Engine Bay Paint

[Poorsche Man]

I have a silver '71 911 s. I have pulled out the motor and I figure I should dress up the engine bay while the engines out. I believe one of the previous owners painted the bay with black. I have been removing the black paint with a wire wheel on the end of my drill down to the original silver paint.

Here are my questions:

Is silver the original engine bay paint color if the car is silver?
What the best way to prep the engine bay for painting?
What paint shoud I use? Undercoat? High heat enamel?
Is rattle-can okay?


Thanks

Zac

[Zeke]

The factory painted the engine bay black and sometimes didn't do a really good job. It was easy for the paint to rub off showing the body color underneath.

The paint was not a gloss. More of a semi-gloss.

[Randy Webb]

The engine bays were painted (or left) body color at some point before 1975 - not sure which year but folks on the Early Board will know for sure.

I had a pro paint my engine bay -- not too spendy. I would not undercoat -- fire danger & excess wt. Rattle can is OK if you can't muster $300 -- use a paint prep before you spray. Don't forget to redo the sound pad now.

[bigrubberjeep]

Sound pad? That's like saying I don't want to hear my Porsche sound like a Porsche!

[Randy Webb]

it only screens out certain frequencies - and they are the more obnoxious ones. the new ones weigh nearly nothing so I would use them even on race cars.

[Dantilla]

I used rattle cans on my silver '73. Prep is the key.

I had planned on using my cup gun, with proper automotive epoxy. All prepped and masked, and the cup gun died (be careful when you loan out tools!).

I did not want to leave the masking tape on long, and wasn't about to remove it to re-mask later, so I used rattle cans, and it turned out great.

[Poorsche Man]

so I should go with silver if my car is silver. Correct? Where can I go to match the paint to get it in a rattle can? I was thinking of taking the gas door off for them to match the paint.


Thanks

[RSBob]

Other than sanding, what do you guys recommend to get the old sound pad glue off with? Is there some type of solvent?

TIA

[klaucke]

Laquer thinner, acetone worked on my bug's sound deadening glue. First sanded it though.

[JRISER]

Poorsche Man:

Go to www.paintscratch.com. They will have a match for you in a rattle can for around $30.

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by Poorsche Man
so I should go with silver if my car is silver. Correct?

I think if your serious enough to want silver you should do all the prep yourself and have a pro paint it.. silver when done right is beautiful.. if 1/2 ass it'll piss you off.

Measuring the depth of the dust needs some practice. I had to shoot a '65 Chevy maroon after the owner tried 3 times to get it right.. and it was very tricky.
The engine comp will be easy, but I still think some practice is necessary. I touch up gun will work great in there. I'd forget about a rattle can.

I personalized my comp with Por-15 black.. it's very durable to a dirty rag wipe, scratches are fixed with a brush dab and blend very good, and good for 350degF+, and fuel proof. Actually the Por flows very nice and a 2 thin coat with a foam brush will be great. It kinda has a toughness of epoxy resin, but doesn't adhere as well as epoxy to the tub. Por makes a silver.

Soundpad can be another personalized area. I don't like the tin can rattle for my act but some guys have another act. Randy has good info on materials and noise IMO. I went into overkill on noise. Noise deadning in the engine comp enhances the tunes from your engine and exhaust IMO.

For old glue I used toulene and a scraper.

[oneblueyedog]

I used Por 15 silver on my silver car. The bay was originally silver. I think your car is correct in that it's black. Por 15 in black is very high gloss. It won't be a correct match to the factory black.

I did not have breathing apparatus to spray the Por 15. I simply used a cobination of foam brushes to cut in to corners and then mini foam rollers for the big areas. I masked hoses and wiring harnesses with foil. Wear gloves and protect your skin and hair. The stuff is notorious for staining skin. Don't spay it without using a separate air supply. THe paint cures by moisture. Your lungs are full of moisture. If it cures inside of you, you'll never get rid of it. It's kin to superglue.

I liked the result but the siver is brighter and bluer in tint than the exterior. It beats the golden worn out clear coat basecoat it had. The soundpad glue came off with wire brushes, but it was very dry glue since I didn't have a sound pad.

Good thing about Por 15 is that it's durable. If you want to top coat it though you have to spray primer on it while it's tacky. Nothing sticks to it very well when it's cured. It discolors when exposed to UV. Look it up on the web.

I posted some pictures a couple of months ago.

Lee78SC

[Randy Webb]

Yes, use the scraper really well first. A pressure washer is not a bad idea if you keep it away from ALL electrical and plumbing items.

Be sure to read the thread Wayne started on health effects of solvents ...

I can't remember if used solvent or not.

Pull the rubber strips out before painting - silver will also make it easier to see in the depths of the engine comp. I painted mine Gemini Blue in anticipation fo getting rid of the lousey red paint job somebody did on mine (and in homage to Baby Blue I, my first 911 which was Gulf Blue).

I took some of Rod's advice and sprayed a lightwt. sound deadener on the bottom surface of the trans. tunnel. The painter sprayed clear over that and over the pigment layer when he painted.

Thre are two types of 3M spray adhesive -- only one is best for the sound pad. Somebody posted on this a while ago, but I forget which I used.

You may be the right person at the right time to do a search on all the cleaning/painting/sound pad tips and put the links into a single thread.... search for them - there are many threads on this and a tech article too I think.

Good luck.

[Poorsche Man]

Where can I purchase this Por 15 paint? What's the cost?


zac