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Engine cover

JCP

Active Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Messages
37
Location
Whitby, Ontario, Canada
My XLR/V(s)
2006 Gold Mist XLR
Engine cover - Need input!

I'm thinking of painting my engine cover and I have a few paint schemes however I am not sure which would be best. My 06 XLR is gold mist. I have a few more add ons as well which are in the making but they will be a gloss black. Oh and I couldn't photo shop it but the letters on the red valve covers will be white not black. Let me know which one you guys like!

Thanks in advance for the input!
 
I have the same color car and in the process of doing the same thing, I guess great minds think alike. Any of the first 3 pictured combos would be great, I like the 3rd pictured combo the most. For my engine cover I am thinking about the same OEM color as the car down the center and flanked with red on the outside, fully colored Caddy logo and black lettering. :cool:
 
I hope you will post the finished product on whichever one you do .... We tried to have our original one restored because it got a couple of scratches on it from being taken on and off a million times during visits to the dealership .... I thought it looked like cr&p ..... It looked painted .... we ended up having them replace ours with an original. I hope you are coming to San Antonio so that we can see your handiwork!
 
I’d love to come out but considering I’m in Ontario all the way up here....might not happen. I have chosen to go with the one that MTRocket picked out. A few of my friends agreed as well. Just starting on it now! Post pictures soon!
 
What do you use to spray with? What kind of paint are you using??

I think you should definetly decide to vacation in San Antonio .... a great difference in geography ... and, hey, maybe you could hook up with either the midwest group or mtrocket and cruise in ..... think about it! :wave:
 
I did it!...I found that the engine cover itself was not painted so well in the first place. When I lifted the green tape...most of the factory paint came off. So I had to repaint the whole thing. Just letting it bake. Ill post pics up as soon as Im done. I did go with cover # 5.
 
Looking forward to see this.... :)

What process and products did you use? (Primer, sanding, baking, polishing, etc...)

SilverX
 
Here it is!
This is in my house and not my XLR as I am working on a few projects for the XLR and mine is a bit dusty still. Those new parts should be interesting and hopefully spark some interest back into the XLR.

The Process:

First off….the paint on my cover was so loose that chunks of it came off as I was whipping it down with a damp cloth. So I had to redo some of the silver areas as well.

1. I sanding everything down that was to be painted.
2. I masked out the different areas to paint which took forever
3. Then painted with a high temp engine paint.
4. I sanded with some 1000 grit paper in between to make sure a nice smooth finish and repainted. Each are about 3-5 coats.
5. The paint is really touchy when it is fresh and did chip a few times so I had to repeat these steps a few times.
6. Once everything was painted I applied a satin clear coat finish to everything. This insured an overall bond. I put on about 5 layers of the satin.
7. I let it bake for about 4 hours.

And after 3 days of work...here it is!
 
Looks sharp!!! Great job!! Being in the collision repair business, I understand the amount of masking time it must have taken.
 
It looks fantastic.

It probably took a bit of patience and a lot of TLC. :worship:

Good job. Now the question is, when can you start on mine??? :naughty:

SilverX



Here it is!
This is in my house and not my XLR as I am working on a few projects for the XLR and mine is a bit dusty still. Those new parts should be interesting and hopefully spark some interest back into the XLR.

The Process:

First off….the paint on my cover was so loose that chunks of it came off as I was whipping it down with a damp cloth. So I had to redo some of the silver areas as well.

1. I sanding everything down that was to be painted.
2. I masked out the different areas to paint which too forever
3. Then painted with a high temp engine paint.
4. I sanded with some 1000 grit paper in between to make sure a nice smooth finish and repainted. Each are about 3-5 coats.
5. The paint is really touchy when it is fresh and did chip a few times so I had to repeat these steps a few times.
6. Once everything was painted I applied a satin clear coat finish to everything. This insured an overall bond. I put on about 5 layers of the satin.
7. I let it bake for about 4 hours.

And after 3 days of work...here it is!
 
Ok...so painting the engine cover was much easier then I thought but...I’m still not happy. I bought some Carbon fiber and am starting to make parts for the interior to replace some of the wood....but what would look good in the engine compartment?
 
A much easier way to accomplish the carbon fiber look is through a process called water transfer printing. I can suggest a few sources, depending on where you live. I did the console and some pieces on my C5 Corvette and it's gorgeous - just a bit pricey though.
Bruce
 
Yeah I know of a painting technique to get the carbon fiber look but I rather actually get them made out of carbon fiber. I would like to mass produce parts but want to know what parts people are interested in. Again I am working on all the interior wood parts. I would like to know what engine parts people would like.
 
If you have the XLR and not the V...Easy! Just take the oil cap off and then pull the cover up, then pull to the front. Should come off very easy.
 

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