DIY NISMO engine cover
 

Sup everyone.. im making this DIY because a couple of you were wondering how its done... :D ill walk you through everything :tup:

BEFORE silver engine cover....
http://www.the370z.com/members/simot...take-z-002.jpg

AFTER red engine cover.....
http://www.the370z.com/members/simot...engine-008.jpg

Things needed...

http://www.the370z.com/members/simot...58-diy-001.jpg

PAINTERS TAPE
PREP SOLVE
PLASTIC PROMOTOR
RED KRYLON FUSION
BRITO PAD "scotch brite pad"


step 1.... really easy just grab your 10mm socket and ratchet and unbolt the five 10mm bolts holding down the engine cover.... the yellow circles are the bolts...

http://www.the370z.com/members/simot...3559-illus.jpg

step 2.... once you have unbolted and removed the engine covers from your z... its time to use the painters tape and tape up all the black area of the engine covers leaving the silver part exposed.... please be very tedious in this step make sure you tape really really neat... the neater you tape.. the more nicer the line is.... and the outcome is...

step 3.... once it is all taped up... use your scotch brite brito pad and begin to lightly scuff the silver area.... you dont have to sand super hard... you just wanna create small fine scratches so the paint will grab better.... :tup:

step4..... wipe down the sanded area with prep solve..... (prep solve is a chemical used by painters to remove all contaminants on the surface that they are going to paint... it insures that all oils, dirts, waxes are stripped from the surface that is going to get painted and provides a lesser risk of the paint reacting.... ie: bubbling, fisheyes, and lizard skin) NOW if you dont have prep solve dont worry :D just wash it down with some dish washing soap mixed with warm water and let it air dry...... MAKE SURE you wash it really really good... OIL/any other contaminants= sh!tty paint job... its gonna react or do something really ugly looking sooo please.... make sure the engine cover is washed really well ESPECIALLY if you have applied anything on the plastic to make it shiny.... like armor all.... please note you will most likely have to re tape the whole thing if you have to wash down the valve cover... ALSO ANOTHER NOTE you wanna scuff the silver part while its TAPED UP!!! because if you free hand it you will most likely have small scratches on the black part from accidentally scuffing it :shakes head:

step5.... spray a fine mist and coat the silver area with a plastic promotor... one even coat is good... let it sit for 10-15 mins to dry.... this goes by several names.... "adhesion promotor, flex primer, plastic promotor" this part is necessary since the engine cover will be subjected to hot temperatures this is a reassurance that the paint does not peel :tup:

step6..... KRYLON time!!!! start off by spraying a first coat and then second and third... make sure your coats are all thin and EVEN :D remember not to rush and be patient.....

step7..... grab a cold brew and chill out for a bit... the pieces should be dry in about an hour.... remount them by installing the 5 10mm you removed and step back and enjoy your hard work :tup:

hope you guys have fun doing this mod!!! the best part is that anyone can do it... and its super cheap... ul spend like $20 for the paint and materials.... :happydance: and ur engine bay will pop when you open the hood with that red engine cover :tup:

ON the last note... i am not responsible for anyone if they break something while doing this DIY... i mean its next to impossible for anyone to break anything but yah... just wanna make that clear :D

Thx!!!!!!!!!!!

no problem man :tup:

nice...

lol wth can you break doing these :rofl2:

nice simz, didn't know this wasn't a DIY yet, or else i would've tried to do it sooner and put one up myself :tup:

good stuff :tup:

Hey Simota, looks awesome! Just a few quick questions:

1. When applying 3 coats, do you mean spraying it, then spraying again, then spraying again.... and letting that dry. Or spray it down once, let it dry, spray it down again, let it dry, etc?

2. Do you reccomend using any sort of clear coat? Or will this paint hold up by itself?

3. I'm guessing this is a good brand of paint, but since it's going to be in a high temp environment, would the paint use to paint calipers also be a good one to use since its made to take the heat of braking?

Thanks br0!

[Edit: I know this is going to sound insanely stupid but I have to ask, does the strut bar need to be removed to remove the engine cover? And if so, does the car need to be on jacks when removing and reinstalling it?]

In the top right of the valve cover is that texture I see or just a weird reflection? Did you consider sanding in between coats for a more smooth finish?

where did you get the nismo badge for the strut tower?

