painting engine cover/strut brace
 

I was pretty bored and wanted to see how it would look. I think it turned out really well. If no has done this yet then here some pics and instructoins. Its pretty easy just time consuming:

Brace: 14MM
Cover: 10MM

Picture 1: before shot.

Picture 2: Remove bolts on each side of strut brace.

Picture 3: remove rumber seal at the back of engine bay. it just pops off

picture 4: where my hand was in pic 4, there is a plastice piece behind it that pops off. be carefull not to break anything, its only plastic.

Picture 5: remove the 2 bolts under the plastic piece that you just removed.

Picture 8: Before you ever do any painting, you should clean ALL surfaces first. tape off or cover everything you dont intend to paint. i used grey tape and masking tape. both of them stuck very poorly to the plastic. so if you have a better method use it.
to cover the rubber pieces inside where the bolts that mount the the cover down, cut out a piece of tape the size of a nickel. just get a nickel, put tape on it and cut. i used the grey tape. After that paint the desired color.

Picture 14: sand down the brace, prime then paint. see, not hard at all just takes a while because of the dry of the paint.

Last coupld of pics are just the finnished product :tup:

EASY DIY enjoy.

P.S. how do you make the pictures pop up big without it beging an attachment??

Looks good. I plan to do this except pearl white to match the exterior of the car.....The only thing I have thought would be a problem is the engine temperatures cause the paid to fade/peel....

thank you. someone asked me y i wasnt doing white. it just that i didnt want to have to clean grease off of white. i already have to maintain a white car. I was thinking the same thing about the temp issue. but is still did it hoping it doesnt become an issue.

Good write up!

ive had great luck with duplicolor engine enamel paint. :) no peeling, cracking, and they are extremely strong to weather too.

Thank you

Looks good, excellent write up!

Thank you. :tup: i appriciate the compliments.

looks good!

What type of paint did u use to paint the engine bay and strut brace? Nicely done

I used Krylon Fusion. Before painting the strut I primed it. I have no bubbling or peeling of the paint:tup:

Looks good. I like the blue on white.

looks nice!!!

but how much did you have to 'sand down the brace' exactly???

Use a rough grade of sand paper to get passed the factory paint and it shouldn't take too long. use a smaller grit sand paper to smooth out the surface before priming.

Looks great. Really thinking about doing this to mine. Good write up.