Painting an engine

[copasspupil]

I saw this on a site recently and wanted to know how sort of prep, primer and paint to use for something like this. BB/CC? dp90?

I painted my engine bay a dark green and am considering gloss black or going with the dark green. From an old pic of my engine bay below, you can see that there is not a lot of blue was showing then so I'm wondering if the prep/paint is worth doing? I have to build a new engine again so I was wondering on changing the color as well...




Thanks,
Danno

[jmacx]

I painted my racecar block using PPG NCP270 etch primer followed by PPG DAR basecoat and clear. Other than dewax/degrease wipe I simply scuffed the surface with a scotchbrite and sanded the primer with 400 (wet). The paint has been on the engie about 5 years now and I have not had any discoloration or noticable loss of gloss.

[OCTO13ER]

Hey Danno,
I'm in the process of doing the same with my '66 El Camino and have been putting a lot of thought into it. You mentioned that with your engine there wasn't a lot of blue showing, but I think it's important to mention that the color doesn't have to stop at the block. Paint the heads, valve covers, anything you can think of. Play with an accent color as well. Use your imagination and look around at all the different color schemes and incorporate as many of them as you can into your engine bay. Who says all the art has to be on the outside?

I'm painting my Elky the '66 factory Chateau Slate with a silver metal flake. My engine bay is metallic black. I'll be painting my block and heads Slate and all my pulley's will be metallic black. My intake manifold will be polished aluminum with the upper plenum painted Slate with Black pinstriping. The same on my valve covers. By having the power steering pump, alternator, a/c compressor, crank pulley, etc...all the same color as the engine bay I'm hoping that it will make the paint on my block and valve covers *pop*. The chrome on my engine is going to be strictly an accent color.

I like the look of a chromed out show engine, but in my opinion it's over done. Everyone has the chromed out engine. Seen one, seen 'em all. It's like having a chrome car; doesn't make sense right? Could you imagine having so much chrome trim on your car that you weren't sure what color it was painted? I feel the same about the engine. Trimmed is nice, but let's not overkill here.

The engine in your photo has tons of potential to be done right with paint. You have enough "accesories" to adapt a couple of different paint colors. I'm not sure about the dark green though. In my mind the colors that look good with dark green are colors that belong on a house or in beer; browns and tans.

I do think you're on the right track with the "dark" though. Having a dark bay highlights the lighter colored images that are nested in it. Maybe just having lighter shades of the same color will have the effect you're looking for, and then throw in violet accents to offset the greens. Maybe?

Adrian

[Ray62406]

I originally did my engine bay gloss black and it sucked. I reshot it flat black and it looks much better. I think the gloss is just too dark and shows too many imperfections. Painting it the color of the car is another good option.

[RGJZ06]

A lot can be done with just paint.

RGJ

[OCTO13ER]

I originally did my engine bay gloss black and it sucked. I reshot it flat black and it looks much better. I think the gloss is just too dark and shows too many imperfections. Painting it the color of the car is another good option.

That sounds like good advice. I never considered the imperfections but you're right; they do stand up and shout with the gloss. It would have looked much better flat black. Oh well, too late for mine now. I'll change it in ten years when I do my frame off.

I prefer the bay to be a different color than the car and the engine to match the car. I think it creates better contrast, just my opinion. Like the picture Danno posted; the car, engine bay, and engine are all painted the same color. It doesn't look bad, but I think you're able to draw attention to key elements when contrasting colors are added. Like a purple block in a dark green engine bay with bright green accents might look pretty cool. With some dabs of polished aluminum of course.

Adrian

[Len]

Yes, if you want the minor surface imperfections to disappear use a flat color. We use black on engine compartments, behind grills, inside cowl vents, and under the car. I've been using a lot of Zero Rust because it's not so flat that it gets stained easily and it's easier to clean than paints that are too flat. The Zero Rust bonds well with a clean scuffed surface and holds up well as time passes and is easy to repair if needed.

On parts and panels that I want to be close to the exterior color but no gloss I use base coat color only or I apply base coat with a flattened clear coat.