dylaxiin

alright so heres the deal. in the next few months i will be painting my engine bay before i swap my motor. tools i know what to get (2 HVLP spray gun's from harbor freight -50$, etc.) As for paint im clueless on what to buy, but i found these..

http://www.paintforcars.com/kitu_arcticwhite.html
http://www.paintforcars.com/Merchant...Category_Code=

is that all i need to get?
please any input is appreciated

joeshmo

You need plenty of things before paint.

Lots and lots of masking tape, real masking paper, bondo, lots and lots of sand paper, (A DA would help immensely), an assortment of sanding blocks, a good natural vapor mask, goggles, gloves, implements to clean your gun and a BIG HONKING COMPRESSOR.

As for the paint aspect:
For a Single stage paintjob where you don't hit bare metal, you'll need
Primer surfacer, Activator and Reducer
Color coat, Activator and Reducer.
On some systems, the activator and reducer are universal so that may save you a few $.

For a 2k paintjob:
Primer surfacer, Activator and reducer
Basecoat and optional reducer/activator
Clearcoat and activator and reducer.

Any paintjob going from bare metal up add the first step of epoxy primer (which is generally un-reduced, depends on the line but most mixes are 1:1).

For a true, low end kit, check out Kirker at http://smartshoppersinc.com/.

Comes with primer, color and clear with all necessary activators and reducers.

dylaxiin

thanks for the great info. im probably going single stage. meaning i only need to sand down to the primer right? what grit would be best for that?

joeshmo

What kind of paint?
If there is rustoleum on it or spraybomb or pretty much anything that isn't stock or proper urethane, it needs to be stripped or sanded off.

Otherwise, directly from the kirker website:
Note: This is for their perfect-prime primer, which is what comes with the kit. If you want to save a few bucks, buy just the perfect prime and the basecoat (and a gallon of reducer and activator). The clearcoat isn't necessary but may increase gloss and durability. The kirker UA stuff in the kit is a single-stage.

dylaxiin

all of the paint in the bay is stock, never been painted

joeshmo

Are you painting bay only? In that case, you might be able to get away with only a single stage (no primer). They don't sell by the quart but you may as well get the full 3/4 gallon (1 gallon mixed, at 3:1) because it is dirt cheap and you could get some practice before spraying something you care about.

dylaxiin

the links i posted up top. would that be a good choice for paint??

dylaxiin

yeah just the bay. i want the body professionally done. as of now that spray gun will be the first spray gun that sits in my hands lol. but i mean if i do think i am capable of doing the whole car myself in the future i will. id prefer to do everything myself

joeshmo

For an engine bay... it's fine. I misread and thought you were doing an all over. Just make sure to prep really well. You definitely don't need a DA sander for just a bay.

That stuff is similar quality to kirker. I suggest you get a better respirator though, the one they include will do next to nothing for anything aside from sanding.

dylaxiin

i wish i had the time to do an all over haha. but yeah ill look for something, im sure harbor freight carries them. as for bolt holes, those can be covered with bondo, correct?

joeshmo

Yeah, HF carries an organic vapor mask that will work for this.

And what do you mean, cover the bolt holes in bondo? If you take out a bolt, it should probably go back in unless not required for the swap.

dylaxiin

no, im doing a wire tuck. and there all holes from either bolts or clips.

joeshmo

Bondo will probably work, but it depends on the size of the hole to be filled. Consider making "plugs" out of fiberglass matt or something like that, so the bondo needn't be laid on so thick to "Fill" the hole.

dylaxiin

holes are no bigger than the 10mm bolt, if not smaller

joeshmo

Still would prefer a plug if possible. I know 10mm seems pretty small but bondo is not particularly strong without backing, that is really not what it is intended to be used for. You can use some 2 part "play-do" epoxy if you want to, that would work better than bondo.

NAPA sells rubber grommets and plugs that fit holes nicely. That is what I would do personally.

dylaxiin

ever glaze body filler.

dylaxiin

thanks alot for your help. if i have any more questions ill pm you

joeshmo

Same (more or less) as bondo. I'd just be concerned about it cracking after being exposed to a few heat cycles.

dylaxiin

from what ive heard it the best of fillers. ill give it a try and see what happens.