I took the engine out of my '83 240D for a rebuild and decided to have the body cleaned up and painted at the same time. I just got the body back this morning; it's glossy and beautiful but the engine compartment is still grimy and ugly. I want to clean it up and make it presentable before dropping the engine back in.

My body shop guy mentioned something about painting it with a black trunk-compartment spray. He said I could get it in spray cans at an auto parts store. Does anyone have any experience or information about this type of product? Alternately, is there something else that would be good for the engine bay? I'm leaning toward something black since the light cream color of the exterior paint shows grime and grease quite severely. I'm not concerned with keeping it stock-like, I just want something that is durable and looks good.

Thanks!

- Nathan

'83 240D "Steiner"
'00 New Beetle TDI

I had the same idea. The black spray paint has to be high heat resistant. I think it'd look neat and new.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

I picked up some Westley's Rubberized Undercoating spray. It says it resists cracking, peeling, heat, cold, etc etc. So, I gave the engine bay a good cleaning with degreaser then Simple Green then car wash. Then I stripped everything out of the engine bay, masked off exterior panels and any components that I couldn't easily remove (a VERY long and tedious process), and sprayed it down with the undercoating.

It's not quite black, more like a dark brown. I would have preferred dark, flat black, but perhaps this will turn more black as it cures. It sprayed on easily, like paint, but with less mist-type overspray. It takes a LONG time to dry (hours) and is very fragile (wet like paint) as it's drying, so even a gentle brush against it will wipe it off. It's textured, though, so you can re-spray over places and hide imperfections. It took two cans to do the engine compartment, but there's enough left in the second can to do some other places, so I might re-do the wheel wells or the underside of the spare tire compartment.

The can says it's durable enough to stand up to almost anything. I guess I'll find out how it fares against diesel fuel!

- Nathan
'83 240D "Steiner"
'00 New Beetle TDI

Nathan,
Over the years on a variety of cars and trucks I've done different things, but always have wished that I had stayed stock afterward. I've even gone back on some projects and gone to great effort to undo some things. I would suggest putting it back the way it was. There is something about the whole package that has it's hooks in you to do all the work you are doing. The whole package is a combination of hundreds of little parts. I restore houses and cars (not show restorations, but for use restorations) and I try in both to do things the way they were originally done. I would use a new, technologically advance product, that looks the same, but I wouldn't change the looks. I'm in the middle of the second engine rebuild on my '65 Ford pickup which I have used for 27 years, and everything is stock looking. (Forged pistons, updated seals, etc. because they improve the function.)
Good luck,
Dan

__________________
Dan Stadt
'85 300D turbo
'79 300SD
'73 220D

Dan,

I respect your opinion and understand your position, but I just couldn't leave the engine compartment the way it was. It was just too grimy and ugly, and the cream color showed everything. It had been previously repaired (A minor front-end collision before it came under my care) and the repaint job in there wasn't even the right factory color. If I was doing a frame-off restoration I would have had the engine bay painted the same color as the body, but there was just too much stuff to mask off in there to get a good paint job done, since I left all the brake and steering components intact.

The rest of the car is stock except for the stereo (A nice Panasonic with Sony and Alpine speakers) and some Hella air horns in addition to the stock horns.

Besides, it's done and sprayed now so I can't really undo it! The coating cured to a nice flat black that looks good and should remain durable and protective for years to come.

- Nathan
'83 240D "Steiner"
'00 New Beetle TDI

I've got some photos up now. It turned out really well, I think.

http://home1.gte.net/res0holb/index.htm

The three images at the bottom of the "After" section are the coated engine bay without the engine in.

- Nathan
'83 240D "Steiner"
'00 New Beetle TDI

Nathan,
Looked through your new pictures and the old MB looks great. I'm afraid I'm so busy with other stuff these days that I don't get time on my cars. I'm enjoying watching your progress against the day when I can get back to it. The engine bay looks great also and I think you will find it easier to keep clean. Continued good luck.
Dan

__________________
Dan Stadt
'85 300D turbo
'79 300SD
'73 220D