painting engine compartment...

[V]

ok, i'm getting close to being ready to paint my engine compartment, I'm not going all out and doing the firewall, frame rails etc, Just whats visable and slightly more like upper rad support, shock towers. Since its a 4th gen, the firewall isnt even seen basically.

I just got a compressor, 60gal vertical, and i'm gonna buy or borrow a small detail spray gun just to shoot the engine compartment.

Any idea on how much paint will be needed?
What are good brands?
Anyone know the paint code for "light Pewter metallic"?
I should do self-etching primer, then color, then clear, correct?
How many coats of each?
What psi do i set the gun at or will it say?

finally, if anyone does do painting and would be willing to do the job for me, i can tow the car wherever, just give me a rough estimate, i have current pics of the areas that I want painted.

[WayFast84]

Same here PM me if your a painter and can paint a thirdgen engine compartment,

BUMP!

[j0n]

Same here PM me if your a painter and can paint a thirdgen engine compartment,

BUMP!

If you want something similar to what a thread starter wants make your own thread. Stop hijacking other member's threads.

[NJSPEEDER]

once reduced it will take very little paint. prolly only a pint, paint stays good for a while so you may want to just grab a full quart to have around for touch up.
all it shoudl take to get the paint to stick is a good cleaning and a little scuff. not really any need to lay primer since the surface is already sealed.
dupont, BASF, and house of kolor should all have the factory pewter available. just find out where the better local body shops get their supplies and go directly to them.
your spray gun should have come with instructions about what tip and what pressure to run. i would suggest getting a water filter for the feed line, you need dry air to make paint stick properly.

[NJSPEEDER]

If you want something similar to what a thread starter wants make your own thread. Stop hijacking other member's threads.

why would someone need to start a whole new thread if they are looking for the same information?
you are the one off topic here, not wayfast.

[V]

well i didnt buy a gun yet, thats this weeks task lol.

as for primer, im thinking i may need it since the stock paint coat is very thin and actually rubbed through in some spots from wires and such, There also were some spots of slight surface rust starting where the paint rubbed off, and sicne the car sat about a year outside. I was thinking of doign a full primer coat over everythign(instead of spot primer) would give me a better peace of mind.

Heres a pic of how the car sits currently, i scuffed it up lightly but not fully.

[NJSPEEDER]

wow, with it that far apart have you considered jsut pulling the last few things and painting everything? maybe even a good tape/masking job would be enough to get the whole engine compartment ready to go.
i don't think GM put clear coat under teh hoods of fourth gens, i know somewhere in the middle of the 3rd generation the factory stopped clearing under there. that may be how you got the rub through spots, clear is tougher than paint usually.

[HardcoreZ28]

Paint the whole thing if you're this far along already. Scuff the entire engine bay and use a primer sealer. Self etch is only for bare metal and you're not going to need to go that far down. I like Dupont Chroma System paints myself. Get a line dryer as suggested earlier and believe it or not the two gun sets that Costco and the like sell are pretty good. One if for primer and the other for color and clear.
As for Tim's statement about them not clearing the engine bays....I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure they always clear them. The cars are painted while they are completely bare by robots and I'm certain that they would be programmed to shoot the whole car with clear if they shoot the whole thing with color. Plus if two stage paint isn't cleared it would be destroyed in a matter of weeks. The underhood paint is just never buffed out so it looks less shiny.
And a very important tip....get a good mask to protect you while you paint and no matter how hot it is wear long pants and long sleeves atleast while you're clearing. If that stuff gets on your skin it will make you sick believe it or not.

[BonzoHansen]

Right now it might be too humid to paint in a home garage. Maybe practice on the scraps or something.

[V]

yeah, i have a lot of spare body parts, old hoods etc that ill practice on first.

[Teds89IROC]

just keep far enough away when painting and when you do the clear you want to open the fan all the way and use high pressure. it's not too hard, once you practice a bit you'll get the hang of it.

~Ted