosmetic, then do it right--pull the engine and everything, or just don't do it. It's not going to be an improvement, and it's going to look like yet another 3rd gen hackjob. Not trying to call you out Mathias, but come on. The correct way to paint the engine bay is as the factory did it--with no engine, and proper automotive paint sprayed in proper conditions.

Daytona, your car is way, way, way too nice to do anything less.

 

I'm with puma on this it's realy not hard to pull an engine and the results will be so much better and it is a lot easier to do with out the engine. Realy if you have the time drop the tranie at the same time and do above the housing on the fire wall if you do it right with a quality paint you probability will never have to do it again

 

You mean that poorly sealed crap with orange peel that rusts from the inside out after 10 years?

Gotcha. I'll put that in my notes.

Mathius

 

 

Well if you actually take care of your car, it will last 20+ years. Mine's holding up beautifully. If you're driving a Camaro through snow and salt, you should rethink owning a Camaro.

You paint the whole car with bedliner too? After all, automotive paint is "poorly sealed crap with orange peel that rusts from the inside out after 10 years."

You really think your rattle can/barbecue paint will hold up better than two stage automotive paint? LOL.

Problem is people are just too damn lazy to hand wash regularly and wax by hand with multiple coats of Meguiar's a few times a year. Paint will last 30 years if you do that and take care of the car.

 

There's no set of rules for owning a camaro. You sound like a stock ****. If he likes the car it's his and he can do what he wants with it. He certainly doesn't need your permission or approval.

You're the one who recommended factory style paint, not me. Engine bay paint from the factory is little more than an afterthought, and only about one step above the overspray that makes it to your interior panels.

The OP didn't ask you to talk him out of it, he asked if you could do an ok job without pulling the engine. He said he's under time constraints. People on this board have done it and won shows. People who walk around babbling about the "Right" way to do things are far too judgmental and arrogant if you ask my opinion.

The fact is, unless your going to enter one of those lowrider contests where you have your firewall airbrushed and mirrors to show the underside of your vehicle (in which case you wouldn't be asking the questions the OP is asking) there is no reason to spend any time or thought on the engine bay.

Scoff if you want, but a quality bedliner spray will hold up 1000X longer than factory two stage paint. (BTW, I don't even think they clear the engine bay so I don't think it qualifies as two stage) and if you took it someplace and had it done, you could even choose to have it color tinted. I would not hesitate in the least to spray the entire inside, underbody, and engine bay with bedliner to ensure it lasts. None of these places are immediately visible from the outside of the vehicle and have very little to do with the overall appearance.

Barbecue paint works because it's cheap, heat resistant, and simple as hell to touch up.

Nobody's gonna be looking at the paint in your engine bay unless it's rusty as sh*t in there.

Nowhere at any point did I say that in my post. Work on your reading and comprehension skills or shut your mouth.

We're talking about engine bay paint. You don't wax your engine bay. Again. You can't read and comprehend.

Mathius

 

Why do threads like these always end up in a clusterf*** ????

everybody can post they'r opinion and everybody can use what they want on they'r car !!!!

STOP FIGHTING over the damn paint, u guys sound like 5 year olds !!

 

you can call me a stock ****, sure. my car isn't stock. its not about staying stock, its about using your whole *** to do something and taking care of your car rather than the cheapest, sloppiest, longest-lasting solution. its no better than slathering the entire underside--everything--with that POR15 slop. i could care less if something is not stock, but i do take enough pride to at least want things done right. bedliner belongs in the beds of trucks. you can talk til youre blue in the face about how cheap and durable it is. i just said do it right or dont do it. barbecue paint and bedliner and rattle cans are not the right way to do it, and its really not debatable.

OP, like I said--do it right. Your car is too nice for anything else. It certainly would be a shame (in my stock **** opinon) to pop the hood and see a bunch of rubberized crap spattered around.

im done.

 

OP its your car... do it how you see fit and how it makes you happy... i mean you really dont give a rats... if i like the damn thing do you?... as long as your happy bro!

personally i wouldnt paint the engine bay with the engine installed... but i damn sure wouldnt pull the engine to paint.. i would do it when the engine was out for a rebuild

 

Ok well there's obviously 2 different opinions here, I have been following this thread too as it is something I have wondered myself. But a couple of thoughts here much like any car built before 1990 the factory paint on our cars sucks, also just another question, didn't the early 3rd gens use single stage paint? I thought I read that somewhere and later ones did use basecoat clearcoat. But I do not think that truck bed liner would look that good in an engine bay however I do think if done correctly a black engine bay could look good.

