Best way to prep engine bay for paint

[lalojamesliz 56]

I got the new front section in and today I plan to clean up what's left.  I was considering a paint gun with part A and B primer and ..... then I remembered @JayEstes gave me all of this great info on what specifically to use and not to over complicate this like I usually do.  Ordering 4 of the primer and 4 of the paint. I hope it's enough.  This will be for everything I can touch while inside the engine bay. Just not the frame rails. That will be with the bed liner. I don't plan to use seam sealer. 

For the underside, wheel wells and under the fenders I ordered some raptor bed spray liner. My son sprayed that on his trucks bed and it's holding up great and it's been over a year at least. Even the thin coated areas I told him to hit again and he didn't look good still and the sun is always on it. 

I'm off today, kids are at school, wife is on her online classes and studying and it's not hot yet...... time to get to work. 

[1969_Mach1 333]

Maybe I'm wrong, but my thoughts are, unless you are going down to bare metal, I'd use something like mineral spirits instead of lacquer thinner for the initial clean to remove the large amounts of grease.  Then thorough cleaning with a strong soap and hot water. The lacquer thinner will soften whatever paint or primer remains.  After completely dry use a Grease and Wax remover.  After all that, sanding or scuffing, address any surface rust, then clean clean again with grease and wax remover.  Some will try acetone instead of grease and wax remover, but, that can also soften any existing paint.

Duplicolor spray cans have a nice spray pattern for a can.  But, you will need a lot of cans.  Each coat is extremely light and doesn't cover very well.  I use to use Duplicolor because it's available everywhere.  Now Duplicolor is my very last option for spray can paints.  If you are going the single stage spray can route, which is fine, I'd first look to see what SEM offers.

[lalojamesliz 56]

I already removed the grease from my car everywhere.  Purple power at full strength. 

Only thing left is the surface rust on the firewall but I have a box of red scotch pads. I just got back from buying some 1/4 brushes RPM suggested, a couple pairs of pvc gloves and lacquer thinner. I also have some acetone and wax/grease remover from when I painted a quarter panel before.  

Do you think 4 cans is enough for the firewall,  aprons, shocktowers and rear of the radiator support?

Man it's a lot of prep/work but it had to be done. Thanks for the tips Mach1

[1969_Mach1 333]

32 minutes ago, lalojamesliz said:

Do you think 4 cans is enough for the firewall,  aprons, shocktowers and rear of the radiator support?

That's a tough call.  I'd say it's not going to get you much more than one coat.  Before committing to using that paint, maybe try it on another small part first to get an idea of how well it covers.  Maybe do a little research before spraying it.  Eastwood has paints in spray cans that are advertised as correct in color and sheen.  I'd also look at SEM and see if they have something suitable. Innovative Repair And Refinishing Products | SEM Products

[Rich Ackermann 174]

I thought I add my two cents to this thread...

I use Evaporust on just about every rusty part I can. Even if I plan to media blast the part as it cuts down on the basting time. Evaporust is bio degradable and will not remove paint marks provided the paint is not over rust. My favorite examples are 1973 Mustang driveshaft where the paint marks were very visible after soaking in Evaporust for 4-5 days, the parking brake pedal and the clutch on my York A/C Compressor, which I wanted to retain a natural finish on it and could not use any gritty material to clean it..

Someone mentioned Dustless sand blasting. I had my 70 Mach 1 Dustless Blasted in my driveway by a service. First I'll say Dustless is misleading...No dust but very messy.  Since they use a water solution of sand and a rust inhibitor, it prevents heating and warping of the metal and prevents flash rust for weeks provided the car is kept dry indoors. It's important to shake and blow out all the blasting material from every nook and cranny. I was removing the basting material from the rockers and rails for week afterwards. I wish I could have dipped the car in a big vat of Evaporust, but that much Evaporust would have been very expensive!

Once the sheetmetal work was done, I sprayed the undercarriage, floors, engine bay, wheel wells, inside the doors, and trunk area with SPI Red Epoxy, which is designed to be applied over bare metal. They have gray and black if you don't like red. I then covered the floors, inside the doors, underside of roof, and wheel wells with Raptor bed-liner. Raptor provides very good rust protection for the floors and other hidden areas subject prone to rust. You can get Raptor in various colors or in a tintable version, if you want to use your body color. On the Undercarriage and the wheel wells again, I applied Lizard-Skin over the red Epoxy for sound deadening and to give it a textured "undercoating like" appearance. Lizard Skin is gray in color rather than black, which I was not happy about. Later I also applied 3M rubber undercoating to the wheel wells to give it a more stock like texture and appearance in black.

Finally on the engine bay I sprayed Eastwood Chassis Black over the SPI Red Epoxy.

EvapoRust at work... I used a 4" wide PVC tube, stuck the driveshaft it it, and capped the ends after filling it with the stuff. LEft it for a week or so...

Submerged the parking brake assembly in Evaporust...

Submerged the just the clutch face down in a pan of Evaporust...

My 73 Convertible done with SPI Red Epoxy on the undercarriage.

My 70 Mach 1 undercarriage with SPI Red Epoxy ...

Gray colored Lizard-Skin over the SPI Red Epoxy. I did not like the gray color in the wheel wells, so the wheel wells were sprayed with the Red Epoxy, then the gray lizard-skin, and then black 3M Rubber undercoating. Hopefully good rust protection and some sound deadening.

Engine bay with Eastwood Chasis Black over SPI Red Epoxy

Raptor on the floors I used premixed Caution Orange instead of the tintable type. I thought it was close to the car's Calypso Coral body color. Kind of bright, but no one will see it once the interior is in...lol!

Dustless Basting in my driveway... no dust, but a big cleanup job afterwards....

[Mach1 Driver 560]

EvapoRust is amazing stuff. Very nice job on your car!

 

[RPM 1,190]

Nice work Rich. Is there a better car forum screen name that's on your birth certificate than Ackermann? So perfect. 

I use Evaporust, but how would one use it on vertical surfaces like the engine bay?

[Rich Ackermann 174]

On 9/1/2021 at 2:40 PM, RPM said:

Nice work Rich. Is there a better car forum screen name that's on your birth certificate than Ackermann? So perfect. 

I use Evaporust, but how would one use it on vertical surfaces like the engine bay?

Hi Bob,

They make a Gel version of Evaporust. I have not used it much. In my experience Evaporust does not like to be exposed to air. Its looses its effectiveness faster when exposed to air. I would try brushing the Gel and cover the area with something like thing painters plastic or plastic wrap to keep the air away. Just allow the plastic to cover and stick to the Evaporust surface.

[Rich Ackermann 174]

On 9/1/2021 at 2:07 PM, Mach1 Driver said:

EvapoRust is amazing stuff. Very nice job on your car!

 

Thanks MAch1 Driver,

Restoring the driveshaft on my 73 vert was really fascinating ... Finding the soapstone mark (the loop) made by the guy balancing the driveshaft to mark the spot to attach the counter weight was really a surprise. I did my best to capture and recreate all the paint marks and inspection marks I could.

The C6 Transmission was full of inspection markings.