[73LeMans]

So if I didn't like any of the OEM Pontiac engine colors and I didn't want to see the purple anymore, what color would I be painting the engine and trans? I couldn't do black. So many people do black it never has enough contrast to look "right" to me. Plus it will be in a ginormous black engine bay. More black was not the answer.

I had given some thought to using a flat finish on the engine/trans and doing it in some off color shade, like medium gray, bronze, or champagne, you know, much like the route a lot of the customizers were taking. (Think Kindig) Then I thought about how those really only look good in bays of the same color or with something else to tie it to the exterior color of the car. A theme essentially.





It got me thinking. Seeing how I'm very few pieces away from collecting most all of the NOS panels for this car, and knowing that some day Id lay down "real" paint once those were mounted, I gave thought to how I'd want it all to look. Would I leave it black and gray? (Fun Fact - The gray only came about as a result of mixing black and white Rustoleum quarts. Yeah, sheer brilliance, I know. My painting acumen astounds even me) Maybe I would finally choose a bolder color, like a candy copper, or perhaps the forever-awesome-no-matter-what-its-on Brandywine? Even some of the factory colors on these cars looked great on so many examples from the last few years...Ascot Silver, Valencia Gold, Mesa Tan, Golden Olive, Burma Brown etc. I knew I'd keep the paint design, and I knew the black was going to stay, so it was merely a question of what the gray would become.

In a nice way to pay homage to the cars beginnings and have it come full circle to the car my Grandad bought and my Dad drove, I decided the original color was too hard to resist. That means code 24, Ditzler PPG 2523, Porcelain Blue Poly would replace the gray on the car (someday) but more importantly, be my choice for engine and trans.

I wont bore you with detail on the hassles of getting the right color mixed up (This is close, and metallic so not dead on) or complain about the expense of replacing my inline desiccant dryer system, or dive into the difficulties of keeping a 3 bay garage with no dehumidifier under "optimal painting conditions" or describe the nuisance a make shift paint booth becomes when the plastic isn't secured to the floor and the line sticks to it from the over spray, or the frustration of finally getting ready to paint and having the gun leak all over the place, and I wont even complain about moving into a garage with one more bay then I'm used to but having less space than I did before, I'll just give ya the good stuff -
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wait for it.....
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drumroll
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Single stage urethane. I got a bit close in some areas because the lighting was poor and I didn't take the time to adjust it. Because its a metallic, the metal flake tends to bunch up and run quicker than non metallics when that happens. I was upset about it, but then realized if I was smarter, I could have avoided the mistake.

Tip#7 - when spraying paint on an engine on a stand, roll the engine over so your always painting on a flat surface. This will minimize the effect of gravity on areas where the paint went on heavy

Realistically, it came out just fine. Sure its got some flaws, but when bigger flaws occur elsewhere, I'll focus on those and forget all about these.









I don't know how you painters do it, but every time I gear up to paint a big ticket item, it always takes me 62.485x longer than I imagined and am usually up until 3 am by the time the gun is finally cleaned. Is it just me? Normally not a problem, but I don't always paint on weekends!

I gotta say this though, very few things are more rewarding then putting in the time with some nasty Aircraft Remover, (who can afford to have a plane, much less use remover on it?) dealing with the goo and mess of old paint, getting down to the clean natural finish clearing away years of dirt and grime, and being able to bring it all back up again. Its a lot of work, but worth it when it comes out right. (or as close to right as I care to get!)