But a couple of questions for the original poster. Is this car a show car? Do you have a really special motor in it where you will be showing it off? Are you painting the car yourself (I know you said you and your wife were doing it but are you physically painting the car yourselves)? Do you plan on removing the engine at some point in time? If the car is not a show car and you are just looking to make the car look "better" and not necessarily a show car then you probably won't be looking at the engine bay unless you are changing oil or making other fixes. If you don't have a special motor in it then most people won't be to interested in seeing the engine bay anyway. And the conclusion I came to was this, I do at some point want to remove my engine after a repaint and I haven't decided if I am going to paint the car myself or not but I will first repaint the car and not the engine bay and when I have the engine out I will paint it then or have my painter paint it at that time. And if you are having someone else do it then I'm sure they would be fine with painting the engine bay at a later time and if you are doing it yourself then you could just save some paint.

I guess what it comes down to is what do you consider a "good result"? The answer I always hear is anything "can" be done but is it worth it? I have seen some people that have done it and at least from pictures it looks good, but I'm sure it's not as good as one with the engine removed. Let us know what you decide my fellow Minnesotan

 

I didn't call you anything. I said you sound like one. Reading and comprehension again.

I can't even read the first part of that "its about using your whole blank to do something?". But if you'd ever used POR-15, you'd know it's pretty much useless unless applied over bare, rusted, metal. It doesn't stick well to clean metal and it's useless over paint. All in all a huge waste of money until they improve the formula or prep spray. It was designed to work on marine vehicles and it works well in that respect.

There you go again deciding what is right and wrong. You have a very high opinion of yourself. I will be sure to tell Shannon next time I hear from her that she was wrong to use barbecue paint on her engine bay and she should return that trophy because you said it was wrong.

That's just ignorance talking. Bedliner has come a long way, and while it will still have the rubberized texture, they can do many things with it, including tinting, graphics, and even 3d layered effects. It might not look like a "traditional" engine bay, but I guarantee if you did the engine bay in black, and then threw in a bunch of chrome and colored accents on your accessories and pulleys, they would really pop.

Mathius

 

Because there are too many close-minded individuals on this board who are willing to cast the first stone and decide what is best for someone else. They throw out words like "rice" and talk about the "right way to do things." The whole entire world is far too judgmental, but thirdgen.org is the core of judgmental f-body enthusiasts to tell you exactly how your car is supposed to look as if it's not yours.j

More of the judgmental crap I was talking about. At what point did you decide you were better than the people in this discussion that it was ok for you to insult and call people names?

And how exactly did you reason out that your post would help the situation exactly?

I have done nothing but provide sound reasoning for my arguments and I will retract none of it.

Mathius

 

Ah sh*t, I typed that wrong...I meant to say that we're repainting the car, not the engine bay. But I did want to know if anyone has done a good enough job painting the engine bay with the engine in. BUT...I was planning on changing the color of the car. Well, plans changed and keeping the arctic white, so I guess for now I can just scrub the hell out of the engine bay and touch up some parts. It's just a crappy LG4 305 anyways. Not really a reason to show my engine off. LoL thanks for your input guys!

 

I have soom picts on my profile I removed everything A/C, brake booster, acc. Everything but engine. I could reach 98% of everything I probably could have reached everything if I tried. For my situation that was the fastest best way. With the right tools and know how pulling engine would be best. For me this was best and not that hard.

 

^Wow, I'm impressed on how it came out! I'll probably just wait to paint it when I do an engine/trans swap. I want to do an LT1, more for looks than anything. I love how an LT1 looks in the bay of a 3rd gen, and they've got enough power for my needs. I don't need an LS swap cuz I don't need to go crazy with horsepower/torque numbers. Plus I think LS motors look retarded (not in a good way) in a 3rd gen bay. Too modern-looking.

 

GOOD CHOICE!

 

Same way I did mine. I used my little detail gun for the tight areas a big gun for the main parts. Alum foil is definitely, as Mathius stated, your friend if you paint with motor in. The plastic on the engine was traded out for foil during painting.

 

wow deadbird that looks amazing... i have to assume that with any engine bay painting... prep work was very time consuming (more so then the body)

 

NICE BLUE, i love it !!!!!!

 

It's certainly more tedious due to all the small, non-flat areas. Scotchbrite pads can be your friend for that though.
That is the third (non-stock) color my engine bay has been. The first two times were done painting around everything. It's actually even more of a pita like that due to having to tape everything off.

Thanks, it's a Saturn color.

