458 Repainting 458 engine plenum in VHT wrinkle red

I've used VHT paint (black) a number of times. You'd be well advised to watch YouTube for tips and tricks and also do a few test sprays.

The key things are heat of the surface you are painting (i.e. more heat usually enhances the wrinkle effect as it takes place) as well as outside temperature. Also, if you get any dust or any lint or anything in the surface, forget about trying to remove it. It will interrupt the wrinkle process and leave an unsightly spot.

Usually two coats is the most you can do, because things go side ways.

As far as stripping the existing paint, you can use a paint remover that you spray on. It's a messy job and I would suggest doing it in the sink, not on the car. You can usually get most of the paint off and then follow up cleaning the surface using microfiber towel / paper towel and something like B12 chemtool carb cleaner and/or fuel injector cleaner.

Attempting this job with the plenum still on the car is a terrible idea and probably doomed to failure. I mean, it's possible to do it, but I wouldn't recommend that approach unless you are very skilled at this sort of paint job.

use #400 grit sand paper on a sanding block to remove the paint over the letters, then follow up with #800 and #1000+ depending on what final finish you want.

Here are some photos showing the job I did on my truck. The Black VHT paint works really nicely.

Ray
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I would love to hear how this goes.

 

In to see the final result of the in-car painting.


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Brush a paint that is formulated to go into an aerosol can ? Crazy.

Not only are total solids different so is the solvent.

For what its worth , i could be wrong but i highly doubt that Ferrari would have used a 1 k thermoplastic resin on an engine. Most likely a 2 k or powder coating.

Badly executed paint finishing sometimes looks worse than flaking paint.

 

When I built my MR2 I just found it easier to buy the part new. Intake Plenum. Ive seen so many that were painted badly. However looks like you did a great job

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What can i say ? I was just giving you product information which i am well acquainted with. Your car , you can do what you like. Me wouldn't do it.

 

When you strip the paint off it will all fall into the engine bay. How do you plan to thoroughly clean it? Sounds like it will be a mess. I think it will be more time consuming to not remove the covers to prep and paint vs. leaving them on.

 

I think the biggest issue might turn out to be using a brush vs. spraying it on.

I would definitely do some sample areas to see if that works. It might work, however I think you'd have to work pretty fast. As I remember from the times I've sprayed VHT paint, the wrinkle effect kicks off fairly quickly once the paint is down (especially if it's warm out). Also, heating the part slightly really enhances how well it works. If I remember correctly, on my Toyota valve cover, I bought the temperature of the valve cover up to about 125 or 140 in the oven before spraying the wrinkle paint down.

Also, once the reaction starts, if you interrupt the process, it really does down hill fast. You have to leave the part alone while the paint does its wrinkle thing. So my thinking is that attempting to brush it on could create problems for the wrinkle process and interrupt the effect. Also, as I remember, the thickness of the paint has an impact on the final product as well. If you spray the paint on (or brush it) and you end up with a thick area, I believe that messes things up a little (you end up with a more wrinkled patch as I remember).

Again, my suggestion would be to do some sample pieces and see how it turns out and get a feel for the paint and how the reaction takes place.

As far as attempting to do all this on the car, my biggest concern isn't spaying or painting the part while it's on the car; you might be able to pull that off. My biggest concern would be paint stripping the part while it's on the car and having the vapors from the paint remover affecting other painted areas near by. Even small splashes of paint remover can destroy an otherwise nice paint job, so be sure to be super careful.

If you can remove the parts from the car, I think that would be time well spent.

Ray

 

+1

I have to second that view. Even though removing the covers would be a bit more time consuming as compared to not removing them, I think in the long run it will work out better and give you a better final result in the end.

Ray

 

I’d agree with most on here. My plenums are doing the same thing and I understand it is a nightmare to remove them and also very likely that in the process of disassembly and reassembly that something will break or be done incorrectly. I have a powdercoat booth and stripping bath so once off car could easily get them to like new. However, as said above it’s a nightmare to get off and reinstall correctly.

But, after saying all this I WOULD NOT USE CHEMICAL STRIPPER ON THEM WHILE ON CAR. It would be nearly impossible to not have some run, splash, or fumes from the chemical ruin other parts.


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I’d guess they would look better chipping than the result of paining while still installed. That’s without considering the mess you will still likely make doing them while installed. Only way to do them in my opinion is to remove them……so mine will stay chipped until they get really bad.


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Do you have photos of the current plenums?

Ray

 

Yeah, I can see why you'd want to re-paint those

Ray

 

You should strip the paint and polish those things.. that would look pretty slick.

Ray

 

Its a 458 easy to take them off, I just wouldn't do it but rather a dealer.

 

i second taking off manifold but if you felt compelled, try scuffing existing wrinkle paint lightly, clean everything with acetone/rag and spraying it after blocking the rest of the engine bay. it may not last long but it'll look lot better than what you have especially with the hatch closed. but honestly taking that off doesn't look too hard? install new gaskets, and do plugs while you're in there. you'll have a good time.

 

Dan at NormalGuySupercar did a video on his YouTube channel about repainting the plenum covers on his 458 Italia. It shows the takeoff and the replacement (another video) of the freshly powder coated plenums.

I don’t have the link offhand, but a quick YouTube search will get you set off on the right foot to see what’s involved in removal and replacement of the plenums. His videos do not show the powder coating process, but we all know what that looks like anyway.

P.S. I should think that refurbishment of the plenums *might* be done in situ, but it will take someone with exceptional skill at masking and someone with good hand to eye coordination and a large dose of luck to get an acceptable result.

I have brushed crinkle finishes before, but it’s not for the faint of heart or hand, as disaster lurks with every brush stroke. Standing on the floor and leaning over the side to brush it on is IMHO, a surefire way to muck it up… unless you are *well* versed with controlling various types of artists brushes.

IMHO, You will need a platform where you can rest your body weight and allow yourself to paint in comfort with a steady hand. I’m a professional artist and brushing a crinkle paint was challenging for me and I use artists brushes regularly.

As others have said, it’s going to be a tall order to do them in situ… Check out Dans videos for a heads up on removal and reinstalling the plenums for an additional option.

I wish you much good luck and success, no matter your choice.

Cheers!

 

If you watch the Normalguysupercar video on this you will quickly see this is a massive job which he even says he regrets doing himself. There are all kinds of hoses and cables connected and very hard to reach fasteners.


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As always, I have no idea what Mandalay has been smoking or micro-dosing over there, but I don't think I would classify this job under the "easy" category. Even when I remove the plenum and runners on my 4-cylinder Toyota motor, it's a major pain in the rear. I can only imagine how fun the job must be on the 458.

Moreover, Rexcat458 perfectly sums up my sentiments regarding doing this job with a brush vs. spraying:

"disaster lurks with every brush stroke"

LOL. Well said Yoda, well said. This job is definitely, "Do or fail miserably, there is no try"

And this is not just a comedic exaggeration. As soon as the wrinkle reaction starts, it cannot be interrupted or you just end up with an ugly empty area in the paint. Fixing a misstep in wrinkle paint and making it look nice is next to impossible also. Even a tiny speck of dust or lint can ruin an otherwise beautiful job.

So there are a lot of subtle things about this job which makes it much more difficult than you might think at first glance.

Ray

 

wow.