DIY: Painting your R18 Engine cover and more (Pictures)

[sk8nava]

Ok, well this is my first DIY to do so PLEASE bear with me. I'm re-doing the idea from another thread on painting your Manifold cover but every picture on there is an SI so I thought I would help out some of the R18 owners out there

First you will need a few number of supplies.
-Screwdiver
-1000 grit Sanding block
-Duplicolor High Heat Engine Enamel
(NOTE: Please do not use spray paint, make sure the paint can withstand high tempurature. Doesnt have to be duplicolor but engine enamel works best, as opposed to the spray paint that will not hold up against high heat.)
-Duplicolor Auto Spray Clear Coat
-A Razor Blade/Exacto blade
-Painter's masking tape, or whatever your preference
-Blowdryer
Here's what needs to be used on it...


1. First, use the screwdriver to unscrew the engine over off. It takes like half a turn to do it, and note that I used my bottle opener from my keys to get it off


2. Once you have done that just pull it right off..you might have to jiggle it a little bit to get it removed, but no force is needed


3. Now that you have that off, you will need to wash it good. Keep it free from dirt and dust. Then dry it off well.


4. This is where things start getting fun! Go ahead and sand down the cover using the 1000 grit sand block, or whatever you have handy, making sure that you arent trying to dig deep into it only just skimming the surface off.


5. Next, go ahead and wipe off the dust from the cover that you have just sanded off. Its good to have a damp towel handy as well so you can wipe anything off and keep it lookin clean and free of junk. After you got that done, spray your first coart of Primer onto it. This is where the Blowdryer comes into play. It speeds up the process a little bit. I went ahead and put three coats of primer onto this before going any further, and blowdried after each application for at least 5-10 mins.



6. Ok..now its time to paint the honda the color of your choice. Go ahead and tape off the HONDA around the letters making it enclosed. There are so many other methods of doing this as well, but this is what worked for me. After applying, then blowdry really good.


7. And this is where it gets tricky. Please make sure that you have blowdried this completely or you will have problems....trust me. Do exactly the opposite of what you did in step 6. Place a strip of tape over the letters, then using the exacto blade, CAUTIOUSLY cut the letters out. You need some patience for this method, there will be some trial and error.


8. Now its time to paint your cover!! Go ahead and spray your first coat on, then blow dry for 5-10 mins just as you did with the primer and continue do so for however many coats of paint you apply.


9. Once you have finished painting, and completely dried your cover, you are ready to take off your tape and take a look. If you are satisfied with your work, please go ahead and apply your clear coat to it. Apply as much as desired, and remember to blowdry after each application.


10. You are FINISHED!!
Go ahead and install your engine cover back on and you are ready to go my friend. And if you want you can also get a little creative with it as I did.


Here's where I got a creative. I went ahead and painted my spark plug covers and intake filter cover to give it some life under there. I felt the cover alone was really..well..alone and looked outta place so there ya go.


I hope this is usefull to all of you R18 owners out there.
Comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated

[samx109]

nice DIY!

[sk8nava]

thanks...yeah just as I was posting and previewing the post...I didnt know that someone else made a DIY on the R18 cover...I saw that just as I posted it and it was under mine, but now my has moved to the Engine DIY so im happy

[krazyguy187]

nice! will do mine

[gg_civ615]

Originally Posted by sk8nava

thanks...yeah just as I was posting and previewing the post...I didnt know that someone else made a DIY on the R18 cover...I saw that just as I posted it and it was under mine, but now my has moved to the Engine DIY so im happy

lol i noticed that too =P

[sk8nava]

lol srry about that dude...yeah i saw your post after mine posted. seems like we did pretty much the same way to paint it. and I know you had soem trouble doin the blue tape around the HONDA lol that was the frustrating part.
and props on that R18 decal..thats pretty nice lookin

[07mugencivic]

nice DIY...good job

[gg_civ615]

Originally Posted by sk8nava

lol srry about that dude...yeah i saw your post after mine posted. seems like we did pretty much the same way to paint it. and I know you had soem trouble doin the blue tape around the HONDA lol that was the frustrating part.
and props on that R18 decal..thats pretty nice lookin

yeah man its cool haha
painters tape was a PITA

i'm re-doing mine sometime soon, mostly the r18 part

[krazy2o6]

how did you get to paint the spark plugs o.O

[krazy2o6]

where did you buy the dupicolor?

