ConcoursMustang Forums

Restoring - General discussions that span across many different groups of years and models => Body, Paint & Sealers => Topic started by: ruger on July 10, 2017, 11:06:23 AM

Title: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: ruger on July 10, 2017, 11:06:23 AM
Hi,  has anyone ever used SPI black epoxy for their engine bay black?   Curious if this would be close to the correct shade of black.  I have used their black epoxy before, it's sprays great. 
Title: Re: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: drummingrocks on July 10, 2017, 09:54:08 PM
I used it several years ago.  I remember it being too shiny/glossy for my taste.  I resprayed it with satin black and was much happier.
Title: Re: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: tvor on July 12, 2017, 10:18:31 PM
I used black zinc chromate and really liked the results.  More of a satin finish, but not sure how close it is to an original finish.  The good thing about zinc chromate is that is rust and corrosion resistant.  It was also developed by Ford :-)

If you do use zinc chromate, be sure to wear a respirator (For the little spraying that I did, I used the cartridge units)

Unfortunately, they don't allow the stuff in Kalifornia anymore   >:(

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_chromate
Title: Re: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: CharlesTurner on July 13, 2017, 12:19:47 AM
Has been discussed several times before here.  Should find more info using Search.
Title: Re: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: ruger on July 13, 2017, 11:03:14 AM
Has been discussed several times before here.  Should find more info using Search.

I just did a search again,   all I got was this very thread.  Sorry,  I have tried but just cannot get much. 
Title: Re: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: jwc66k on July 13, 2017, 12:43:26 PM
I just did a search again,   all I got was this very thread.  Sorry,  I have tried but just cannot get much.
I did a search too, but I used only two words, engine bay. I got 18 pages. Yes, you need to need to scan thru a lot of posts that are not exactly what you want, but that's what it takes. If you used engine bay in parenthesis, like this - "engine bay" - you get 13 pages to scan. That technique, using parenthesis, is NOT a sanctioned practice of this forum, but it works.
Jim
Title: Re: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: 67gta289 on July 13, 2017, 01:55:54 PM
Another thing to consider is to look for "engine compartment black" instead of "bay".  A lot of us use compartment over bay.  Even some in the general area of the city by the compartment :)

There are 8 pages of search results
Title: Re: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: midlife on July 13, 2017, 03:18:13 PM
Another thing to consider is to look for "engine compartment black" instead of "bay".  A lot of us use compartment over bay.  Even some in the general area of the city by the compartment :)

There are 8 pages of search results

Maybe that's why I can't find Compartment Leaves in the grocery store....
Title: Re: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: ruger on July 13, 2017, 04:51:38 PM
Thanks everyone,  I will use different wording. 
Title: Re: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: ruger on July 14, 2017, 07:43:21 AM
Thanks,  I changed bay to compartment and got tons more info.  Thanks for the tip.
Title: Re: Correct shade of black for engine bay.
Post by: OldMustangGuy on August 18, 2017, 02:19:08 AM
I use SPI epoxy with about 30% reducer....you might have to vary the reducer a bit depending on temperature and humidity. It comes out with a very nice SG finish and is tough as nails. Stands up to brake fluid, etc. There have been previous comments about epoxy and UV degradation but SPI adds UV inhibitors plus I doubt if most cars will spend enough time with their hoods up in the open sun to make a difference anyway.

Epoxy has a bit of a learning curve to learn how to get it to spray nicely but once you get the hang of it you'll want to use it for everything.