I'm in the procsess of painting my engine brackets how should i prep them and what should i paint them with

 

I would remove the old paint and take the brackets down to bare metal. Varuious ways to do this: sanding, glass bead, wire brush, soak in lacquer thinner etc. I wouldn't recommend sandblasting unless the sand is very fine as you don't want to make the metal too rough. With the piant removed, sand the metal with 320 grit paper. Apply a metal etch primer and I believe Eastwood sells it in a rattle can. I've never used it so follow the directions. Many times you can let the primer dry for 15-30 minutes and apply the paint over it without sanding. I like to use the rattle can Krylon Rust Tough Enamel in Semi Flat Black as it comes very close to the original GM finish. Not the semi gloss but semi flat. It has a nice spray nozzle and works well. And it beats mixing paint and adding flattener if a spray gun was used. It also dries fairly quickly.

 

I think I no what I'm going to do..I'm not expecting showroom quality I just want everthing to look just as nice as the new gold 70 olds 350 rocket that's going to drop in.. So what I'm understanding I'm going to clean clean clean. Sand lightly and clean clean clean.. Try and get all oils off and add coat of primer let dry then add a 2-3 light coats of the type of paint I use like a semi flat or gloss color.. It dosent have to be high heat enamel like engine paint dose it?

 

Eastwood's "underhood black" is a good match. I have used it and it looks nice. It is thin though, so any flaw int he metal will be noticable and any stampings will stay visible. Engine can get over 200* so it should be rated above that. EUHB is rated for up to 250*.

 

Anything like that under hood thats black I have powdercoated semigloss black. I did all the brackets, pulleys, nuts ,bolts ,core support you name it. If its supposed to be black its powdercoated semigloss black. Nothing beats the strength of powdercoating. You dont have to be nearly as careful assembling and taking apart stuff thats powdercoated. And the finish is nearly perfect not like painting, spots missed, all the steps. I do paint stuff that needs certain colors that you cant duplicate with powder. But I would rather powdercoat.

 

i agree but im trying to do things my self and money is tight ill rather paint all my accsesories.. so what brand is best when using aresol can for brackets?

 

well you should get a paint that can take heat so look at temp paints and you should find those at any automotive store or hardware.

 

Eastwood Underhood Black is very good. But they are a little more expensive then the stuff you can get off the store shelf. I really like the Eastwood products and they ship fast.

 

Anyone have opinions with duplicolor professional enamel semi gloss black for the brackets?

 

Trim black with 5-6 coats use 600 between each coat just look at my before and after pics