bronx02tl

i began painting my battery cover last night with Rustoleum High Heat spray paint. I was wondering is those out there that have done it before have any suggestions on painting techniques - clear coating etc. I am open for suggestions on methods used to make the paint job come out extra shiny and clean. The paint color appears to be pretty dull right now. I'm kind of disappointed so far and did not want to start the engine cover until I got some feedback.
Thanks

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Honestly.... I brought it to a body shop to get it done. They matched the factory paint perfectly and it's nice and shiny. The issue you're having is one of the reasons that I was skepitcal about doing it myself. There are some guys on here that did it though, and it came out good... so hopefully they'll chime in....

here's some pics of mine:
http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=41401

fiveoh-tl

You're a brave man bronx02tl!

SinnedTL

let me say this for the last time, YOU do NOT need HIGH heat paint to paint the engine cover and battery cover...imagine if the temperatures remotely went near 200 degrees under the hood, there are other things to worry about, thats why your paint looks dull, high heat paints are dull, and you dont need them and the body shop does not use them when they painted those parts...that part is plastic and it would melt...try putting a lighter to those parts, it will melt...trust me

johnnyb_s

SinnedTL is right. Don't use high heat paint, but regular spray paint. Also, when painting, hold the can about 6-8 inches away and sweep back and forth quickly applying light coats over and over, until the buildup is where you want it to be.

69tl

I painted mine and it came out great, i got the regular RustOleum metalic blue spray paint

Casper98CL

Yup, I agree with Junior... Me and SlyTLS got them done at a body shop UNIQUE AUTOBODY in Tarrytown (westchester) NY... We sent Junior there as well and ghe seems rather pleased with is... Its not too expensive to do either.. just a couple of hundred...

johnnyb_s

:wow: I hope you are just joking...

Casper98CL

No.. why $200 is expensive to have color matched engine pieces, with heat resistant flex paint and a clear coat??? Oh.. you would rather buy a can of Spray paint for $3.00 and look you extremely professional huh!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!

johnnyb_s

Well first of all, nobody sees under the hood unless you are showing it off. Now if you have a showcar, then yes, it is worth having it done at a shop. Also, if you have more money than you know what to do with, then bring it to a shop as well.

If you know what you are doing in terms of painting, then you could come close to how they do it for less. It's just a matter of cost-benefit...will it look as good as having a shop do it, no, but for the money doing it yourself is good enough for most.

SlyTLS

sorry...double posted by accident.

SlyTLS

Casper is right...$200 is cheap to have a perfectly color matched engine bay. Don't forget factory paint alone is expensive...my Aegean Blue Pearl runs approx $70 a quart. To do the same job yourself with the paint, clear coat, flex agent, wet sanding & buffing...oh lets not forget the spray gun & compressor, I'd say it would cost much more than $200.

Yes, you can go the cheaper route and use spray paint but the outcome isn't of the same caliber. It really depends on why you are doing it...if you are painting it to be different then spray paint will suffice. But if you are doing it b/c you show your car then you can't hold back and are better off getting it professionally painted.

Casper98CL

I feel argumentative right now... and you statements just pissed me off!!! If you are painting your engine bay, you are planning on showing somebody!!!! IFD NOT THEN DO NOT DO IT!!!!! WTF i sthe point... so if someone is going to take the time and effort to do it, to show people, why not DO IT RIGHT and not half ass!!!!
I dont care if you are planning on just showing your father and his friends, if someone is going to see it it better look nice and not like it belongs and some 3 yr old didnt go at it with a crayola!!!
and then if its under the hood and no one sees it... the why the fawk do it!!!

johnnyb_s

Normally, I wouldn't respond and let this go because in essence, I thought my points were well taken, as seen by SlyTLS's post.(meaning that I found validity with your point about taking it to a shop for show purposes, but then again, who am I to validate what you do) But since what I wrote really pissed you off, which I don't understand why it would, then I am just going to assume that maybe you have some feelings of inadequacy or have some pent up frustrations. If you're comfortable spending $200 on having your engine bay painted, then good for you. I was just pointing out an alternative that is suitable for most, not everyone. In your case, you're not everyone.

Also, why does it have to be done to show somebody? Can't it be done just for your own personal satisfaction? Maybe you like to impress people. That's fine. There are others out there who actually take pride in what they can accomplish with their own hands and do things for themselves and don't care about what others think.

I guess you must be implying here that you don't have the ability to paint, which is fine. Some people can, some can't. We're all different. Just because spray paint was used doesn't necessarily mean it will look bad.

Casper98CL

You are right... I apologize.. I am frustrated with other things and this gave me an easy way to vent... I too understand what you mean, but whetherit be for personal satisfaction or for other resaons, the motive is always there... We do not do things to ONLY look at our cars by ourselves and say "damn my **** is hot!" we get our self satisfaction out of hearing OTHERS say it!!! garaunteed its to get a reaction for a passer-by... with that said, and my apology... its not my car, my car is done to waht I see as right!!! Youall can do as you please and to whatever makes you happy!

SinnedTL

I have to agree with johnnyb_s, 200 to paint an engine cover is just not worth it, when I can get 90% of the look of yours with 1/4 of the money you spent, did I say 1/4??? Let me see here,

1)Custom factory code matched paint = $25
2)sandpaper = $5
3)bottle of rubbing alcohol = $2
4)can of primer = $5
5)can of bulldog flexible adhesion promoter $10
6)can of clearcoat = $5
7)about 2 hours of your time and knowing that you did a good job and saving $150 dollars = PRICELESS


P.S. Disregard and pay the $200 to someone else if you dont know how to paint well, but seeing that the engine cover doesnt have an extensive flat area to cover, you can get the professional look fairly easily... for body panels you definetly need a spray gun but not the engine cover...and other people have proven my point when they posted pictures of what they did themselves...

johnnyb_s

To you Casper98CL

BTW, how about posting some pics of your ride so we can say "damn, your **** is hot!"

Casper98CL

Right Back At You!!!!

1998 Acura 3.0 CL

johnnyb_s

damn, your **** is hot!

Casper98CL

Thank you!

bronx02tl

Wow...sorry guys didn't mean to start WWIII in the TL forum...Just wanted some firendly advice...thanks for gettin into it.

Troy McClure

Hey Bronx02 TL, how much horsepower did painting the battery and engine cover add? And if you were using spray paint, you should have given me a call. I can work wonders with that medium, as you know. Just ask the 5 train conductors and the MTA they'll tell you.