options for engine bay paint/coatings

[wicked93gs]

Well, I have been debating with myself on what to use to paint the engine bay....first off, this is not a show car, I don't need glossy paint, the metal under hood isn't perfect, I am more practical, as long as its relatively clean under the hood I'm happy. I have been considering using something else...I like a flat black look, but have heard issues as far as it staining really easy, so I also considered that spray-on bedliner stuff...but that may look a little too rough, not sure haven't seen enough pictures. One thing I do know is I dont want super high gloss that shows every flaw in the metal under the hood, and I want something with good resistance to dirt and oil, this will after all be a daily driver for me

 

[BarnStang]

We use Ralley Black from Unicote. Sikkins makes it. It's a satin finish. 3 part catalyst paint. Tough stuff. CHeck it out. Wear gloves! It stains like Por-15. We spray it with a paint gun, but i guess you could brush it on. I've painted frames with it too. As long as you do good prep, its like concrete when it cures fully. We've gotten brake fluid on it. As long as you clean it up, you can't tell anything was ever on it. Nearly every eng compt we do get that paint. Very expensive though. Worth every cent.

 

[wicked93gs]

dont know about brushing....but I may roll it on...give a slight textured look to it...any pictures of the finished product?

 

[BarnStang]

http://entrepotsab.ca/ABcom/uploads...AL/ENGLISH/SINGLE/E2 AUTOCRYL RALLY BLACK.pdf

 

[66forfun]

krylon semi-flat. ez to get and ez to fix scuffs. looks original too.

 

[iskwezm]

Years back in my lazy days, i used trunk paint. Its the speckled textured finish.Coume out pretty clean looking and hides alot. Just make sure you put a clear over it for protection from fluids/liquids.

 

[bnickel]

for a driver car i actually prefer a glossy finish, or even a clear coated one. i did the engine bay in my 69 with dupli-color ceramic engine paint, first with the ceramic semi gloss black then with the ceramic clear, the result is a nice deep gloss that is very easy to keep clean. i think i will use the Sikkens rally black when i do the cougar's engine bay though just so it looks more original. i could probably get away with just cleaning it up since it is so nice already but i want it to be like new and last a long, long time since this will probably be my last hot rod.

 

[SNAKEPILOT]

Any imperfections in the sheet metal will stand out with a gloss paint. Flat will hide a lot and texture will hide even more. Many resto shops paint the underside, trunk, and engine compartment with truck bed liner because it hides sloppy work. Unique did their six figure Eleanors that way.

The bed liner does look pretty good though and a pressure washing every now and then should keep it clean.

I went with a semi-gloss black polyurethane that resembles the OEM finish. The export brace and monte carlo bar are gloss for a subtle contrast.

 

[oz]

I used POR-15 in black. It's a pretty moderate level of gloss. I tried to top coat it with POR15 'Chassis Black' (which has more gloss) but it was too think to spray so I was stuck with the basic black POR-15 since I didn't have the proper thinner. It's not UV stabilized like chassis black is but I don't spend all that much time in the sun with the hood open.

 

[wicked93gs]

well, the bed liner I hear, being urethane based actually melts under high heat, is this true? at some point the car will be twin turbo(when I get to that point, a year or two away) I dont need my engine bay melting, or even worse catching on fire, I think I'll be going with some type of textured paint....I guess it depends on how clean looking I can get my sheet metal to look(heidts mustang II kit, welded in the patch panels they sell to be bolted in and filled the holes, have a lot of grinding and sanding to do yet) heres a picture of my engine bay currently...planning on doing a lot of work to it this weekend, filling quite a few holes all over the engine bay, grinding, sanding, etc

not too worried about cleaning up the welds...that will be fairly easy...the worst part is at the top of the inner fender where the metal is somewhat crumpled(was that way before the install too...I think the car was in a minor accident...no frame damage, but certain sheet metal damage

 

[04mustang70]

I used a product from SPI. Southern Polyurathane Incorporated. Stuff worked great. Owner of the company is very helpful

 

[SNAKEPILOT]

I used a product from SPI. Southern Polyurathane Incorporated. Stuff worked great. Owner of the company is very helpful

They are right down the road from us. That's what we used.

 

[68converted]

I used Por-15, but it was pretty glossy, so I made the flippin huge mistake and sprayed all that work with a rattle can of high temp engine paint in semi-gloss black. Looks ok.

Here is a picture of the entire underside in Por-15 so you can see a larger surface. I wish I didn't have to cover that too, with undercoating. But I wanted to be able to drive it regularly and like they said it's not UV stable.

(pardon the red circle, I was using the picture to explain subframe connectors)

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f210/68converted/Underside.jpg

 

[dbfarr]

I used POR-15 and the Chassis coat, stuff is way too thick. Close inspection does show runs, but more than 3 feet away looks solid.

Only painted half of the bay, need my car back. Gives a nice idea of the difference though.

3rd pic down,

Don's 68 Cougar: t -5 pedals and linkage