Engine bay rust

[SydSpring 2]

Hey everyone,

 

Trying to make the engine bay pretty over the holidays and I've come across small rust spots throughout.

Is it best to just strip it all back to bare metal and start again?

Or treat the spots with rust converter/etch primer individually and then paint it all? 

Thanks! 

 

[hendrixhc 10,918]

Engine in or out?

[SydSpring 2]

3 minutes ago, hendrixhc said:

Engine in or out?

Engine is out 

[hendrixhc 10,918]

Go for it. rub the rust back and prime it and then spray out the whole bay.

 

Dont waste time filling holes or smoothing unless you are going for a show car. Its amazing how much different a clean bay looks.

 

Id just use some 80 grit on an orby or a 120 grit flappy disk on a grinder to clean up that rust and spray it out.

[2redrovers 21,388]

Agreed. Do it once and forget about it.

[SydSpring 2]

So strip it all down to bare metal? 

sounds fun haha 

 

Should I apply etch primer and then primer surfacer right 

[hendrixhc 10,918]

TBH i wouldnt strip it completely unless it is really bad. you can just clean up the rust affected areas and key all the other paint if it is sound. Really depends what you want to acheive. certainly stripping to bare metal etch prime, prime, body work, base and clear is the way to go for a restoration but if you are just doing a  tidy up theres no need to bare metal the bay.

 

Ive done both ways and each looks equally as good, one just take 100s of hours more than the other.

[2redrovers 21,388]

The only difference I'd say to that is instead of etch, use ppg epoxy (or similar) after you sand the bay. It will permanently seal the old paint and bare metal at the same time and give you a consistent base layer to work up from. The stuff I use was called ppg 408 grey-green but it's had a name change that I can't remember the new code.

[SydSpring 2]

I'm planning on using spray cans since I don't have access to a compressor in my little garage 

Maybe I could use this epoxy spray? a bit pricey though: https://vgautopaints.com.au/collections/primers/products/eastwood-2k-aerospray-epoxy-primer-gray-aerosol

 

If I went with the etch primer, how do you "blend" the bare metal to the existing paint since the etch primer cant touch the existing paint? or is a little bit of overspray ok

[2redrovers 21,388]

Spray cans should be fine for the engine bay, just a bit expensive for the amount of coverage you get but probably cheaper/easier than setting up a compressor.

I've never used the Eastwood stuff but I'm sure it's half decent. Most of their products are aimed at guys in the same position as you. I'd suggest going to your local bodyshop/auto paint supplier and get them to put together the gear you need. Cans can be tricky due to reactions between chemicals so it's best to ask the shop what's suitable and how much you will need to do the job.

[bear351c 10,269]

Agree with all thats been said.  A good paint supplier can put GOOD quality paint, any colour/brand into an aerosol can. 

[SydSpring 2]

I'll go with the epoxy primer then. 

Thanks everyone

Happy new year's eve