iceblue

I hear you! Frankly this is why I am one of the highest priced shops in the E coast and rotary community. There is too many people doing work for nothing and there quality reflects that. It makes me sick it also gives the community a bad name and reliability trait. I give my price very high but the product given is supreme and if they want it cheep I tell them they are in the wrong shop.

iceblue

Incorrect it is rubber coating to help withstand the abuse of the wire harness chafing without affecting the paint. It is also considered frame rail and not part o the unibody, body shop 101.

Baldy

I appreciate responses from both Rob and iceblue (thought iceblue does always have a smart-*** tone in his posts, nothing personal). It gives me a range a quality that I can choose from.



I'm not looking to do a professional job (otherwise I'd take it to a professional), I'm merely trying to cover up the shitty job done previously. I know nobody, ever, will take a close enough look at the paint in this engine bay to tell a shitty job from a great one. Most people never noticed the black/red that's there now. But the detailed steps give me an idea as to what's required when/if I do decide to paint something "the right way."



So yeah, I'll do a half-assed job, but for my application, it'll be better than what's there now.

iceblue

If the original owner did not use clear then do as posted above with a single stage paint. If you are inexsperianced just buy a detail gun its cheep and small and that will help you in the tite areas and lay down good paint. Remove as much as you can and pressure wash if you can. Then go over the bay with a rag with wax and grease remover because the grime has to be gone. You can also use a green scotch bright or steel whool fine material to help remove this. Be sure to sand the rust down and whipe it with rust eliminator stuff and then sand that off. After that scuff the bay with purple scotch bright. Since you wont be laying a high build primer try not to score the metal very deep or it will show. Wax and grease remover again. Now you can spray and as stated start in the hard areas with a low fan spread to get it up in there. You can use a piece of card board to check your fan pattern and air pressure and paint volume.

Rob x-7

im a sanding and polishing finatic, but when it comes to something like a engine bay with so many irregular areas and hardly any flat areas I think you would be out of your mind to even try to sand and polish it.

I cant see how one would even get orange peel painting a engine bay.



I cant see it even needing it, lay it on nice and wet and leave it alone. Good paint looks awesome if you never break that original membrane by sanding and polishing it.



Baldy- you could clean, scuff, sand, clean everything real good, lay some self etching wet on wet primer and paint on the bad areas, then go with like 2 coats overall.

Reason why I said single stage is because your going black so why bother going with 3 coats of base and 2-3 coats of clear when 2-3 coats of single stage will do the job. Besides- you can get some very durable paint in single stage, basecoat/clearcoat is nowhere near as durable as some of the industrial application type single stages.



On body parts of course always sand and polish.

Baldy

Good info, thanks.



I was looking at this, $39.99 at harbor freight: pressure pot gun

I just need to double check to make sure my compressor has the cfm and what not

Baldy

Oh, and I'll be sure to sand IF the black paint the previous owner used starts flaking of when I'm scrubbing.

iceblue

I don't care who you are if you spray coats of clear you will have orange peel. There are some tricks with reducer to eat the clear flat but that’s another skill not for this thread.



It can be done I tell you, just know what your doing and have the right tools. When you do the body work I did and a car for magazines and show and weekend driving you do things perfectly. As always nothing but comes from my work. That is why the engine bay is color sanded and buffed. There is over 550 hours of labor in the bay alone.

Rob x-7

when you spray single stage paints alot you would see clear lays down the best.

You sprayed that funky pink and probably because its a uneven surface went a little light on the paint as not to get it blotchy, so you had a uphill battle with the clear to try to spray it smooth.



Things tend to look much better in pictures then they do in person, seen plenty of magazine and television cars that looked crappy in person.

iceblue

I agree PS can do allot. If you ask the people who have seen that car in person they will say it looks bettor in person then it does in photos. Perhaps my camera can not provide justice but the depth of that paint job is an intense no photo could capture. The bay was sprayed with 5 coats of primer 3 coats of base 2 coats of pearl 3 coats of clear.