That's right, spray can would have been just fine with quality paint and
good prep.

I heat them in warm water btw, helps a lot in the winter - spray can paint.
( just don't over do it - lol !  ask me how I know ! - on the how warm.  You
just want it warm, not hot. ) 

 

But it'll look just fine when Jaco has a 2.0 inline four in there and all
the small parts n' stuff. 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
neil N
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 6:46 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Stuff I learned about painting my engine bay (+ pics)

 

Hi all.

 

Ok. First of all.

 

This:

 

http://www.prevalspraygun.com/automotive.htm

 

made sense at the time. Mix the paint, pour it in, do the job. But in

reality, no. It worked ok for about a 1/3 of the bay, but the spray

pattern got smaller as the job went on, and it ran out of propellent

before I got the first coat on. In defense of the product, in

hindsight, I MAY have allowed the air vent hole to clog.

Regardless........

 

...... there I was with this Chi-Chi paint all mixed up that needed to

be used ASAP. So I finished it off the engine bay with a brush. I

sacrificed one of my good Purdy brushes. Here's the pics:

 

http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/enginebay

 

It's sort-of ok. Certainly better than it was and should last a while.

 

What I used:

 

Etching primer, Limco (BASF) colour matched paint, reducer, and

"Normal Acrylic Hardener". This stuff cost around $100.

 

What I learned:

 

mix only a little at a time. Believe it or not, I used a table spoon.

Next time (ha!) I'll use the measuring "cup" they guy gave me. Given

my situation, the brush saved the day and turned out better than I

thought it would.

 

Next time, I'll likely get a spray can of paint mixed up my FLAPS

(Lordco) True it's less paint for the money (~ $40),  but the other

route is spendy, and you really need a proper sprayer for it (duh)

Since I won't be getting a gun/compressor in the near future, the

spray can would have been better.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Neil.

 

 

--

Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia - "Jaco"

 

http://web.mac.com/tubaneil

http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/

 

 

-- 

No virus found in this incoming message.

Checked by AVG Free Edition. 

Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.6/1318 - Release Date: 3/7/2008
2:01 PM