RX7Club.com - Mazda RX7 Forum - To repaint, or not to repaint...that is the question

RX7Club.com - Mazda RX7 Forum (https://www.rx7club.com/)

- 3rd Generation Specific (1993-2002) (https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/)

- - To repaint, or not to repaint...that is the question (https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/repaint-not-repaint-question-1149120/)

To repaint, or not to repaint...that is the question

So over the past couple years I’ve been struggling with the idea of getting my engine bay repainted. The exterior paint is in great condition, other than some bubbling along the bottom under the anti-corrosion film (or whatever it is) and I’ve decided I can live with that. The engine bay however, is a different story.

I like to think of myself as a purist. I don’t care for car shows, or parking alongside other cars for photo ops...all of my pictures are mostly coincidental. My #1 reason for purchasing this car was for performance. I love to drive it, and I enjoy every single second of interacting with it between on the road or on jack stands. That’s why I haven’t changed a single thing cosmetically about it since the day I bought it.

So back to this engine bay. Long story short, it’s pretty rough. You can tell it ran with an exhaust leak for the better part of 2 decades because of some extreme discoloration beside where the turbo sits. Paint is flaking on the strut towers. Bare metal in many places along the sides of the bay and the radiator support. I just can’t decide if it’s important enough to me to rip everything out and go through the hassle of repainting, partially because the paint is so expensive, the car would be somewhere other than my garage which I’m not sure I’m comfortable with, and particularly because I don’t want the car to be down just for bay paint. I don’t have any plans on selling the car soon, but I also understand life comes at you fast and any prospective buyer would probably be put off by the condition of the bay (after the mileage) so that also got me to thinking.

What do y’all think? I’m curious to read your opinions on the matter. Thanks!!

I’ve got a similar discoloration issue with the paint in my engine bay but it doesn’t sound as severe. Nothing is flaking or burned. Just a faded look that looks pink’ish compared to the (VR) exterior. I attribute that to the issues Mazda reportedly had with premature fading. My car had a complete respray sometime prior to my ownership...probably by a dealer. But obviously it didn’t include the bay. I missed an opportunity about 13 years ago to fix it during a rebuild. Probably just continue to mitigate it with “NuFinish” until the engine comes out a second time.

IMO, some judicious touch-up with a brush would make it acceptably presentable, particularly with yellow, which would not show very much contrast between the old and new. When (if) you have to pull the engine or do other major work in the engine bay, paint it properly then.

If it were me, I'd focus on touching up those areas where it's bare metal or significantly beat up, mainly to prevent rust & corrosion from setting in, and defer a full refinish job until the next time you pull the motor. Hopefully you can get to all of those areas with rattle-can or brush on products with the engine still in place.

I faced a similar problem with my FC, as the ABS pump puked and the brake fluid stripped a bunch of the paint below it. Fortunately my FC is black, so it was a lot easier to color match the under-hood areas myself with rattle can paints. When I did my last engine build in 2017, I cleaned/degreased & prepped the entire bay for refinishing. Then applied a brush-on POR15 rust preventive coating (black) on all the areas that were stripped of paint, and those structural members that are potentially vulnerable to rust (strut towers, cross member, lower firewall/frame rail sections, etc.). Finally I just sprayed on a finish coat of Dupli-color rattle can paint that was the closest match I could find at the time to my Brilliant Black PZ paint code. Looked good enough for me.

the FC's are pretty bad, the brake system leaks like crazy, and i've done a bunch where i just paint the drivers frame rail and touch up other stuff. it sounds kind of hacky, but turns out pretty nice. EDIT, it all gets a clean, and a wax too

i get paint from here, https://www.automotivetouchup.com/ and so far the match has been really good

I would cover anything in danger of rusting but not touch it beyond that. It's very difficult to repaint a car in the way the factory did it.

Post a picture up of your engine bay so we can get an idea of what it looks like.

You really don't have to do an all-out repaint on an engine bay. I repainted my strut towers years ago since they were so scuffed up.- just removed some of the easy things around them, masked up, and painted. I used real automotive 2-part paint in a small Harbor Freight paint gun, turned out great and has held up well.

If you don't have the desire to do real 2-part paint yourself you may be able to find a shop or hobbyist locally that is comfortable with doing it. Many body shops wouldn't bother with something relatively small. I think you can also get pre-mixed 2-part touch up paint in a spray can as well so it sprays on like regular spray paint but has the hardener and everything. Not sure how easy it is to get, if it has to be ordered or could be bought online. If you already have an air compressor, you can get $50 of paint and a $50 gun from Harbor Freight and be good to go. Paint is the easy part, prep is the big work.

Personally I would do it. You are lucky enough to have a CYM and it's worth keeping it looking and running good.

Dale

I second Dale’s comment as it give me a reason to see more pics of that CYM in your sig!

i take a rag, and brush, and some cleaner (i use simple green), and scrub it clean. in the places where i can i use a clay bar. then touch it up with paint, and then wax.
stuff turns out really well, without having to take the whole thing apart
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...dd54dc8998.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7dfa49f738.jpg

I would do a partial repaint yourself if you have access to an air compressor.

Get one of these -

https://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-...tor-62381.html

Find a local paint store that does auto body paint. Get them to mix up a small batch of CYM single stage - that means no clear coat required. Have them get you some mixing cups and show how to mix the paint, thinner, and hardener, it's not tricky.

Take out what you can that's in the way, mask up everything else. Mask up the WHOLE CAR, spray paint like this gets EVERYWHERE. Get a GOOD respirator.

Clean, clean, clean those surfaces with a pre-paint cleaner, they have to have ZERO oils on them. Scuff with a scotch brite pad. Any rusty spots you need to stop the rust.

Spay 2-3 light coats down and you'll be in business.

This is a real 100 foot view of it but it's not that hard. Watch some Youtube videos too. Get the spots that bug you when you pop the hood.

Also, the back support part of the rear bumper has been painted CYM at some point, that should be just aluminum FYI.

Dale