FTO AUSTRALIA

How to paint your engine cover.

*Things you will need*

- 300 grit sand paper, 2000 grit wet and dry paper, spray bottle for water, degreaser, spray cans of high temp paint ( colour of your choice ), masking tape, stencil knife.

- remove the cover from your engine

- Sand back with a 300grit sand paper getting rid of old paint on the letters and also ruff up all the face of the cover.
This will give the paint a chance to grip to the cover.

- Now that you have done that you will need to give it a good clean up with degreaser and hot water to remove any oil, If you don't do this you will end up getting paint separating and will not give you a smooth finish. Allow to dry completely.

- Now its time to give it a hit of plastic primer (follow the instructions on the can).

- After that is all dry get you high temp paint ( what ever colour you want for the letters ) and give it a light coat over the letters. Allow to dry and repeat until you get the look you want. DO NOT over spray to try and speed up this step as it will become blotchy. You only need to spray the letters and maybe the raised lines if you want them the same colour. Allow to dry for a day before going on to the next step this is a must!

- It’s now time to start covering the letters. With a good wide masking tape cover the letters. Then with a sharp stencil knife cut around the letters and any other part that you want left the colour you have picked. Remove any tape that is not needed.

- It’s now time to add your top colour. With smooth passes over the cover apply your high temp colour ( cover every thing ) again don't rush this step. Do a coat and allow to dry ( see info on spray can for drying times between coats ). Repeat this step until you get the result you are after, normally about 3-4 coats.

- Allow this to dry over night.

- With a set of tweezers remove all the tape from the letters and lines to show the bass colour. You are almost there.

- Allow to dry in the sun or a warm dry area for two days for best result.

- If there are any small imperfections in the paint dust or any thing like that get your 2000 grit wet and dry sand paper and give it a light sand [don’t forget to use a spray bottle of water to keep it wet at all times!]

- Time for a clear coat if you wish to have a protective cover over it ( I would recommend this ). Again follow the info on the spray can for drying times between coast, two coats should be fine.

- Allow to dry for a day or two and place back on the car.

- NOW the most important step. Take some pictures and post them up for every one to see your good work.

I would have liked to have pics in with this but as I can't find my pics I had when I did my one you will have to go with out sorry.

thankss a lot aza, i'll defs use this guide - sick job on yours mate
i'll post pictures once i'm finished

anthxnyz wrote:thankss a lot aza, i'll defs use this guide - sick job on yours mate
i'll post pictures once i'm finished

LIAR!

HAHA - i did it!
it's red but i haven't had time to finish it maate.
i'll post my attempts soon.

Just 1 question aza.
When you said "don’t forget to use a spray bottle of water to keep it wet at all times!"
at what point should you use the water to wet it? After every coat you spray once its dried?
Or is it right at the very end once youve added the top colour and thats dried?

Only keep it wet while you use the wet and dry sand paper (if there are imperfections after all the paint has dried properly - before clear coat)

Yep as above.

Hey , my cover is in fairly good condition, but I want to change the colour, would i require paint stripper or anything? Or just sand it down a bit more?? Cheers for the DIY. I'l prob go buy stuff in the morning when I have time. And would 1500 wet and dry suffice? Thanks

phi there was heaps more grades i left at your house there was like 400,800 & 1500?

Yea I was lookin for 2000 but supercheap hasn't restocked lol. And was deciding wether I needed paint stripper/wax-grease remover haha. First time legit mod to do myself :/

Yes you should always use wax-grease remover to clean the surface off before you paint.
This will let the primer and paint stick to the surface better.

thanks

heres some photos
im the biggest noob when it comes to mechanical things, so i think i did pretty well! all by myself thanks aza for the DIY!

looks alright in person photo makes it look awesome haha was contemplating spraying the words.. but meh

Looks good!
I still think you should paint the words white or something though

I think paint black.

If you want the letters black just get a sanding block and some high grit sand paper, then just rub back the red paint letting the black plastic show.
Then give it a hit with high temp clear coat, job done .

Technikhaus wrote:Looks good!
I still think you should paint the words white or something though

gonna leave it like that.. words will depend on what else i put in engine bay (colour scheme) haha took me a lot of effort (resisting lazyness) to do that XD

Looks Good

I need my letters done too, I have asked the dude from the UK that cuts the stainless slam panels if it would be possable to laser cut stainless engine cover letters and lines (then they can be glued on), he is now waiting for me to measure all the letters and lines so he can quote a price.
So when I get around to doing it if anyone else is interested I could start a group buy

PHIL069 wrote:Looks Good

I need my letters done too, I have asked the dude from the UK that cuts the stainless slam panels if it would be possable to laser cut stainless engine cover letters and lines (then they can be glued on), he is now waiting for me to measure all the letters and lines so he can quote a price.
So when I get around to doing it if anyone else is interested I could start a group buy

oo ooo let me know ! find someone with an old cover, spray it, and use paper on top to stencil

eh hopefully it doesnt cost too much

aza013 wrote:If you want the letters black just get a sanding block and some high grit sand paper, then just rub back the red paint letting the black plastic show.
Then give it a hit with high temp clear coat, job done .

oh yeah.. i didnt put any clear coat on it =\ ?! is it important? i was low on money at the time forgot i ditched it rofl