TonyJr

I was thinking about can spraying the engine bay black, has anyone done this before , and is there a certain spray can I should buy. I'm doing it the cheap way. Soon I plan to paint the car white or black. Thanks

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

i think any body paint would work...BUT keep in mind with a black engine bay at time you might find it difficult to work in there. sometime people paint it white so they can see better. it's up to you.

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

Painting it white you will see every leak, fingerprint, scratch....etc!

cDgRazoray

iTrader: (-1)

I'm thinking about doing this too, esp since there's a gaping hole in my bay atm. But just seems like a lot of work...

TonyJr

Take advantage now that your engine is out. I'm not trying to make it perfect, just enough where you can't see the ugly color beige.

mrjasonlyrics

If you decide to paint it with can spray you'll have to spend a lot of time preping it for it to look good enough to satisfy yourself. There's many undercoats or flat black heat resistant can spray you can use that no preping is required.

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

"no prep" paints are a joke, not because they dont work, but because people hear "no prep" and think they can just open this stuff up and start spraying...A 20 year old engine bay will HAVE to HAVE some sort of cleaning preparation done to the paint/metal surface before paint is applied...IMO, you might as well do a true prep of the surface if you are going to have to clean it anyway...

mrjasonlyrics

I had a lot of grease build up on my hood over the years and I tried a lot of different things trying to avoid using gunk products, you'd be suprise that all purpose counter grease remover cleaner cut right through the grease without the nasty smell and mess, I didn't even use water, just spray and wipe. I was really suprised

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

leak - hope you don't have a leaky system...BUT if you do you know where to find it.
fingerprint - don't touch it!!!
scratch - see fingerprint.

TonyJr

I was planning on using degreaser cleaner and pressure washing it would do the job. Then spray it

Porky

Don't pressure wash in there, your just putting water into an area where water was likely never there. ie. RUST!!!!!!

The best all purpose cleaner is Regular Gasoline. Wear safety glasses and and a respirator so the fumes don't bug you. Make sure your grounded.

Use a spray bottle and have something under the car to catch all the dirt and oil that will drain out the bottom.

Gas I've found is the best cleaner, after using LOADS of chemicals. It's also extremely cheap.

(It also makes for a great prep before painting, as it doesn't leave residue)

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Gas isn't cheap these days. As for cleaning before painting you could get the same results from acetone which is what professional painters use. I clean engine bays all day at work with degreaser and a pressure washer. Nothing ever happens. Then to make the engine look good (esthetics) we spray it down with ArmorAll.

GRNMAXDMON

iTrader: (1)

Acetone or gasoline works good. After all cleaning is done i would use WD40 not Armorall. WD40 is better as it keeps everything lubricated and prevents hoses from getting brittle. Armorall just builds up more dirt and grime.

Porky

Either that or Laquer Thinner, but both are more expensive than gas. Trust me, gas is the cheapest 'chemical' for this. It's probably even cheaper than degreaser. The rust by the way won't happen in that amount of time, the rust will appear slowly. Also, the pressure washer will blow off all the anti-seize or grease on the bolts, then the bolt heads will start rusting. Then the bolt heads and washers once they start rusting, may transfer the rust to surrounding metal if its touching anything thin. Then the maxima 'tin' metal starts to rust in a few years, then you get a hole. Then you have to clean it again, then MIG it shut LOL!!!!!

I can totally see though doing it all day, you would not want to use gas. The fumes alone would become explosive indoors. Outdoors in your driveway though, there's very little risk of igniting, unless someones an idiot and smoking a doob or something HA!!

I've been using gas alot - it cuts through almost anything very quickly. Especially if you soak it in the gas.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

True. But I work at a dealership so most of the cars we don't see again. Mine I clean twice a month so its never dirty/crusty looking.

Porky

Yes and also, using gas in a spray bottle would be highly inefficient in a commercial operation. The pressure washer is fast. With my gas method, i'm like a bloody janitor with the spray bottle, wiping up little billys barff on the floor at school!

Believe it or not, this may sound wrong, but road grime and greasy dirt coating parts of the maxima, in the right spots, actually prevents corrosion damage to the metal and chassis. You'll often see this in sections of the undercarriage or rear struts that were covered in road grime. When I cut through all the road grime on the bottom of the struts, the metal underneath was literally brand shiny new. The parts that were exposed to the atmosphere, were rusted to hell.

A greasy oily dirty engine bay may actually be better for the car.

That said, it looks GROSS. LOL!!!!

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Well yeah when the moisture can't get through all that dirt the underlying metal should be still good. Here in Tx thats the least of our worries. We trade off for cracked dashes and sun baked paint jobs.

Porky

Although the hot Texas car would probably need to be re-primed and painted from the sun damage, do you think there is any other potential damage that the sun can do in those temps?

I was thinking about picking up an old chassis in the US, where there's no snow or salt, but wondering if the heat THAT HOT damages the metal in any way. Do you know?

Also, what about the wiring systems. Does the heat from the sun crack the insulation over time?

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

As for the metal no. The sun just screws fades the base coat at max. As for the rubber insulators yes if not properly maintained. With the atmospherical heat + the temp of the engine bay over time will deteriorate the insulators if they aren't taken care of. Which is what happens most of the time.

GRNMAXDMON

iTrader: (1)

I only use the WD40 on my own car but working at the dealer i only use brake clean after i do an oil repair. Detail dept. handles the rest so who knows what else they use besides degreaser.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

I wish all of our techs would stick to that when they have there f*ck ups vs always coming and borrowing our stuff.

GRNMAXDMON

iTrader: (1)

Its probably the dealer than doesn't want to spend the money on supplies for techs. luckily for our dealer; they are not like that. They provide everything for us excluding personal tools and boxes but we generally have all of the necessary special tools for the bimmers.

Hectic

iTrader: (20)

If I was buying a car and someone had painted the engine bay, it would be a possible deal breaker. If you're going to keep it for life, then do whatever you want, but if you want to sell it sometime, keep it respectable. A good cleaning will go a long way.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Must be. Because some of these fools started stealing our supplies. I wonder how they'd feel if I came over there after they left and cleaned out those Matco & Snap On boxes. (They always leave them open anyway)

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

I'm one of those purist that likes to stick to the VIN code. (Whether I like the color or not)