Painting the Engine panel?

[Benz Newbie]

hey guys ive been reading the articles in this forum while waiting to be activated, and i wanted to paint the top engine panel black on my 95 c-klasse. im using the left over brake caliper paint, but i dont know how to remove the panel? any tips? your experienc is appreciated

[JRE320]

What engine panel are you talking about???? :confused:

[Benz Newbie]

u know the inline 6 in a c280, the top panel that is bolted on that has the spark plugs underneath. i was thinking of painting it, but what tool should i buy to take it off?

[Proven Guilty]

i want to say it was a 4 or 6mm allen wrench. there should be 4 bolts on the top...
http://www.famousdiscoveries.com/images/lg/25_pc_alan_wrench_set_sae_mm_med.jpg

[SLAMMED_C]

hmmm... cant remember how many there are.. but I think you want a 5mm allen key or socket to remove the bolts that hold the cover in place. you will need to remoce the cross over tube for you intake first. two 10mm nuts, and unclip the mass from either the intake cross over tube or the air box.
hope this helps.

[Section 8]

any one painted their engine on the l4 engine? mines lost its clean look and found a grubby one

[Benz Newbie]

thanks alot for the tips, ill try to find the tools i need now

[SLAMMED_C]

Painted my valve cover red, and my spark plug cover black.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/2/web/266000-266999/266992_222_full.jpg

[Benz Newbie]

niccceeee thats how i think ill paint my cover black too

[jayvee]

Originally posted by SLAMMED_C
Painted my valve cover red, and my spark plug cover black.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/2/web/266000-266999/266992_222_full.jpg

i'm thinking of painting my valvecover as well. did you have to remove it still before painting it? the red and black combo looks cool.

[SLAMMED_C]

yes I did have to remove my valve cover when I painted it, just much easier to do and its a more professional job too if you remove it.
dont forget to replacethe valve cover gasket before you reinstall the valve cover.
I used a high temp engine paint for the valve cover and spark plug cover.

[Benz Newbie]

"I used a high temp engine paint "

i have some left over brake caliper paint that says its ceramic and withstands 500 degrees, would it be alright to paint it with the caliper paint?

[blind26]

For the center plastic part, I'd clean it up real good with paint prep and use a good plastic-friendly primer. From there, use a high-temp engine paint of your choice...

For the metal part of the valve cover, it's a little tricker. Mercedes uses an aluminuim-alloy that becomes distorted and brittle over time. To make matters worse, the paint that is on the engine cover is a powder-coated process that once it starts to bubble and fail, spreads through the whole cover.

If you want to tackle the valve cover like I did, here is a quick write up:

1. Order new valve cover gaskets (you will need them, the stockers dry out and become brittle 'plastic')
2. Remove valve cover and remove old brittle gaskets.
3. Cover open engine w/ plastic to prevent debris from getting into the engine
4. Sand or media blast (with a fine medium, anything too corse WILL mar up the soft aluminum)
5. As you take the powercoating off, you will notice how distorted the cover really is. From here, using a sanding wheel and some patience, smooth out the cover (this isn't nessesary, just makes the final product look better)
6. Especially around the coil packs, you will see cracks in the valve cover. This is due to heat/thermal expansion. For these spots, I just took them down a little with a griding wheel and fixed the issues with some light application of JB weld.
7. After you are done with the outside, tackle the inside. The same process that was on the outside of the valve cover, is on the inside as well, and you will notice the paint has bubbled/fallen INTO your motor.
8. Remove the plastic breather caps inside the valve cover using philips head screwdriver. Be careful doing this, because you can easily strip these scews.
9. Either sandblast/paint stripper/sand this part as well.
10. After that is all stripped, make sure you still have a clean working outside surface.
11. Mask off the rubber breather holes and intake screws with painters tape. You don't want paint on these parts.
12. Use 2 even coats of Engine Hi-Temp primer. Let set for specified set time (I think around 30-40 minutes)
13. Use color of choice Hi-Temp engine paint. Make sure you use even light coats. Less is more at this stage. Make sure you do multiple coats to get a nice finish. (I would not recomend clear coating the cover. I say this because obviously you are going to want to use a hi-temp clear. Well, I tried this process once, and had very bad results, which caused me having to paint again. The clear set nice, but after drying, left me with a milky-white finish that looked horrible)
13a. Do NOT paint the inside of the cover again. This will just lead to failure like stock later on.
14. Let the paint set for a good 24 hours before touching
15. Don't forget to bolt up your oil breathers inside the valve cover (I forgot the first time :rolleyes: )
16. Install your new gaskets
17. Install your valve cover back on the motor. If I recall (please double-check) the torque specs on the valve cover bolts are 12 ft lbs.
18. Bask in your glory.

Wow, that wasn't a short write-up at all! lol

Here is samples of what I did:

This is my first attempt. This is the one that I clear-coated with Hi-temp. You can see the milkyness of the finish. I am kind of glad the clear failed, because I wasn't happy with the color. It was supposed to be a darker red, but came out orange.
http://blind.4nracing.com/gallery/031007/images/IMG_2583.jpg

Here is my second attempt, this time with a different red and no clear.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/blind26/benzmotor/IMG_2695.jpg

Hope this helps.

[Benz Newbie]

thanks for that in-depth write up, that red-black combo looks REALLY good, all i need to do now is just find all the materials i need and start the painting process

[Benz Newbie]

is that a C36 engine? ive seen the C36 and C280 engines and they look very similiar, but howcome one is 36 and other is 28? is it possible to modify a c280 to replicate it into a c36? just curious

[blind26]

This particular motor is out of a C280, with the 2.8L displacement. C36 engines have a slightly different valve cover and come in at 3.2L of displacement, and some even at 3.6L.

This particular motor is our test mule for alot of new parts that we will be coming out with, and may eventually be stroked out to a 3.6L.

[predrag1]

yea my c280 engine cover looks slightly different

nice color, I also have this in plan, might do it in gray, red or orange is too bright for my white car

[C280/////AMG]

Blind, the engine looks great! Planning to do red/black.

Btw, i noticed your exhaust manifold is also black. What did you use?????

[blind26]

Hightemp ceramic paint. Helps keep the heat semi-contained inside of the header...