I am looking to give everything inside the engine bay a bit of a makeover and was wondering if anyone had any specific tips and suggestions for paints.I'd be particularly interested in suggestions for a decent colour match for the black/dark grey on the airbox etc
Also unsure if to paint the air intake silver or just give it a good scrub and coat it in clearcoat... any experiences would be welcome
Refreshing & Painting Engine Bay Bit's N' Bob's?
Moderator: martauto
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onthames
- E30 Zone Regular

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Hi mate I'm not sure about the airbox but for stuff like the brake booster and the metal brackets holding clutch fluid etc I just used Hammerite black (spray) and it worked well.
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steve_k
- E30 Zone Team Member

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i did all my engine bay in black hammerite, no probs so far,
if it's got t*ts or wheels it's bound to be trouble...............prove me wrong.
getting oral sex off an ugly person is like rock climbing.....don't look down ;)
getting oral sex off an ugly person is like rock climbing.....don't look down ;)
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Tzantushka
- E30 Zone Regular

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- Location: Melbourne, Australia
Welcome.
As with anything preparation is key.
if your car has the factory anticorrosion spray applied in the engine bay (by now, turned yellow and a b*tch to remove) you'll need to clean that off.
I found Duplicolor matt black plastic paint works well on the airbox - see here
High-temp or engine enamel in cast aluminium colour works well for the intake manifold & valve cover.
Some also prefer satin/matt black for the valve cover with the embossing sanded back for something a bit more contemporary.

Even black wrinkle finish if you're up for that!
As with anything preparation is key.
if your car has the factory anticorrosion spray applied in the engine bay (by now, turned yellow and a b*tch to remove) you'll need to clean that off.
I found Duplicolor matt black plastic paint works well on the airbox - see here
High-temp or engine enamel in cast aluminium colour works well for the intake manifold & valve cover.
Some also prefer satin/matt black for the valve cover with the embossing sanded back for something a bit more contemporary.
Even black wrinkle finish if you're up for that!
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martauto
- E30 Zone Team Member

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- Location: leeds
Welcome to the zone mate and we really must see the finished thing or how you get there too.
Oh and this also includes the car as well please
Mart.
Oh and this also includes the car as well please
Mart.
Only the E46 cab left now.
Just got too old.
Just got too old.
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onthames
- E30 Zone Regular

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- Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:47 am
I second all of this apart from the wrinkle finishTzantushka wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:25 pmWelcome.
As with anything preparation is key.
if your car has the factory anticorrosion spray applied in the engine bay (by now, turned yellow and a b*tch to remove) you'll need to clean that off.
I found Duplicolor matt black plastic paint works well on the airbox - see here
High-temp or engine enamel in cast aluminium colour works well for the intake manifold & valve cover.
Some also prefer satin/matt black for the valve cover with the embossing sanded back for something a bit more contemporary.
Even black wrinkle finish if you're up for that!

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Cloggy Saint
- Old Skooler

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twenty
- E30 Zone Regular

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- Location: London
Mine has the yellow stuff all over - how do I remove it without damaging the paint please?Tzantushka wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:25 pmWelcome.
As with anything preparation is key.
if your car has the factory anticorrosion spray applied in the engine bay (by now, turned yellow and a b*tch to remove) you'll need to clean that off.
I found Duplicolor matt black plastic paint works well on the airbox - see here
High-temp or engine enamel in cast aluminium colour works well for the intake manifold & valve cover.
Some also prefer satin/matt black for the valve cover with the embossing sanded back for something a bit more contemporary.
Even black wrinkle finish if you're up for that!
I've had more success with plastic parts as I simply used a extra fine sand paper to sand and then used autotek matt black paint to repaint to factory finish.


