paiting my engine cover? help

[damoscommodore]

hey guys looking to paint my engine cover on my vt ecotech need some help on how to prep/paint it step by step and end up with a nice finish . Also what paint do you use ect
cheers damo

[Drawnnite]

firsty, this has been covered multiple times, so if you search youll easily find it. and itll show all tips and tricks to doing it

however most people use VHT engine enamal. primer, paint and then a clear coat.
youll need to clean the cover completely (degreaser etc) sand it back a little with 300-400grit paper
then follow the instructions on the paint cans

[damoscommodore]

cheers mate yeah i have seen some posts about painting them though the couple i looked at didnt give me steps
do i sand it till all the silver has been removed?

[General Xander]

no, just to key the surface. it needs to be some what rough

[damoscommodore]

so just some 300-400 grit sand paper rub it lighting or hard ?
just dont wont to f***(*0ck it

[Drawnnite]

its just like sanding timber. you cannot really mess it up unless you put all your weight on it and snap the bloody thing =P
dont do it too lightly the sandpaper does nothing. put a little bit of pressure, so its a medium or so pressure.

[damoscommodore]

alright mate shall give it a go tomorrow
hopefully itl turn out nice , thanks for helping me out!

[Troy711]

Don't try to paint the main colour on it all in 1 hit either. I like to do about 2 light mist coats of colour and then 1 final top coat. If you screw it up you can always sand it back and start again. Do a search on Google for prepping and painting model cars, it's the exact same concept.

[Drawnnite]

and if you want to do fancy things (like different colours for writing/numbers etc masking tape is a good idea and then a very fine paintbrush to finish up the rough edges on it

[damoscommodore]

alright guys cheers for alll the info i started preping today , sanded it with 400 gritt paper methoed it nice and clean
got carried away did acouple coats of primer sat it under this heat light for ahour then used heat proof gloss white
hoping it doesnt crack and go crappy when its on my car . when it comes to the lettering any sort of thin paintbrush? and does it have to be heat proof?

[Calaber]

alright guys cheers for alll the info i started preping today , sanded it with 400 gritt paper methoed it nice and clean
got carried away did acouple coats of primer sat it under this heat light for ahour then used heat proof gloss white
hoping it doesnt crack and go crappy when its on my car . when it comes to the lettering any sort of thin paintbrush? and does it have to be heat proof?

The paint doesn't need to be heat proof. The cover, being plastic and insulated underneath, doesn't get hot enough to cause problems. If it got hot enough to burn or melt the paint, the cover itself would suffer heat damage. A good quality, soft paintbrush is fine for the job.

[damoscommodore]

The paint doesn't need to be heat proof. The cover, being plastic and insulated underneath, doesn't get hot enough to cause problems. If it got hot enough to burn or melt the paint, the cover itself would suffer heat damage. A good quality, soft paintbrush is fine for the job.

cheers mate , i had already bought some heat proof stuff , but knowing that now i should have brought just some normal paint , didn't even think about the insulated underneath ... but anyway heres a photo of it done jut have to do the lettering , got to give it a nice coat of clear aswel which should bring it out nice and shiny. dam light made it look cream haha

[VYMAD]

Looks good. I did ALL the lettering and the 3800 V6 in red with a paintbrush. Just takes patience, time and a steady hand.
Pics in my profile album.

[damoscommodore]

yours looks nice , looks like it would take a lot of patience , what do you do tape it off then spray paint from the can to lid then apply it with a paintbrush? i was going to tape the lot off then use a spray can but that seems to hard from what iv heard

[SHEENY05]

covers on my fiancee's alloytech and my L98 are both just done using normal plastic primer, normal paint and normal clear and have never had any issues with the heat.....heat proof paint more so for straight on the hot surface and not totally needed for just the hot area if that makes sence

[Drawnnite]

yeah just spray it into a little tub or so on.
or just get some craft enamal from the paint store. and it will already be in a tin.

[damoscommodore]

covers on my fiancee's alloytech and my L98 are both just done using normal plastic primer, normal paint and normal clear and have never had any issues with the heat.....heat proof paint more so for straight on the hot surface and not totally needed for just the hot area if that makes sence

yeah i know what you mean about heat issues , should of just bought normal paint . although it still looks really nice white i like how it turned out
i will upload a photo tomorrow once i have done the letter guys
cheers for heeps of info and help !!

[damoscommodore]

still have to do a clear coat but i couldnt help myself so i put it on took a quick photo then took it off ...

[VYMAD]

Don't clear coat until you have painted the lettering.
I sprayed spray paint into a cap/container and used the brush.
No need for masking tape, depending, of course on whether or not you have a steady hand!
Also it IS possible that masking tape may lift your fresh paint apon removal.

[damoscommodore]

oh really thanks mate , i am not sure if ill do the lettering i tryed today and completely stuffed it up because the paint didn't come out even it was all brush marks in it so im just going to leave it white and do clear over it . Should bring it out nice and shiny

[DUK13Y]

Don't need masking tape no. If you paint over the edge of the lettering or whatnot, get a bit of sponge, push it onto the tip of a pencil and use it like an eraser. Should work out.

[damoscommodore]

So this took me all day being 16 and not working fulltime it gives me alot of time to do mods to my car . I did some tattoo work for a shop in mandurah so i thought id take that skill and put it into painting , heres the result needs a clear coat but i couldnt help meself once again just wonted to see what it was like !

[JustDylan]

Looks photoshopped but if it isn't then it's amazing.

[CAPRILICIOUS WL]

Looks WOW
Iv still got to paint the letters on my covers, I got bit too lazy.

Keep up the good work man.

[damoscommodore]

Looks photoshopped but if it isn't then it's amazing.

nope it aint photoshoped man just a very long long day