It's not a badge, he painted it on as well. :tup:

LOL i have no idea bro... i just wanna make sure LOL

I should have mentioned that.... i forgot :p thanks for reminding me ill edit my post... :tup: no you dont have to remove the strut bar when doing this project....

its just a weird reflection... the valve covers paint is even all around..... the thing you see on the picture is like the shimmer of the paint.... i actually wanted to keep the texture... :tup: so it looks factory....but yes you can sand between coats if you want it smooth... if you want it smooth just sand it smooth with like 1000 grit in the beggining instead of scuffing it... and you wont have to sand between coats... :tup:

i bought it from the dealer.... it was a universal nismo badge... ithe kool thing about it is that its like real aluminum not plastic :D im sure you can get it online....my first idea was to mount it somewhere inside my z.... but FAIL lol..... i ended up sticking it on the strut instead :tup:

:bowrofl:

Now you just need to do a door handle painting DIY and I'll be set and knock that out this weekend! :tup:

lol isnt there already a diy section for the handles? i used a gun though to spray my handles.... pretty much the same thing as the cover.... remove... scuff... plastic promotor... then i shot a base black and then shot a semi gloss clear on it :D

hey you painted the strut bar as well, have any pic of uninstalling it? does the car needs to be on jacks for that as i thought its the same bolts for the shockers right?

sup man no i powdercoated the strut bar... and no u dont have to jack ur car up it isnt the same bolts for the shocks... those are seperate :tup:

Thanks, so are there only two bolts one on each side? or there are more

three on each side then two on the upper area... remove the plastic piece that covers it...

thanks again man :)

kinda funny, but i actually painted my nismo engine cover silver because I have a SG body color and wanted it to match, until I took it off all together, but to each his own, looks good!

This ones for Simota :tup:

Just finished up mine:

http://www.the370z.com/members/xwchr...gine-cover.jpg

:happydance: :tiphat:

thanks Sim on the DIY will probably do this summer!

not a problem buddy!!! :tup:

Is this reversible? Just in case I get bored of the color? I mean will paint/lacquer thinner take it off?

I know I'm a bit LTTP on this, but nice one Simota. I'd JUST made a thread about trying to get a Nismo cover and someone pointed me to this. Will be trying it out this weekend. Thanks!! :tup:

:tup: and it saves you more money why spend $239 for a new one when you can make the one you own already look the same for only about 10 bucks LOL wayyyyy cheaper

so how is the paint holding up? any chipping or fading?

i actually color matched mine already to Solid Red.... as far as the paint holding up i did my friends own a while back (same time i did mine) and i saw it a 2 weeks back and it still looked the same? :tup:

I want to paint mine blue, but I'm scared I may screw it up.

So dumb question, how did you get the masking tape to even stick? Ive tried automotive painters tapr as well as regular blue painters tape and it will not stick. I also used prep all to see if that would help and it still wont stick to it. Any help would be great.

did you ever put armor all or any greasy protectant on your EC? if so thats why it wont stick dishwashing soap and water is the best killer for removing all the greasy film... OR are you tryna tape at night? the moisture in the air makes the masking tape have a difficult time to stick also... could be a possible cause

Just did mine! Decided to go bronze and came out pretty good...

http://i49.tinypic.com/1fxw8j.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/8xlw5k.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/2ltfxie.jpg

good job man :tup:

How long do you have to wait before you can drive the car with the new painted engine cover.

3yrs

just 1 day is fine :D

:bowrofl::roflpuke2:

:p

Awh man! I can't wait a day haha

Thanks for the DIY Simota1!

I finished my paint job over the weekend. I did have a question for everyone that has done this. How did you handle the gap between the part on the cover that you were painting red and the non painted black part?

I taped down into the gap but didn't cover the bottom of the channel completely.

After my paint job I had a few small slivers of of the original silver paint in that channel that were still showing through. I guess I should have left it completely uncovered so the paint should have gone all the way down.

Anyway if this happens to anyone else - I went to a local art store and bought a few black extra fine point paint pens that were able to get into the grooves. I also used the paint from the pens and a very fine brush to get into the curved corners. The paint is perfect for detail work since it has the consistency of water color paint (easy to manipulate) but handles more like enamel as it dries.

Anyway happy with the results but pretty sure I made more work for myself than I needed to.

Great DIY Simota1. I just finished mine yesterday and engine bay is coming along really well.. Thanks!