Painting Engine Cover and Cloth Door Panel?

[AyaneEiketsu]

I searched ALL over the forums for a how-to so sorry if I missed it ^__^;


How EXACTLY should I paint the engine cover? Is it like the door handles and I have to sand it then prime? Or just clean it off really well and then paint?

(Sorry I'm a TOTAL newbie to ANYTHING automotive...)

Also I have a gray cloth interior and I'm about to get custom black/charcoal gray seat covers so I wanted to paint the cloth on the door panel. Is it possible to paint that with fabric paint or something similar without having to remove the whole door panel? I know if I have to do that I'll end up at the dealership with my door in pieces


And last but not least, I want the cover over the trunk space black also. Can I paint that with the fabric paint also or should I find someone that can sew and make a cover for it?

(Be expecting A LOT of questions from me too....)

[windie809]

I would think the engine cover would need to be sanded first & then an high heat tolerance paint used. i think they make ones for specifically under the hood.

as for painting the cloth in the door panels - i suppose you could but i don't think they'd turn out very well. i dont think fabric paint is made to cover that large of an area - i think its more intended for designs - not large backgrounds. i would think the doors would end up really stiff looking & feeling and probably have brush strokes (pretty sure they don't make spray fabric paint...) i could also be totally off in this... what you might want to do is see if you can find a similar upholstery fabric & buy a small piece and test paining it...

[iluvmyVersa08]

For the engine cover, I washed mine with soapy water, and partially dried it. Then I wet sanded it. Rinsed it off. Sanded it again. And then let it fully dry. Then I went to Canadian Tire (but you can go to a parts store) and buy High Temperature Engine Paint. I picked a bright red and sprayed light coats at first. After a few coats, I then sprayed a clear coat on it.

Here's mine:



I added the HK decals after it was fully dry.

I even painted the bolts for the cover in pink

[Wingnut_rb]

The engine cover, in my opinion, is one of the hardest things to paint because it IS under the hood where all the oil and graese is. Make sure you wet sand it with Dawn dish soap and 320 or so sand paper. it doesn't hurt to wash it a few times cuz once you put paint on it and there is still oil/grease, it will ruin the paint job and you pretty much have to start over. I speak from experience, I had to paint and sand 3 times!
As for the fabric paint.....I"d be lieing if I told you I knew anything about that! Good luck.

[iluvmyVersa08]

Yes be sure to clean it very very well. My car is not that old, so the engine bay was not too dirty (plus I've cleaned the engine bay a few times already).

Take your time cleaning and sanding it. And then have fun painting it

[Volkswoman]

Fabric paint is available in a spray can at the auto part store. It would say fabric and carpet on it, I think. You have to decide if this is a job you can pull off. If you are very careful, you can do it. Takes some time to do right, but it can be done. Only you know if it's within your skill level. Good luck!

[AyaneEiketsu]

Thank You for all the replies!

I love the hello kitty decals, my friend and I are going to do that to her Scion tC engine cover too Wingnut_rb I looove that engine cover, it looks good!

I think I'm going to wait on painting the door panels and trunk cover until I can find a NB in a junk yard and just test it on those parts.

[iluvmyVersa08]

Originally Posted by AyaneEiketsu

Thank You for all the replies!

I love the hello kitty decals, my friend and I are going to do that to her Scion tC engine cover too

Thank you! If you haven't checked out my car thread before you should It's a Hello Kitty Edition Versa

Newest graphics added to her last week: