Are you freakin kidding me?  I just got my new issue and I'm skimming through it like I always do when I first get it, and I see an article for spending $700 to paint the engine compartment.  I read this magazine for the down to earth articles.  Not much loud, fast, or real about that.  

I'm sure they tried to whip down to L.A.'s "skid row" and roll a few bums for "rattle cans" just to keep the budget down for ya. . . .  

Of course real paint work is obscenely expensive these days.

But here's a budget tip for those who can't (or won't) spring for expensive underhood glam:  Sears Weatherbeater house paint.  Just brush it on and your engine room's all set for the next twenty years . . . .

An even cheaper aesthetic tip is to spray a couple of quarts of old motor oil around "under the bonnet"  (your leaking Pep Boys breathers may already be starting this process) and then drive down a dirt road a few times.  Instant patina! 

(Of course you probably ought to "mask" off the headers before you start or you'll get that "flame job" you've always wanted a little earlier than planned.)

prices could have been brought down significantly if they bought their materials in less than a gallon size. in fact, id have just bought  a quart of epoxy primer, the sandpaper, the base and a quart of clear (maybe 2 quarts) to do the whole job. that would have knocked maybe $400 off the price right there.

HOWEVER - keep in mind that they have been doing alot of paint and body stories lately. the extra primer they have left over can be used to you know... primer and help paint the rest of the car.

good story though, and glad to see you guys arent afraid to mention the goofs too lol. i cant tell how many times people have come back into my store to tell me how they havent put the hardener in the paint/primer and have to hear the bad news of washing it off.

LOL.....I did have all that on my old caprice put 30.000 miles on the same oil and never give up. wind up crashing it on a three one block from home so I just have it towed away and walk home, what a dumb ass .have to ride the bus for about half of year.  

700 bucks floored me too... Got my last 3 whole-car paint jobs from Maaco for only 250 each. I got great underhood results with similar prep work outlined in the article, but using Krylon Gloss Black. Yes, it's a can, but most of the results are in the prep work. Maybe I'm just a cheap skate... I'd hate to see what it would cost to do the whole car at that rate...  

I did the same thing. Some hand sanding two cans of primer and the two cans of gloss black. I guess gloss is not envogue anymore, but it still looks good ten years later.  

Yeah, it caught be off gaurd too. BUT you need to keep in mind that paint work is not there strong suite and they admit that. Maybe they were planning on making mistakes which they did and I sure a lot of us would. At least they're not telling you they bought the materials for some unrealist prices for the sake of a good read. I think the $700 is worth it compared to the roofing tar or what ever it was that they sprayed the compartment before! Maybe they're going to paint the rest of the car when they are up to it.  

Hi guys,

What Huskinhano and sixty9cougar said are correct.  We bought extra stuff because we wanted to have enough material to account for mistakes (like not activating the clear!) and to do more of the car than just under the hood.  Plus, I wasn't sure how far the stuff would go- so we erred on the side of caution and bought a lot.  In hindsight, I should have mentioned that in the article!!

Anyway, Doug and I just finished painting his trunk using more of the stuff we initially bought for the engine compartment story.  Look for that in December's issue.  So far we've used about half of the primer and blue and clear paint that we bought.  So that $700 is going much further than just under the hood.

By the way, are you still liking the paint and body stories?  Is the information helpful?  Is this stuff that you would like to do to your own cars?  Or, are we doing too much paint and body crap?  

Thanks for your interest!

John

John, I'm just your average low buck car guy with a family so I know money can be tight on our own cars. I was a little disappointed with the issue where the engine compartment was painted with the roofing tar or what ever. To me it was a serious turn off in interest in the Ramabler as to the tone of the project in general. I'm not expecting high end work but your refurbishing the compartment was unexpected and a real moral booster for me! I thought your article was honest, straight foward and what could be acomplished by most of us. Keep up the great work! Makes me wish I still had my '58 Rambler and my '72 304 4 speed Gremlin X.

Tom

Hey John

I was wondering why you were pictured painting Doug's car. I thought he was the magician who could take pictures of himself while working on the car. I realize you wrote the article. Nice job, by the way. I like how you guys show you are just as human as the next guy. My mistakes usually come from rushing or too much cheap beer.

I encourage all the body and paint stories. You've seen my 65 Impala SS and somehow managed to get all those pics of it in the Anti-tour article. I would like to suggest full quarter replacement article. I have new quarters I'd like on my car and out of my living room. If you need a donor car, I'll be right over.

still diggin the paint and body stories in the mag. maybe thats just because i like the paint world but hey, its cool to see it come along in a do it yourself fashion. especially with the actual people involved with the car doing the work. nothing against taking the car somewhere to have the work done at all, but the paint and body process is just so much different than the mechanical standpoint of a car its just always worth a shot when you are building something. unlike most people probably on this board, i would rather do body and paint on a car than put an engine together.

besides, i spent more on the heads for my new FE than i spent on the entire paint and body process for my car. bah!

Sorry, guys.  I dig the mag for the go and not the show.  Not that I don't appreciate that aspect of car crafting, it's just not what I read this magazine for.  But don't mind me, I'm just a midwest hick from iowa.  

Hey-  
Thanks for the feedback, and please keep it coming.  Paint and body stories always seem to rate well on the reader surveys, so we are trying to get a story in every few issues.  The reason I'm doing the painting is that I've taken a couple of autobody classes at LA Trade Tech college.  I'm with sixt9cougar in that I'd prefer to do body work than assemble an engine.  I have a lot to learn, though!  But it's cool that Dooug's offered his car up as a test vehicle to practice on.  

The point of these articles on the Rambler is that there are ways to practice painting your car without totally *** it up.  Working on the out of sight places (under the hood and inside the trunk- see December's issue) has allowed me to get more practice, make more mistakes to learn from, and build up skills and technique to prepare to paint an entire car.  Which is hopefully what we will accopmplish for April's issue- the official "paint and body" issue.  

Jeff- those two '65 Impala quarter panels must take up most of your living room!!  I'll mention the quarter panel job to Doug.  As far as I know, it's been a while since a job like that was done in CC.  

cutlasskid84- I totally understand what you're saying about go rather than show, and I know that a lot of people share your sentiments.  I've got no desire to perform a 100 point restoration on any car, and I think cars are meant to be driven, not pampered in climate controlled storage facilities.  But, I'm a total sucker for a smooth, clean paint job- especially if it was done by the car's owner.  We're trying to show that paint and body work is not out of the reach of the average guy.  I hope that's apparent in our stories.

Thanks again for your interest.
John

Of course a regular guy can do it...I did mine in the dead of winter in my unheated garage (I waited for a 50 degree day...had a space heater...and ended up sanding out a ton of runs...but hey...it looks good enough to make readers rides and impress every non-car show person out there).  

John, I hope it was Doug's $700 and not yours *LOL* Hey you get good at it, you can come to NJ and paint my 66 Mustang coupe.