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Tips

Oh the pain... the pain..

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LastDeadLast

LastDeadLast

Jedi Knight
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My hands hurt BAD. Since I don't pick up my motor until the end of next week, I decided to take all the stuff out of the engine compartment, wet sand it and paint it. So, after a couple days of unbolting stuff and pulling all the harnesses and cables into the cockpit, I started wet sanding the engine compartment... I gotta say, you never know just how hard it is to get into those tight little crevices and smooth them out until you get in there and tear up your hands attempting it. I sanded most of the day and managed to get about Âľ of the bay sanded with 220 grit sand paper. Hopefully, I can finish the initial 220 sand tomorrow and then this weekend try to hit it with 400 and prime it and do the final shoot. Please, PLEASE!, let the paint I bought match the rest of the car.

Right now, I sit back and look at this thing and wonder what heck I was thinking. If this thing ever runs again it’ll be a miracle.

My hands are so raw it hurts to type…….
 
Shannon,
A few years back I was in your shoes. I had just pulled the motor & the PO had the engine bay shot in a black , almost undercoating. It appears to be a common option to clean up the engine bay, I've seen it on many TR's.
I had read an article by another TR owner that inspired me to do a home paint job using automotive spray paint. I spoke to a body shop friend of mine & he gave me some tips & the go ahead. After using lots of laquer thinner & rags, the sanding began. Your right about the angles & corners, about the only thing easy to sand was the wheel arches ! I shot a coat of etching primer, then sandable primer & eventualy 3 coats of Plastikote spray paint. All this ended up with 3 coats of clear. By the time I was done sanding & spraying my finger tips were literly blistered & raw-----but the paint looked great. Actually I took a first in class that year at a local concours show. It's amazing how good a spray can of paint can flow on.
Another tip I learned was to use tin foil to cover parts not being removed. It molds well to the shape & needs no tape & removes easy.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Another tip I learned was to use tin foil to cover parts not being removed. It molds well to the shape & needs no tape & removes easy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Now you tell me now that I've taken EVERYTHING out of the engine bay! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I appreciate the words of encouragement and advice from you guys, it really does help. As I was heading out to work this morning, I went through the garage and took a gander into the engine bay; All I could think about is how good it'll look when it's done with the freshly painted chassis, polished stainless shroud and aluminum valve cover... all the pain goes away... until tonight that is, when I start to sand again.
 
I understand your pain. My fingers and nails hurt after a sanding session. I spend hours on a project and return to it a day or two later and wonder how I missed so much of the surface. I know a guy who says "Remember, the root word of 'paint' is 'pain'." If we didn't have an internal view of how great the will look, would we ever start? T.T.
 
Actually the rougher surface left by 220 paper is better for paint adhesion. Forget the 400 paper. Don't forget to clean the metal with a good wax and grease remover before you prime and again before you paint.
 
[ QUOTE ]
My hands hurt BAD. Since I don't pick up my motor until the end of next week, I decided to take all the stuff out of the engine compartment, wet sand it and paint it. So, after a couple days of unbolting stuff and pulling all the harnesses and cables into the cockpit, I started wet sanding the engine compartment... I gotta say, you never know just how hard it is to get into those tight little crevices and smooth them out until you get in there and tear up your hands attempting it. I sanded most of the day and managed to get about Âľ of the bay sanded with 220 grit sand paper. Hopefully, I can finish the initial 220 sand tomorrow and then this weekend try to hit it with 400 and prime it and do the final shoot. Please, PLEASE!, let the paint I bought match the rest of the car.

Right now, I sit back and look at this thing and wonder what heck I was thinking. If this thing ever runs again it’ll be a miracle.

My hands are so raw it hurts to type…….

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL!

...

Wait a minute, why am I laughing?

I get to do the same thing next week. Ugh!
 
There are lots of easier ways to do an engine bay, for one thing most modern sealers will bond to any CLEAN lightly scuffed surface, provided the paint is still OK.
Rust and pealing paint should be blasted off with the correct media(sand or plastic). But wet sanding is too much work to put into an engine bay!!! Your hands will be too shot to handle the 1200 grit for the final polishing.....
MD(mad dog)
 
Mad dog,

Normally I wouldn't sand the engine bay, but it's pretty rough.. on the sides of the bay, it literally looks like someone threw wet sand on it before they painted it.

Does anyone know a sealer that I can get in a spray can?

Thanks,
 
Duplicolor makes a sandable primer/sealer that I have used. Available at Autozone.
 
this tip may be to late to prevent your surgery,but do the words 'media blasting'mean any thing? you can buy a small unit for under $100.00,some places even rent them,since you were going to remove everything from the engine compartment any way, the most 'yudda hadda' mask was like the top of your fenders, might have only taken about 12 minutes,could have used crushed wallnut shells or fine plastic media,oh well maybe next time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
I so admire the dedication of painting the engine bay. I took the easy route of black spray paint while covering up the wiring during my conversion. I still look at it wishing I had planned it out a bit better. Tougher now with the V8 in there.

Thanks for all the tips around painting the exteriors. I am at the point of purchasing supplies and like the references to Dup*nt products. Also seems to be a leader in my internet research for 2 stage applications.

IMHO - I bought some NAP@ single stage custom mix paint and it looked terrible - way off color on the car I was spraying. Good thing I had rags, thinner, and it was a small area..........whew

PAINT ON!!!!
jeff3113
 
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