DIY: Instructions on How To Paint Your Engine Covers! | By: Alan

[Kaisake]

Instructions on How To Paint Your Engine Covers!


By: Alan
Posted By: RichP


*** This originates from http://e46.dtmpower.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4257 by Alan ***

This should cover everything i did to paint my engine covers. Hope this helps everyone

***How to paint your engine covers***


Parts needed:

1200 grit wet sand paper
2-3 cans of heat resistant paint
1-2 can of heat resistant clear coat
1 can of paint thinner
1 roll of pin stripe tape (your color choice)
1 Paint marker (your color choice)

1) Start by taking off the panels you want to paint. For the valve covers, there are 2 round plastic covers that hides a 10mm bolt. 2 valve cover = 4 bolts total. Every other panel should be pretty self explanatory on how it comes off.

2) After taking them off, clean them thoroughly with soap and water. After it is 100% clean, free of dirt, oil etc……. use the 1200 grit wet sand paper and sand it down. Use a lot of water to help you do this process (hence wet sanding). Lightly sand it down until the surface feels nice and smooth. All your doing in this process is 1) cleaning the surface and getting rid of any imperfections and 2) taking off any clear coat/waxy substance that will cause the paint to not stick properly so take you time!! 3) your microscopically “scratching” up the surface giving the paint more surface area to bite. I can’t say enough how important prepping the surface is. If you take short cuts then risk the whole job coming out like crap. Oil, dirt, etc….don’t mix well with paint.

3) Ok, after your completely done cleaning all the parts you need to make sure they are 100% dry. Shake it, use a blow dryer etc… whatever it takes. The main idea here is 1) Zero water on the panels and 2) keeping the surface clean. Obviously if your hands is all greased up and dirty, you shouldn’t touch the parts to be painted. Word of advice, although you may not see the water it doesn’t mean its not there. It maybe trapped in some corner and when you use the compressed spray can to paint, BOOM! Water comes out of nowhere ruining it. If that’s the case. You’ll have to start all over with that piece so make sure its COMPLETELY DRY!!!

4) As a added precaution, I even used a clean cloth and wiped it down with paint thinner to make sure it’s clean and completely dry (paint thinner dries quick!) After that, I used a hair dryer to blow off any lint that maybe stuck on the surface.

5) Now all your parts should be ready to be painted. On the valve covers, the “BMW” and the stripes, you can either use the roll of pin stripe tape to mask it off or just paint it, then use the pin stripe tape to color it back after your done. I painted all my covers silver and then it was dry, I used black pin stripe tape for the stripes and a black paint marker to color it back in for the contrast. This part I leave up to your own imagination as to what you want.

6) Things that needs to be masked is masked so now painting. Find a nice open area to place all your panel at. You can either do one at a time, all at a time, the choice is yours. I did mines in two “sessions” Make sure the area isn’t dirty, dusty or has anything that might fall on the wet paint.

7) Shake the can following the manufactures directions. Now your ready for the fun part! Spray the color paint about 6-10 inches away from the panel in a fluid back and forth sweeping motion with a VERY LIGHT MIST COAT!!!. If your really new at this, buy an extra can of paint and spray it even further way like 10-12 inches. The key is the first coat is a very very very light coat of paint. It should only cover the panel like a light mist of color. Let that first base coat dry for 10 mins. Now for the second coat. Keep the same fluid back and forth motion and gradually add more coats leaving about 5mins in-between coats. You figure to break it up into 15% at a time while gradually covering 100% of the panel. Remember, its a lot safer and better to do a lot of coats so don’t be too aggressive and try to cover the panel all up in paint one shot. I don’t work that way. The paint will drip and look like a mess if you apply too thick of a coat. You hand should NEVER stay at one spot!!! Always should be moving back and forth. If you notice the paint looks a little thick and wants to drip, HIT the BRAKES and stop! Give it a 10-15min wait and be very careful with that particular area. Uniform light coats is the key here.

8) After all your panels are painted, give it about 20-30mins to dry then apply the clear coat. 2-3 coats of the clear coat is enough. Its not as hard as spraying the paint. Again, allow about 10mins in-between coats and as always with painting, light fluid side-to-side movements at all time or it will drip.

9) Allow it to dry for a few hours and when its completely dry to touch, use some car polish and buff it up real good and it will look all nice and shiny =)

Disclaimer: The Authors and Contributors of this website are not responsible for any problems you encounter from any of the information provided. These are only general guidelines, and not meant to be a comprehensive guide.

(http://e46.dtmpower.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9694) 12-24-2002 06:42 AM