Engine bay Seimi or FLat black..?

I tried searching for info about painting a engine compartment black..

I was hoping to use flat black, unless I should use semi gloss..

Not sure if the flat might show grease or scratches "more" in the future .. and the semi might not notice them as much Thanks for the info ..DANiel

 

glossy....

 

Unless your car is black it wouldn't be my choice. Paint it body color lots easier to see everything when working on the car. Black just seems to absorb everything including whatever light source you have.

 

I vote for something between glossy and semi at least. Flat black always looks dirty and grimy once you drive it a bit even with the tightest of engines. Personally if it were mine I'd paint the firewall body color and be done with it but I am seriously hoping that after having them for 35 of the past 40 years I never have another car or truck with flat paint. I've been there and done that already.

 

Most cars from the factory were painted satin black.

 

Absolutely right, it was probably a cost-driven decision. as its been however pointed out it doesn't look good for long. And it never did, so if it has to be black (which I wouldn't recommend) it would be gloss black. And then it could be kept clean. my 2 cents

 

If you want to paint it black, I would buy gloss black, and a flattening agent and play around till you get the sheen you want

 

semi gloss/satin black looks natural

flat looks really cheese ****

gloss shows every last imperfection and then multiplies it

 

I like the stock look with the firewall painted body color (as it was on most cars), and the inner fenders and radiator support stuff painted mostly glossy black. Flat looks bad and just gets worse with time.

 

i like the low sheen black used on the lower panels of the late 90's windstar vans.

 

An old Mustang restoration trick for what it's worth: engine compartment Rustoleum flat black and then ArmorAll over that gave the correct factory semi-gloss black sheen. While I appreciate we are not about factory correct around here, semi-gloss just looks "right" and nice, actually, in a lots of engine compartments. The problem with painting it semi-gloss from the start is if you clean it much...as in wiping down with a rag...eventually the semi-gloss starts to become smoother and glossier. The problem with the flat is you have to keep after it with the ArmorAll to keep it looking right, which can be a pain. I've done it both ways and it really depends on how often (and how) you are going to clean it.

 

Gotta agree with that comment. Glossy looks like ****

 

I just finished one and used SEM Trim Black. I think it looks great, just the right amount of sheen.

 

Krylon semi flat black. Walmart has it most of the time. I keep 2 cans in stock. Inner fender panels, frame, bumper irons, core support. etc. etc. It's very close to the factory finish. It's easy to use and very easy to touch up if you screw up. It makes an engine compartment look like a million bucks.I bought the expensive special fender well paint for a muscle car restoration but I'm back to good old Krylon. It looks just as good and it's much cheaper and easier.

 

Gloss Metallic GREEN ofcourse!!

 

you must be doing it wrong. all my engine compartment sheetmetal is blasted to bare metal and painted 2 stage black. the underside of the hood and the firewall will be the same shiney black when I get to that point.

I guess a person could do it and have it come out looking like ****. mine will be beautiful.

 

I like Seimi

 

or sami?

 

Glossy if its nice....Semi gloss if it isnt

 

x10----it isnt cheap but its a good quality spray can

 

or swami,
I have painted the engine compartments with Krylon flat black and then clear coated it with Krylon. you get the semi-flat look with a sealed layer of paint. Flat black is not a "sealed" paint and thus will attract dirt and dust and look grungy after a short time.
A flat black primer will work then coat it with a clear.

 

Krylon used to make a semi flat black that looked factory correct. I know they dicontinued that but they do have a replacement for it . Do a search for Krylon semi-flat black on here and you should find what your looking for.

 

Been doing mine light grey, gloss since the late 60's (my first car).

Mike

 

Sorry I don't like it glossy black under the hood on any car. Shows all the dust dirt and scratches hard to touch up and I like it to look factory.
I buy Duplicolor semi gloss by the case and paint most all the black items with it. I made the mistake of painting inner fenders body color one time looked worse than gloss black IMHO

 

The new number is 51613 they just added the 5 to the old 1613 number. I was worried that it would not look the same but like I said I'm sold on the stuff. If you are building a streetrod Easter egg, you may not like it. Personally I hate to see innerfender panels painted with gloss body color paint.

 

WTF I thought we were talking about under the hood
Like this ?