 

The amount of time your sitting here thinking about whether or not to pull the motor is enough to have already had the motor out and it will even go faster paint wise and save you painting and taping hassles. Pull it out it doesnt take but a couple hours at the most. You'll be happier in the end

 

And please, do it for the sake of argument, don't put bed liner in your engine bay. That's hideous. If I was a judge and I seen that at a car show I'm not even going to rate it to save the embarrassment

 

I would not rate yours either...unless u stick a scoop on your hood...lol

 

Okay, now rate it. It's called work in progress son

 

LOL..better, thanks !!!!!!

 

Lol okay thanks for an approval

 

HAHAHAHA

 

I'm down to 12's mid to low 12's in mine.. I did paint my engine bay after I took out my motor for a rebuild. Painted it separate times from the body and I also did matte black and it looks good. Can't go wrong with black engine bay no matter the color

 

Thanks. It's good to know that polished wheels and a cowl hood is all you need to be able to judge people.

I was wondering where the line was drawn.

Mathius

 

I've painted my engine bay with motor in and out. Out is definitely better....but....if you're going to leave the engine in, follow what deadbird has said.

Also, remove as much of the accessories (especially on the pass side if you have AC) as possible. You may not be able to reach the side of the frame rails (especially the drivers side) and under the brake booster. If you have rust, POR-15 comes in handy and you can sand it before paint.

Take your time, use paper, tape, foil, and different size spray guns is a good idea.

Good luck.

PS - There are some pics in the link in my sig.

 

Well bed liner has a purpose. To protect from rough contact and unless you plan on making it like a mud pit gravel climbing car, I myself wouldn't do it. It's not about polished rims and cowl hoods. The hood is there for a purpose called clearance.
Just my 2 cents on bed liner

 

I liked this:
Then this:

 

Bedliner is just a word. It's basically the same stuff they use to undercoat cars, it's just a better formula. It's not just for contact, it's also a good sealer against rust. The engine bay is not visible from outside the car, it does not detract from the appearance.


Oh good, now we have someone adding more brilliant contributions to the thread by playing the "take things out of context" game.

Again, work on your reading and comprehension skills people. I did not say "you are a stock ****". I said he sounded like one. I did not label or judge him, I merely gave warning to how his message was being perceived after he chose to inform people what was and was not acceptable for them to do to their cars. Instead of giving a rational defense, he chose to take it as a personal attack.

I'll ask you the same question (more or less) that I asked the other guy. At what point did you think your response added anything positive to this thread?

Mathius

 

okay, well you go ahead spray your engine bay with bed liner.

 

What? Seriously?

You should probably read that again.

My apologies. Just trying to keep the status quo.

This ones a peach...

et al.

A veritable cornucopia of positive statements.

 

You lost me with that one

 

Ok guys come on now the original poster said he is no longer changing the color or painting the engine bay so what is the point of all the arguing? Like almost anything else in life there are different ways to do things maybe nobody's wrong and maybe nobody's right. All of your opinions have been expressed and argued as to why your way is the best. As stated if you like things done a certain way then do it to your car, it's as simple as that.

And to answer the question that I know will be coming from Mathius. At what point did you think your response added anything positive to this thread? Well I'm hoping to end this whole stupid argument.

The original question was Anyone ever painted an engine bay with engine installed? And the answer is yes it has been done. Nowhere did I see anything asked about someone else's reading or comprehension skills, or if they are "stock *****".

Now please let this argument be over.

 

YES YOU CAN PAINT AN ENGINE BAY WITH THE ENGINE STILL IN... YES IF DONE RIGHT IT CAN AND WILL LOOK GOOD... AND IF YOU HALF *** IT IT WILL SHOW.

 

Lol okay end of convo..

 

Yeah, like I said. Poor reading and comprehension skills and taking things out of context. All of the posts you quoted above were RESPONSES. I didn't jump in the thread and start adding garbage to it, to stir it up.

And if you can't tell the difference between a comment that is directed towards a person's self and a comment that is perception of something they said, then I can't help you. Maybe you should go back to school.

This thread was a waste about 20 posts ago, but obviously some people have certain opinions that they think everyone else is required to adhere to and they express that by using closed end statements that leave no room for compromise like, "that's not its purpose" and "that's not the right way to do it." instead of open statements like, "well that's not how I'd use it" or "that's not how I'd do it."

But hey, I've been here a long time and I'm used to it. I just tried to offer some alternative solutions for people who aren't really interested in how the factory did it and want to know how they can improve their vehicle.

And yeah, you can jump in now and say "how is spraying your engine bay with rubber improving it." but until you've done it or seen it done, I don't see how you have no right to say you know it will look bad and it will certainly make your sheet metal more durable and last longer by taking rust a little further from the equation.

