Painting an Engine cover and Brake Calipers

[Nate]

Ok well on a recent trip to supercheap to pick up some light sockets for my tail light conversion, they were having a sale of all there damaged stock ... i managed to pick up some engine enamels, degreaser and brake clearer etc ... all for $1 a can !!! and all because they had no lid!!

anyway back on track ... the car is coming off the road early next week to do james's suspenion mod ... mmmmm caster ... and i thought seeing that the wheels will be off i may as well paint the engine cover and brakes at the same time ... the calipers dont worry me, i have them all worked out but i want to be careful with the engine cover... do i need to do the bolts back up to a certain torque ??? or just do em up nice and tight!! and what about the cams being explosed ... should i cover the engine with a sheet or something so no dust gets in???

cheers
Nate

[ROB-80E]

Right o, cam cover bolts just nip up. Sorta like an oil filter or sparkies, don't over tighten them, they WILL break! Not that I'm talking from experience ops: $5.60 per bolt!! :x ops:

I usually give em 1/4 to 1/2 turn after I can't turn them with my fingers.

Exposing cams, if you don't want the backing plate, you will have to redo all your timing, as your gears have to come off to get the backing plate off. Unless you have a rattle gun and know how to do the timing, don't bother.

If it's windy and there is alot of dust around, yes cover it over, otherwise I have never worried about covering it.

I painted my cover and gears myself, as long as you prepare everything, you will get an excellent result.



Looking at that, I want my stainless covers like I have on the laser. Will have em soon!

[Nate]

thanks dude ... hmm timing sounds evil ... i am good mates with my mechanic so its all good if i have to do it but i would like to avoid it

backing plate,

????????? what be one of these??

[ROB-80E]

It's what holds the cam belt cover on. You can simply remove the cover, but then you are left with the "backing plate" which the cover bolts to. It is inbetween the cam gears and the head.

Cover -> Cam Gears -> Backing Plate -> Head.

On mine it has been removed. If GTXWGN see's this he might be kind enough to post a pic of his. He still has his backing plate in place.

[Rupewrecht]

the backing plate is the bit behind the cam gears/belt

[ROB-80E]

mmmm....reconditioned engines. *drools*

[twilightprotege]

nate there is a really good how-to on msprotege.com for painting the head cover and brake calipers - really easy to follow. there are a few good how-to's on there as well.

also - i had a thought about your caster. i think the bolts werent in a square arrangement, more rectangle, so that would make the caster not changable by them...but but but, those stupid things surrounding the shock bolt - maybe they are movable to adjust caster and camber????

[Nate]

also - i had a thought about your caster. i think the bolts werent in a square arrangement, more rectangle, so that would make the caster not changable by them...but but but, those stupid things surrounding the shock bolt - maybe they are movable to adjust caster and camber????

there is only one way to find out!!

[twilightprotege]

exactly - actually look in your workshop manual LOL

[Rupewrecht]

Originally Posted by ROB-80E

mmmm....reconditioned engines. *drools*

i wish it was still that clean!

[Cosmo Dude]

Painting the cover is easy enough, just want to remember that paint will stick best to a clean surface so down to the carwash and a really good clean in and around the cover before removing it.
Once removed some acetone ore something similar should use to clean down before painting.

If you're going to polish the lettering, do it on the car before you remove the cover and then again after, it'll be easier that way.

[kemicalx]

If you want to paint any other sufaces in the engine bay without really being able to remove them, do a good masking job, covering the windscreen and quarter panels with drop sheets, and masking tape all the little fiddly bits and peices. I took my cam cover, heat sheild and AFM off to paint however i couldn't be ****ed taking the intake plenum off so i just masked everything else. IMO it works perfectly so long as your not so anal that the thought of it being the original colour on the under side makes you throw up

As cosmo said, make sure to clean the surfaces nice and well, i used a wire brush to get into some of the fiddly area's

[platypus]

you should torque them up when you put them back in... i only broke one bolt, but that was for a sensor, so i ignored it, and just held it in place with plumbers tape.... is all good

as to the caster, check the manual,

as to painting, and prep, get it really good and clean.... i went over mine with a wire brush, then used a tooth brush dipped in turps to clean it up... got everything nice and dry, and then painted a few coats...after which i painted the bolt heads, so that it would all look perty.... left it to dry a bit, removed my towel from the engine, and placed it in the spot.... tightened the bolts up finger tight, and then started the engine for 15 minutes


let the cover dry over night, and it set relatively hard, so i decided it was good time to get the sanding block out, and sand back the red paint for silver lettering.... just a little early, i'd reccommmend you do it a day or 2 after, once the paint has cured fully, as i know have small shavings stuck in the paint, but its all good


best of luck with it!!!

[Cosmo Dude]

I hat the problem with the 929 that the lettering wasn't even and it took a lot of work with an oil-stone to get them level before I sanded them with 800 then 1200 grit paper to get them smooth. The paint came off the letters easily without worry of scratching the other painted surfaces.
And yeah I have shavings in the paint for the same reason ops:
The bolts should be tightened firmly but most importantly evenly.

It didn't come up as well as the BA one :x

[platypus]

oh i forgot to add something!!!

tighten the bolts fully once you let it dry over night (ie overnight - after running)