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MG MGA - Engine Compartment Detailing

My car will need some minor sill repairs and a new paint job in a few years, but until then it still looks pretty good. The engine compartment is another story. It was sprayed with a matt finish black paint with many bits still in place.

How big of a job would it be to clean it up and re-paint ? Is it enough of a hassle that I'd be better off doing it in a few years with the rest of the car ?

I'm pretty good with the mechanical aspects, and can get the engine in and out, but haven't done body work or painting before.

Any advice would be welcome !

-Chuck
Chuck Mosher

Chuck
I have had my car for 5 years and I have done just what you are suggesting. The 2nd year I had the car I swapped engines and took that opportunity to clean up the engine compartment. I feel that even if I wasn't going to replace the engine It would have been worth doing it.
Kris Sorensen

Chuck
Having done this twice already I can say that my first attempt with the engine in was not really that great. It was an improvement but I could not make a good job in all areas as access was restricted. As I had removed most of the small items from the engine bay it would have been simple at that time to remove the engine and make a proper job of it, a lack of engine hoist at the time was the only thing stopping me.
A couple of years later the engine had to be removed so I stripped the whole thing back to bare metal and made a proper job of it. Much better and for sure longer lasting.

Neil
Neil Purves

Chuck,
Something you might consider doing...
Remove engine, radiator and heater. Degrease/scrub all surfaces. Scrape down any loose or flaking paint. A little sanding may help. Wipe down with PreSol or similar wax/grease remover. Paint everthing with regular Rustoleum brush-on primer. Use a foam brush. This eliminates the need to deal with overspray. Top coat with brush-on Rustoleum paint that matches your exterior. Use a Foam brush again. The stuff flows great and is durable. My car is OE White. Rustoleum white is bright white. I mixed in a little Rustoleum brown to tone down the white and get a pretty close match. You may have to do something similar depending on your color. It looks surpisingly good. Engine bay was black, inside of boot was red. Now they match the outside of the car well enough that I'm not ashamed to open them in public!
Cheers,
GTF
G T Foster

This thread was discussed between 23/02/2010 and 24/02/2010

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