Should I paint my engine bay.

[DoubleD]

I am in the process of going through my car, I have been rebuilding the wiring harness lately. Here is how it looks today:

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/31/3374b5c31ccf06f788e8f394ff1dde59.jpg

I am debating on if I should paint the engine bay right now. Next year I am planning on painting the complete exterior in a pearl black. I am debating on rattle canning the engine bay in factory black while it is apart, or waiting till I do the exterior and have the engine bay also painted at that time. What are your experiences in the past? What works and looks good in the end? This is not a factory restoration, I am just cleaning it up to look better.

[Reaper1]

Are you going to take the engine out again when you get it painted?

[OmniLuvr]

personally, I don't like rattle can engine bays, you can usually tell. since your car is black already, unless its destroyed by rust or battery corrosion, then the engine bay paint will "restore" nicely. you will still have to strip the accessories and wiring off the firewall and such, with a small amount of wet sand and polish, your engine bay will bling right up.

[DoubleD]

Are you going to take the engine out again when you get it painted?

I don't mind pulling the engine when I go to paint it. It is not that hard for my to get it out and I know the final product would look that much better. Also, if I wait to have the ehgine bay painted with the rest of the car, will be properly prepped and cleared and it will be more durable in the long run. Right now, I will degrease the engine bay as best as I can and give it a good cleaning and polish it up. There are plenty of scratches on it, but I don't want it to look patchy and worse with a rattle can paint job.

[supercrackerbox]

With proper prep and care, you can get a nice rattle can job.

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/photopost/data/500/thumbs/scbay6.JPG ('http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/photopost/data/500/scbay6.JPG')

[contraption22]

I plan on using John Deere Blitz Black paint in my bay on the recommendation of Pat and others. Its a satin finish that hides a lot of flaws. Makes it nice and neat, but not show car worthy.

[OmniLuvr]

With proper prep and care, you can get a nice rattle can job.

that looks really awesome!

but im always a little hesitant to rattle can anything that wont be easy to touch up or rattle can again. the durability of spray paint just doesn't do it for me. its a tough call, but I feel a good hand polish on the stock paint will go a long way, but if its damaged bad enough, there may not be any other way than a respray...

[contraption22]

that looks really awesome!

but im always a little hesitant to rattle can anything that wont be easy to touch up or rattle can again. the durability of spray paint just doesn't do it for me. its a tough call, but I feel a good hand polish on the stock paint will go a long way, but if its damaged bad enough, there may not be any other way than a respray...

Just use quality stuff and prep well like anything else. Powerwash, degrease, powerwash again, scuff, wipe down with prep, spray.

[Force Fed Mopar]

I just spray-canned the bay in the black Daytona ( Project LookOwt), it had a tone of little scratches, nicks, chips and peeling paint. I scotchbrited all the factory paint, used a wire wheel in the battery tray area to get rid of most of the peeling paint, and sanded the nicks, then wiped everything down with a tack cloth. Tried just paint on the hood latch panel at first but you could still see the nicks, didn't use coarse enough sandpaper or something. I sanded again and then sprayed the whole bay with with primer, then sprayed the paint. Looks decent but I need to go over the hood latch panel again, first paint wasn't dry enough when I sanded it I guess so it caused some crevices the paint wouldn't fill properly.

Sorry for the horrible pic, phone doesn't work very great in the dark.

[DoubleD]

Decided that I am going to rattle can my engine bay after talking to a couple I highly regard on this topic. Going to use quality sandable primer and clear. Going to paint the engine bay the same color that the exterior will be which is Brilliant Black Pearl. Should look good when done. Pulled out the engine wiring harness and brake boost the other night, about time to start prepping!

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k6/brmsnowboarder/IROC%20RT/49AE73F7-24C3-4EEB-A7AE-5C7963E68428_zpsepoxygpb.jpg (http://s84.photobucket.com/user/brmsnowboarder/media/IROC%20RT/49AE73F7-24C3-4EEB-A7AE-5C7963E68428_zpsepoxygpb.jpg.html)

[supercrackerbox]

At least yours is in a garage. In the pic I posted, that was done outside on a somewhat windy day. After the clear had a few days to dry, I also polished and waxed it. Almost nine years later it's still holding up pretty well. Can't say that for the rest of the car though . . . :lol: