What and how to gut engine bay?

[prodigy803]

Ok so I'm going to paint my whole car myself, and I have minimal experience. I'm not going to start until I finish all my research and practice on old parts [this little tid bit is for those who lilke to burn others ] but regradless. I want to paint the engine bay too and I've been reading up on it and I wanted to see everyones opinion.

I've learned that others left the engine and tranny in but took out parts that they could take out like resoivoirs and such. Tucked the rest in and covered everything with shop towels etc and rattled canned the whole thing. It looked good especially with cc but what do you guys think?

I was thinking about gutting the whole bay and going from there so I can actually get all the nicks and crannies. But I'm not as mechanically enclined as most of you guys (gotta start somewhere though right?) so i dont know where to begin. I bought the Chilton book on my car so I can take out the simple things like air intakes and all that good stuff but what about the engine and tranny, ac? and if I do take out the engine do I need to re-tune it?

Step by step help would be greatly appreciated if any of you have done this previously. I have a 6th gen EK hatch in case you were wondering. Thanks.

 

[ej_EXtasy]

Ok so I'm going to paint my whole car myself, and I have minimal experience.

 

[prodigy803]

It might sound like a stupid idea but hey I want to learn how to do body work and paint so why not on my own car? Everyone burns people on painting it themselves but what's the point of being an enthusiast if you're to scared to work on your own car. Everyone starts somewhere and this is where I'm starting so that's just my two cents on it. If I mess it up then start over simple as that so please leave the negative comments aside

 

[ej_EXtasy]

So take a painting class instead of half assing it. Look here and read.
http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=169300

 

[prodigy803]

thanks for the link hmm the difficult part is taking time out of my schedule to take a painting class =/ im in the military so it's really hard to take a class in a classroom environment...

 

[ej_EXtasy]

I'm just trying to save you time and money. Less time screwing up and less money spent screwing up. Just seems like a win win situation. What branch are you in?

 

[prodigy803]

navy, always out to sea so taking a class seems like out of the question but I'll look into it regardless. Maybe beg them for a couple lessons or two lol

 

[civic hatch]

im not gonna rag, just read up, pratice on old parts , go get a junk yard hood/door and pratice on that, thats what i did, mine came out ok, i just needed to learn more about flakes.
anyway pratice, choose a color that wont show everything, black, white are the hardest to paint they show every imperfection. silvers/grey are good at hiding small mess ups. the prep work is where you need to pratice the most, making sure the body is straight.
most paint shops (if not all) can have your paint mixed up so you wont run into many problems.
if your changing colors make sure you pull the doors, trunk, hood, interior, engine if you can that way everything matches.
its easier to pull the motor than try and paint around it.

again i cant stress practice, pratice, pratice..

good luck

 

[prodigy803]

to gut my engine bay pretty much drain all the fluids and take it apart piece by piece? is there anything i should be aware of during this procedure or just take it off and roll with it?

and thanks for the tips

 

[civicSIcoupe]

to gut my engine bay pretty much drain all the fluids and take it apart piece by piece? is there anything i should be aware of during this procedure or just take it off and roll with it?

and thanks for the tips

yeah drain all your fluids and remove all you can! take off your throttle body, air box, etc, all your hoses, take out your rad and fan if you can, take out your headlights, battery and holder, any reservoirs you can, and basically anything you can get your hands on! then cover everything else up and good luck!

 

[prodigy803]

mmk the research part is almost done woot now to go get my materials then practice with some old stuff