DIY: Engine Cover Painting
 

So... I decided to paint my engine cover... (I broke my DigiCam and I had to use my crappy cell phone to take pictures. So I took a lot of pictures just in case)

Things Needed:
400 Grit Sandpaper
Painter's Tape
Newspapers/Paper/etc.
High Temp Primer
High Temp Paint
A sharp knife/razor blade
A really hot day where the sun is out (Quicker drying :rolleyes: )
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0046.jpg

What I did was sanded it down with 400 Grit Sandpaper...

This is the hard part, using Painter's tape... I had to get into the small corners with my nails (Luckily for me, I didn't trim my nails yet) to push the tape down. I then used a very sharp knife to cut the middle part with a lot of precision. This is what it looks like after I finish trimming the middle part where the painter's tape stuck out.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0041.jpg




Notice how the tape don't stick out? I trimmed it when the tape is still in the crevice.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0042.jpg




Now, spray on an even coat of primer, use a zig zag motion, do not go over the same spot twice, this will cause overspray! It'll look ugly...
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0043.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0044.jpg




Remember to pray to the sun god! It dried in less than 30 mins! (Had to sacrifice a goat to the Sun God in order for him to make the day warm so the paint can dry)
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0045.jpg




Next, spray on your color of choice, same thing. Zig Zag motion, do not overspray! I recommend two coats of it.
You'll get something like this...
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0048.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0049.jpg




Now, did you offered a sacrifice to the Sun God yet? You'll need it. Why you ask?
Reason:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0050.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0051.jpg
When The Sun God is happy, he'll shine shine bright so your paint will dry faster!




Slowly peel back the painter's tape along with whatever you covered your cover with and voila. You're done.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0052.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0053.jpg




Cover in my Engine Bay.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0054.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0055.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...Photo-0056.jpg





























Just in case you're wondering... Yes, it's my first DIY... Please excuse my inexperience to write up a DIY :rolleyes:

And yes, I have the ricer sweatbands in my car too!

looks good! good job!

man i wish i hadn't seen this, now i wanna do it!

i'd probably be using the same yellow i used for my calipers and strut bar.

No offense but it looks pretty splotchy. A couple notes, you want more than two coats and you want to wait for each coat to tack up and dry (about 10 min per). Second to last, you should have put this in the DIY section. Lastly, and this is more of a personal irritation, why didn't you put something on the ground instead of painting the ground?

Looks like a decent orange crop on the way this season.

Ah, yeah, I'm going to put on another coat tomorrow and clear coat it as well. The blotchiness is due to my cell phone, I painted it aluminum so the sun reflected off of it sorta distorted my cell phone camera. I was going to lay down cardboard on the ground but my room mates said that they just got a notice telling that the streets are going to be repaved next month so I'm like, o well. Personally, I hate seeing stuff like that on the ground, just makes the neighborhood look dirty.

I was planning on using caliper paint but seeing that it's heck of a lot more expensive than high temp paint, I went with high temp paint instead :)

lol, I think you're referring to my lemon tree. I always have lemonade at my place, always. :)

Great Job
 

Wow I guess considering its your first time. Thats great instructions haha, I think you made so easy that my blonde fiancee can do it herself. But yea, now you make me wanna do it haha. But I don't know what color since my car is white. But again, Good work!

sorry I'm so late to the thread, I've seen this in person, it looks actually better than I expected (mostly because I was doubting john's ability to paint lol)

anyways, good job john! I will be joining you soon enough :)

The pictures don't justify itself, it actually looks REALLY good in person, it actually looks like it was painted at a shop :)

/dead thread i know. but is it possible to get the pics up again?

Is it possible to do this without a pneumatic paint sprayer?

EDIT: never mind, I'm a moron. Got everything I needed to do it myself *crosses fingers* here goes nuttin...

in the middle of mine right now, I'm doing all 5 covers. A couple tips if anyone else is trying this.

1.) Use a pressure washer before you do anything else! It gets the grime out of nooks and crannies that you'd otherwise be digging out painstakingly with an exacto knife or other sharp object.

2.) This is one occasion where less is more. If you're not used to using spray paint, practice on a cardboard box first, and when in doubt, stop spraying cause you REALLY don't want to deal with paint bubbles. Wipe, dry, sand, start all over. It sucks.

I'm taking pictures as I go as well since the ones in this thread are non-existent.

Step 1: clean EVERYTHING. Use an exacto knife to get the crud out of the cracks or it'll look like crap. Or just pressure wash them.
http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/8664/imag0155u.jpg

Everything's cleaned up. I got a little carried away and started sanding before I finished cleaning.
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5158/imag0156a.jpg

1st coat of primer
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/5668/imag0159u.jpg

1st coat of primer
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2255/imag0160z.jpg

2nd coat of primer
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7614/imag0161p.jpg

Make sure you sand the shiny parts if you're painting all 5 pieces or the primer/paint won't stick.
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/8369/imag0162f.jpg

FINALLY on to the red. 1st coat.
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3051/imag0165s.jpg

2nd coat of red. 3rd looks the same and I made it thicker as per the instructions on the can: "To avoid runs and sags, apply in 2 light coats, followed by one medium wet coat." 10 minutes in between, again as per the instructions.
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/7086/imag0167d.jpg

Sprayed the logo and letters with Metallic Aluminum from VHT. I'm going to let it dry overnight (don't want the paint coming off with the tape!) then put painter's tape over it, cut it out, and spray black over that.
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/6794/imag0168kl.jpghttp://img31.imageshack.us/img31/2782/imag0170zj.jpg

All in all, the hardest part was prepping everything. Yesterday I made the mistake of starting to spray red without primer, that's why you see the red paint under the primer on the air filter. I had to let it dry overnight then sand the hell out of it cause it was all splotchy, reinstall it in my car, drive to O'Reilly's get some primer (and more sand paper... It was a pain. I also decided to buy a small electric pressure washer. With that I was able to clean out all the nooks and crannies on the air box so I could paint the entire thing (or at least the entire top half). I'll obviously be using it for more than just cleaning 1 part of my car, so I wouldn't include that in the total price.

I was having trouble getting the painter's tape to stick to the engine cover which is why I just primered the entire thing. Now that's it's primered, tape sticks probably 3x as well. It also takes the semi-dry primer off lol. /facepalm

I had the bright idea to stuff toilet paper in the screw holes in the computer's cover (I think that's the computer...). I also taped over all clips or anything else that holds the covers down. After a few mishaps and having to dry, sand and re-primer I finally got the whole spray paint technique down, and I have to say that so far it looks pretty darn good. Tomorrow I'll do the black on the engine cover, let that dry over night, then paint the red on the same (and pray I have enough red left lol).

http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/1298/imag0171l.jpg