engine compartment color

[Wally]

i am taking out all or most of the engine parts out of car to paint. It was previously done all black. I would like to know others thoughts.

should i stay with black or try to use same color as the outside of car, the mysterious 918 orange like color?

 

[CanTechZ]

I would definitely go back to body color, 918 orange also happens to be my favorite. 😃

Edited October 7, 2020 by CanTechZ

[jfa.series1]

+1 on the return to body color option. You'll have a choice between single stage (like OE) and two stage processes, choose one to best match to current body finish. Going with body color will give the various engine bay bits the best opportunity to be seen.

[texasz]

Agree, body color.  I feel like black makes the engine bay too dark and thus more difficult to see things (including leaks some times), I've always thought body color looked more finished.  🙂

[siteunseen]

Count me too on body color. That's the first thing I notice when I see an open hood. Black is a negative, something was done at some point to this car, half way kind of job.

I've used a small HVLP cup gun from Harbor Freight with good results. $15 well spent. I could dial it in to a pattern no bigger than a thumb tack. Still have that little baby!

[grannyknot]

Body colour,  domestic cars had black engine bays.

[87mj]

Just curious.  Has anyone successfully painted the engine bay without removing the engine, brake lines, harness, etc?

[grannyknot]

That depends on what your definition of success is.  If you wrap the engine well you can get away with it but in order to clean and prep the surface for new paint you really need to pull everything off.

[Namerow]

I've painted the compartment with the engine in place, but almost everything else had been removed -- wiring harness, intake and exhaust manifolds, and most of the hard lines (only the long fuel/emissions pipes coming in from the trans tunnel remained in place).  You'll need a detailing gun to be able to work in the cramped spaces.  Certain areas can't be sprayed at the optimum angle.  Certain other areas (e.g. bottom of the hood latch bracket) are hard to get paint on at all.  You'll need to hold the gun backwards in some places (i.e. pointed toward you).  There where a few places where I began to think that an airbrush would have done a better job than the detail gun.  

Because of the awkward spray angles, you'll get a lot of rough-surface painted areas that will need to be sanded down afterwards to achieve a decent final finish quality.  That's a lot of work.

I can't see doing this job without removing the intake and exhaust ---  and most of the hydraulic lines.  Unfortunately, getting those lines off is something that requires a lot of care and patience.  Those tiny little 'bolts' used on the clamps are often seized.  You do not want to snap one off because there's little to zero chance you'll be able to extract the frozen-in-place remainder.  A light-duty hand-held impact driver worked well for me on these little bolts.  

By the time you get finished, it will probably seem like it would have been a better idea to have just pulled the engine and removed the wiring harness.

[w3wilkes]

I too painted the engine bay without pulling the engine. Everything removable was removed and the harnesses were moved off the surfaces.  My only mistake was not taping the nuts on the strut towers. Here's a pic right after doing the engine bay and jams most of the stuff has been put back in the engine bay except the radiator and yes, the windshield was pulled before we did the exterior. 

[Racer X]

On 10/7/2020 at 5:34 AM, Wally said:

i am taking out all or most of the engine parts out of car to paint. It was previously done all black. I would like to know others thoughts.

should i stay with black or try to use same color as the outside of car, the mysterious 918 orange like color?

 

Did everything get painted black?

Brake and fuel lines?

Harnesses?

Overspray on the engine, carbs, etc?

 

 

[Wally]

I cleaned up the engine area really well and except for one small spot the black paint was still done really well. Also, 

i reconsidered rebuilding the engine for now. So i am not pulling it out. Therefore i am not re painting orange. Also, 

i am triaging everything as my funds are limited. So, not repainting. In future, i would like to repaint though.