I maybe opening myself to ridicule here, but I have an engine bay painting question:

I don't have a compressor or airgun and planned to do rattle can. There are a ton of offerings. My mechanic recommended Krylon SuperMaxx- paint and primer in one, and said he has used it and it lays down very nicely. I used it and came out good. My concern now, after the fact of course, is gas/oil/brake cleaner resistance. Inevitably some gas will touch it, oil will touch it, and when cleaning or working on anything I spray on brake cleaner.

So- should I clear over my paint with a special clear coat? Like Duplicolor Engine clear? Or has anyone used the Krylon and found it satisfactory in holding up over time? Or am I over thinking this, and if I care that much I should have had it painted with 2k paint?

 

I would lay off the brake cleaner and switch to something a little more environmentally friendly... might be a bit slower but fewer noxious fumes and less of a tendency to strip paint. Brake cleaner can be pretty savage stuff. Brief exposure to gas or oil should not cause problems provided you don't let it sit forever, I believe.

 

I usually spray mine with rustoleum but you chose a good paint.. I have sprayed mine with excellent results but no matter the paint, it will vulnerable to harsh chemicals.. Just clean up the motor with a pressure washer and less harsh chemicals and you will not have an issue.. Brake fluid will peel the paint off a 2k paint job too.

(Purple power is a beast)

 

I just used a Rustoleum "all in one" on a utility trailer, a satin/semi-matte black and was absolutely amazed at the quality. If you want, PM me and when I get home I'll look up the exact type.

 

FYI I used Krylon SuperMaxx semigloss black for the firewall and radiator support and Piston Gray for the fenderwells. I wanted to try and keep a more stock look. The gray came out lighter in color than intended but still looks good. If I did it again, I'd go all black since masking the two separate areas was a huge PITA.

 

Generally speaking,clearcoat paint is just regular ol' paint without the pigment(color). We can split hairs and discuss ultra-violet protection etc.,etc. but in my humble opinion just a sales job by the manufacturers to apply less costly color coats and apply more inexpensive top clear coats. So.....if a chemical will lift,peel,discolor a color coat,it certainly will clearcoat. Gary

 

I figured not to overthink the issue and kept it simple by using Rustoleum engine paints under the hood. If it's heat and oil resistant enough for an engine, then its surroundings should also be treated the same.

Semi-gloss black and cast aluminum. I shot the intake with high-temp cast aluminum and then a high-temp clear because intakes are somewhat grainy and tend to hold on to dirt and grit.
.

 

Man HIO that is an astonishing engine compartment! Surely what you would have seen in the late 60's early 70's on the lot

 

x2 I love the look of that engine comp. hopefully mine will look like that someday but will probly be a number of years down the road...

 

Thanks guys... that was the whole idea! Back to the future!

Here is what I started with.. very typical these days given the age of our rigs and how they've been worked. Heck, my 73 still looks similar to that.

And "Hope" is not a plan. Make a plan and make it happen. You can do it.

 

I have always thought it is not so much the color combos but the attention to detail. HIO's attention to detail is truly what makes it an eye catcher! Nice,nice,engine compartment. Gary

 

Some refer to it as an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

 

^^^This, the KISS principal works well here IMO. Rustoleum can be had anywhere and is cheap and easy to touch up.

For a show truck, sure, smooth the firewall, block sand, all that nonsense, but for my toy truck? Rattle can is fine, who cares if it even does fall off in a year? it's 20 bucks to redo it lol.

 

I recently had a bad experience with Krylon. Got a few cans from the local Ace Hardware and noticed a ring of rust around the top after removing the plastic cap. The first bit applied OK but, after that, I got a terrific case of "orange peel." Probably a bad batch that had undergone some out of bounds condition (heat, cold, moisture, submersion ...). I had used Krylon before without such ill effects.
The folks at Ace were great. After I showed them the orange peel on a fan assembly, they replaced all three Krylon cans with Rustoleum and tossed in a pack of 320 write wet/dry sandpaper to help me recover the situation.
Using the Rustoleum, I discovered that it was superior in coverage to even my best Krylon experience (no orange peel).
I have a compressor and several paint systems that use it but rattle cans are convenient, especially for small jobs where you don't want to spend lots of time in clean-up. Given this recent experience, I'll be leaning toward Rustoleum for those things.

 

I used to use Krylon but the formula seems to have changed some years ago. I got poor coverage. Rustoleum has worked well for me since on small projects. Sounds like the "Krylon Maxx" is an improved version of Krylon. I may give it a try.