Mathius

 

Okay
1. Mathius STFU. The conversation was over
2. Exactly how many engine bays do you see that are just rusted as bad as maybe a quarter panel? Cuz I haven't seen many. And the ones that I would of seen have been in an uncontrolled invironment where it sees a lot of humidity.
3. Like I said. You do what you want with your engine bay and others can do so too. If people thought bed liner was going to look neat and proficient I think you would see it more often. Voicing an opinion, are you gonna burn me for that opinion too?

 

This is why the conversation is still continuing. You can't grasp the simple concept that you don't have the authority, the eminence or even the credibility to tell anyone what to do. The conversation is not over because you say its over anymore than people will build their cars a certain way because you say that's how they should do it. The arrogance I see displayed in your posts in this thread are the number one reason why it's still going on.

I see maybe a grand total of 6 useful posts in this entire thread, but that doesn't give me the authority to eliminate the other 20 that are just people saying how they think it should be done instead of offering the OP options on HOW he can get it done.

Get a lot of snowfall in Missouri do you? A lot of road salt? Considering you get a third of the annual snowfall that we get here near Cleveland, I doubt you classify as an authority, but I could be wrong. Then again, you'll probably tell me it's not right to drive an f-body except in pristine conditions and you're wrong if you do so.

Matter of fact, these cars are very notable for rusting out right where the floorpan meets the bottom of the firewall. They are very well noted for the battery tray and bottom of the radiator support for rusting out, the same as ANY car.

Not to mention the degree of rust isn't even an issue here. Anyone who expects an engine bay to rust out like a quarter panel is going to be disappointed and isn't displaying very good judgment in the first place, IMO, but its irrelevant. Any rust is bad and the hard to reach areas in the engine bay make regular paint maintenance unrealistic.

I don't see a lot of people driving Chip Foose built cars, but they damn sure seem to have made him a lot of money.

It's not your opinion I have an issue with, it's your responses that are worded to sound so condescending that they seem to dictate that your way is the only right way. I got news for you. There are a lot of people in the world who think factory is boring.

I got some more news for you. If the factory actually built these cars as durable as they could be, you wouldn't have to buy a new car as often and they'd lose business. In short, they're in business to sell products that fail. They've been doing it for decades, and that's a big reason why the imports took over the market so much over the last 10 years.

Mathius

 

Your sadly mistaken, this conversation is still going on because your blowing up my phone with replies, which I should have been smarter and just unsubscribed to this which I'm about to do. I will give it to you that they do rust on the battery tray but if any place that would be an exception for rubberized coating which you wont see much of anyway, and yes we get a lot of salt it's just as cold and miserable here and actually probably worse for rust because of our humidity.. You CAN drive your f body in weather that's not pristine, but why would you want to? It's pretty dangerous and the slightest wrong move on bad roads and your in the ditch.. I've done it with my DD iroc, more than once.. Being very cautious

 

My reading and comprehension skills are just fine, cause i r edumuhcated. Contrary to your position, you actually were the first to cast aspersions. Perhaps you would feel better if I said your RESPONSES were less than positive? Maybe that'll get the point across. You were the first to send the thread downhill my friend, after Puma suggested the correct thing to do by prepping and painting it with an automovite type of paint. Scoff if you will, but he's correct. Then you preceded to condescend Iroc23 when he gave his opinion. Ease up man, the "holier than thou" attitude isn't becoming. Plenty of other options, yes, but the right thing would be to paint it. Because the engine pay isn't susceptible to rock chips as much as say, the undercarriage is, the coverage and durability would be the same. Honestly the prepwork is where it's at. You can paint the underhood area with maple syrup and it won't help unless the foundation is acceptable. IOW, simply spraying undercoating/bedliner over the existing paint/rust in the engine bay won't solve anything. Rust will still develop because you haven't addressed the underlying issue. If you want to use bedliner, knock yourself out, just make sure you've repaired/treated the rust before application of the top coat. I used bedliner on the undercarriage of my 67 and because I used the proper steps for application, I've had zero issues with rust.

 

Ok guys, I am the original poster, better known as the "OP"...I made this thread for the sole purpose to see if anyone has painted their engine bay with the engine still installed, and for those who have added USEFUL information as to how to achieve it and posted pictures, THANK YOU! For everyone else who has thrown the topic way off, STFU and don't add anymore nonsense to my thread!

And if some of you haven't read the entire thread, I said I'm no longer going to repaint my engine bay because I'm sticking with the white and will just clean the existing paint up for now until I can do an engine swap and paint the bay in mid-swap.

So, if someone wants to lock this thread, go ahead and do so. *in Indian accent* Thank you! Come again!

 

Thank you, Thank you and thank you again, hopefully since you are the original poster they will listen to you but I do agree it is time for a lock on this thread.