Fun with Rustoleum (engine bay)

[SH4DY]

NOT rattle cans. 

Because of some extenuating circumstances (I bought a house) I was recently forced to ramp up some parts of my project in order to get the car movable to the new location. Part of the dilemma was having an assembled LS6 on an engine stand without a great way to move it. So, I decided to finish up the engine bay (didn't want to paint with motor installed) so I could install the motor/trans for ease of transport. I had done quite a bit of research on engine bay paints and auto paints in general and kept coming back to the Rusto jobs for a few reasons:

Ease of touch ups: this car is going to be a driver, which means turning wrenches and wear and tear so there are bound to be scuff/ scratches.

Cost: ties into the above but it was also going to be $150 just in materials for the engine bay using the same paint I had planned on doing on the body. 

Durability: When done properly, I keep reading that the proper Rusto mix can be as hard as tractor paint (read: tough as nails). 

Current conditions: It's cold here. Full winter mode which doesn't play well will most automotive pants (typically need 60*+). It was 55* in the garage when I sprayed the bay (with the help of a space heater) and hasn't been above 45 degrees in the past week and a half. 

 

So, I elected to use the 8:4:1 method. 8 Parts paint (Rustoleum Satin Black), 4 parts reducer(Duplicolor BG906), 1 part hardener (Omni MH202). Hardener was the most expensive part by far ($40/pint) but I've got a bunch left over so that's a plus. 

Applied with a good old HF HPLV $14.95 spray gun @ 40psi at the gun

First pictures are after the second coat was applied and still wet.

 

 

After about an hour:

 

It look a solid 30-45 minutes to flash in between coats (again, cold). After 24 hours it wasn't fingernail hard but a week later it's just as hard as the factory paint on my Tahoe. I have enough left to do the interior, but I'm not sure if I'll do the exterior in it (wouldn't be black. Maybe the dark gray).

 

Anyway, we'll see how it holds up trying to get the motor in and I'l report back. 

 

Edited December 12, 2018 by SH4DY

[taaron]

Bay looks awesome! I'm in a similar boat where I need some space in my garage back and the engine sitting outside the car is taking up too much space, so I was going to spray just like you did. Glad to hear the mixture worked out, I may follow the same path!