Hi guys,

This may seem very stupid, but I was wondering is it possible to get an engine bay powder coated? Can you get it done, without wrecking the paint on the outside of the car and bonnet?

I know it's common for subframes and all, but what about the engine bay itself, and the underside of the bonnet? Obviously I'm talking when there is nothing in the bay, ie wiring, engine, and subframe etc..

Hell of a lot easier to squirt a coat of jam on it I reckon!!!!

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

just wondering.... Why would you do that?
If you get the right type of paint, it can be just as tough as powdercoating.
IMO

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Tim
Dusk Blue
1964 850

Oh and i thought they baked it a fair bit hotter than normal paint too ..

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Tim
Dusk Blue
1964 850

Think there would be problems with the heat.

I got a can pressure packed with body colour in enamel - got a gloss out of the can and it is tough enough to take the environment of the engine bay.

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

Powdercoat can also be very brittle and have tendencies to chip off the parent metal.

My wife is currently doing the book keeping for a powder coating company. To powder coat the surface must be sand blasted very clean, then it is etched in hydrochloric and chromic acids.

It is then sprayed with the powder coat which is baked and bonded on at 280 degrees C.

Its not going to work in a car body (or parts) with paint already on it. In terms of cost, this company charges $125 per hour for sand blasting and $25 per square metre for powder coating.

You could feasibly powder coat an entire car body and all the hanging panels but it needs to be an completely stripped shell and meticulously prepared.

Mike

I know how much it costs to powder coat the subframes and I have my reasons for wanting to do it.

Can't they electronically spray it on? I've heard of this being done somewhere??

It still has to be baked...

Powder coating sub frames is one thing and probably a good idea but doing a bonnet on the inside whilst preserving the paint on the outside is not going to work

Mike

how about brake fluid?

My 2 pak that was sprayed with the car outside, and with clear over the top, didn't last. Lasted about 4 years, then brake fluid spilt, and it was no longer any good.

im just sick and tired of not being able to find anything that will put up with a bit of brake fluid and fuel in the engine bay. Being a daily driver, it eventually gets to it..

Plenty of water when you bleed brakes, fill MCs, anything...

I have a few things powdercoated from time to time (not car parts) and have seen how it lasts.

For automotive use, forget it, it's crap. Looks good for a while (~2 to 4 years) but then you'll find that t usually starts to flake off, not in small bits but larger sheets. Also, any bolts that come down on any softer surface will cause it to come off - in sheets. It's just a fast industrial finish, quick and cheap, environmentally friendly for the powder coater's to work with - that is all it is.

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what do you suggest to use then?

Anyone?

All paints I have tried, and used, paint just does not put up with it.

It's ok if the car isan't used that much, it lasts forever.

But for something that's used regularly, paint doesen't seem to work. By the time I see the brake fluid, its already too late. You now and again will get the drip or to from somewhere. Firewall on Gumby was painted and prep'd b4 I left on my trip to Mini50th.. 2 weeks and 7,500km's later a drop or two had attacked the paint around the area, and is now spreading, no matter what I did or do.

What do people paint brake lines with? Everyone I have talked to has found it begins to come off..