"a good intro" painting my engine bay and cant decide what type of paint...

[nissansrdub]

silvia.net nice to meet you... i had a question out there and i wanted some opinions... so awhile back i painted my engine bay with a rattle can paint job using high temp priemer and high temp low gloss black. but now i want to go back to the stock look... WHITE! it looks way cleaner, i think. so im just about done striping all the spray paint off... i was wanting some tips on painting it with car paint and a cheap spray gun? here are some pics...http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l156/nissan240nubie/0502081910.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l156/nissan240nubie/0505081222.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l156/nissan240nubie/0505082040.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l156/nissan240nubie/0509081926a.jpg

almost done...so how should i paint this white?

[Phlip]

What was wrong with black?
Anyway, is there not a similar hi-temp white to the black that you'd used before, or are you looking to go with something similar to what you would use on the exterior?
Looking for a cheap gun, go to Harbor Freight or Northern Tools, they don't often get less expensive than that.

[Antihero983]

silvia.net nice to meet you...

this is Zilvia.net, not silvia.net :2f2f:

[rican_nick]

one suggestion would be to pull the the BMC and all the lines and everythign out. It'll be less masking and look better.

as far as equipment i am not sure.. i have seen many use the harbor freight stuff and it come out decent.

in the end no matter if its a 400$ gun or a 20$ gun its going to end up being about the prep and time you take doing it from what i've seen.

[nissansrdub]

sorry Zilvia.net.... anyways, yeah i was looking to get a harbor freight spray gun, but my main thing i was wondering how many coats of primer? how many coats of paint? how many coats of gloss? how long do they need to dry? last time i used spray paint the paint comes off when brake cleaner touched it, and when wrenching in the engine bay if i were to hit the metal with a wrench it would knick and chip the paint... i dont want that...

[burnsauto]

google painting tips, that'll help you out a good deal with the basics of automotive painting.

Since you're new, you may want to look into duplicolor's pre-mixed paint. Comes in most of the basic colors, and the paint quality isn't too bad for the price. (about $20 a quart)

As far as wrenching and not wanting to screw up the paint job...do all the fab work you can before paint (drilling, grinding, etc) and once its painted...just learn to work with gentle hands. Take you're time and you won't hit the paint hard enough to mess it up.

[syline]

brake cleaner will take off any paint, and hitting the paint with a metal tool will also kill it. If you want some good single stage use the PPG Concept. Put down some epoxy primer first if you get it to the metal, then put some 2k down, and finally put down the paint.

[nissansrdub]

whats 2k? how long do you think a spray can paint job will last?

[ManoNegra]

^ Sand paper I presume.

[FRpilot]

2k is 2 part primer. it is an internet term that painters use. usually when you do prep work, and you go down to metal, you should spray epoxy primer over the metal surface. epoxy is made to prevent rust if you go down to metal compared to 2k primer. regular 2k primer offers almost no protection against rust. 1 coat of epoxy will outperform 5+ layers of regular 2k primer in prevention against rust.

then, you shoot 2k primer onto the epoxy primer and do your prep work. start off with 120 grit, 220, etc and work your way up. rule of thumb, dont prep with sandpaper past 600grit, or your base coat won't adhere (stick) to the primer. some people suggest you shoot sealer over the 2k after your prep work, but it is not necessary if your 2k prep is 1 solid color. on the last layer of prep work, if everything is straight, then shoot 1 more layer of 2k, and sand it down. then you shoot your base coat and clear coat. then color sand. buff. this is a summary of how you would paint a car.

but for engine bays, most people just prep and shoot rattle can. it works well for engine bays and requires less work. it looks good and you don't need to buy a spray gun and all the expensive equipment needed to paint. it's your engine bay and will get dirty easily, it doesn't really need show quality paint unless your anal about it.

it looks like you prep it pretty well, sanded a lot of the paint off. clean it, get all the dust off, and some of the premium duplicolor rattle can primer and paint and go at it.

[emersonLP]

White will look really dirty really fast. I wished I had painted mine black when I swapped engines.

[FRpilot]

i kind of like silver/aluminum. people usually paint their bays the same color as their car, but i like silver.

[!Zar!]

Black. Best engine bay color.

[FRpilot]

black hides the dirt and grease well. but it also the lines of the engine bay. i like how i can see every aspect of the engine bay through a lighter contrasting color. lol

[!Zar!]

Oh.

Ok then. Chrome engine bay.

[FRpilot]

chrome is cool, but i dont want to be blinded when im changing spark plugs

[just1pepsi]

emerald green metal flake.. make that engine bay POP!

[!Zar!]

Also, all s14's come stock with high temp gloss black engine bays.

G20's do too.