[sk8nava]

Originally Posted by gg_civ615

yeah man its cool haha
painters tape was a PITA

i'm re-doing mine sometime soon, mostly the r18 part

yeah i redid mine lol...all I did though actually was i went and bought some rt brushes at home depot and just sprayed some paint on the box and just painted around the edges where the paint rolled off onto. took like 10-15 mins.

Originally Posted by krazy2o6

how did you get to paint the spark plugs o.O
where did you buy the dupicolor?

they were pretty easy...ill take one off here today and add another DIY to this and show you guys...granted its already paint it but ill show you where to put the tape and whatnot.
and the duplicolor is from Autozone for like $5 and some change...i spent prolly like $22 I believe.

[sk8nava]

Originally Posted by sk8nava

yeah i redid mine lol...all I did though actually was i went and bought some art brushes at home depot and just sprayed some paint on the box and just painted around the edges where the paint rolled off onto. took like 10-15 mins.



they were pretty easy...ill take one off here today and add another DIY to this and show you guys...granted its already paint it but ill show you where to put the tape and whatnot.
and the duplicolor is from Autozone for like $5 and some change...i spent prolly like $22 I believe.

[sk8nava]

umm...ok well i dont know why it quoted everything I just said there but yeah anyways...

OK!! Here's a mini DIY for those interested in wanting to do the Spark Plug covers.
--Please use the same Engine Enamel Paint used on your engine cover. NOT SPRAYPAINT--


1. Go ahead and disconnect the the spark plugs.


2. Then loosen the nut from the bolt and unscrew the cover off. Once untightened you can just unscrew off it with your hand.


3. Now just pull it out.


4. Ok, heres what you wanna tape off on the covers.

A: Place a piece of tape over the connector hole so no paint can leak through and get into it. it doesnt have to be all the way to the edge just because it will be covered when you connect it back. Only make sure the hole is covered completely


B: Cover the top part now.


C: Now go ahead and cover the rest of the cover along the bottom.


5. After have completely taped off all that needs not to be painted, go ahead and use the Exacto Blade and cut out the edge of the tape on the top. The blade fits perfectly in the groove so this is pretty easy. It should look like this.


---Oh, whats not shown here is how I taped off that hole where the bolt goes through..all you do is place a small piece of tape over it and press it down hard...then use the Exacto to cut around the circle and hole then just peel the the edgings cover all the metal, that way there is no paint getting inside that on the metal---

6. Now just follow the steps on painting. Sand away on it but not to deep. then primer it, paint and clear coat those bad boys. Once finished, take the tape off, install them back on the car and they should look something like this.

[krazy2o6]

ty for that spark plug diy =]

[ViperSam]

Nice DIY. Is the sanding neccessary? I'm planning on painting my cover as well, but I don't want to sand.

You should get the JDM R18A1 cover. I bought mine from japanparts dot com and thats the one I'm going to paint!

[gg_civ615]

Originally Posted by ViperSam

Nice DIY. Is the sanding neccessary? I'm planning on painting my cover as well, but I don't want to sand.

You should get the JDM R18A1 cover. I bought mine from japanparts dot com and thats the one I'm going to paint!

you don't have to per se, but it won't look as good if you don't.
a light sanding with 1000grit like he said will work very nicely.
I used krylon fusion paint for plastic, and didn't sand it and it looked good.
I haven't run into any problems with the paint running or melting or anything under my engines temperature, so i'd assume its safe enough.

anywho...
i recommend sanding, for better quality in the end

[sk8nava]

Originally Posted by ViperSam

You should get the JDM R18A1 cover. I bought mine from japanparts dot com and thats the one I'm going to paint!

well this was pretty inexpensive to do for me which is why i went this route, but lend me the link to that cover i wouldnt mind checkin it out. i didnt know they made a cover

[krazy2o6]

what size are the bolts on the spark plugs?

[krazy2o6]

because i cant seem to get the spark plug's bolts off

[krazy2o6]

never mind my last 2 post i found out =]