Strip it down so I can repaint it. nothing else.
To the bare metal sounds unnecessary..
Have a good one!

 

Well, as Bodyman from UK made his white, I should be able to do it aswell. Might just be satified with the aeroblue but hey, I need a hobby.

Out of all the dis-assembly sections, which one do you think will be the thoughest?I wonder if any special tools eg. Miller will be needed...

have a nice new year BMorgan! And everyone else on the thread! 360-180 included.

 

The only way I would do a color change on a Crossfire would be to create something I can't just go out and buy, like a white SRT or a better color. If I did a color change I would do it right and strip the car down to the shell (motor out, doors fenders hatch hood bumper covers all removed). I have seen many color changes where short cuts were taken and the owners might be proud and very happy but just about anyone else looking closely at the car thougtht is sucked.

 

Thanks for the opinion. Yep, so me changing it to white is the idea.
Everything except from lifting up the engine will be done. I can live wth that. But as you say everyhting else will be done. As you see above in the list.

 

If the original car was black you could get away with not removing the engine etc. Lantana is correct, if it's not done correctly and an odd color is under the hood and underneath it will look bad, real bad.
If one area of the original paint can be seen, you'll become sorry in the end. Do it correctly or forget about it.
Get a shabby spray job and the car will sink in value.

 

I would not even consider repainting the car if I was not willing to pull the engine. There are just too many things that cannot get done right with the engine in. Surely you do not believe that the firewall, fender wells, radiator supports, etc. can be painted with the engine in the car. So, if you understand that it cannot be done properly, and are willing to settle with just painting what can be easily reached, then you are basically saying that you are willing to do a half assed job just to get the color that you want. If repainting is what you want to do, I am a fan and supporter, but if you are going to cut corners and do a half assed job of it, I for one have lost interest in your progress. You know by now that I call it like I see it..... I have supported your decisions and have given you straight up advice when others have shot you down. This is one time that I cannot support your decision. I you are going to do it, do it right! Pulling the engine is not that big of a deal, and you will be thankful that you did it in the long run.

 

FUBAR,
I have to agree with whats being said here.
Like I tell my kids.....

"Do it right or don't do it"


But if you do decide to do it "right" ...good luck!

 

That's just wrong.

 

Wow Fubu didnt expect that response Sure anything that looks like it came from the set of fast & furious is boy racer but Ive seen SO many cars at shows that scream high class with an one of a kind paint job. By doing a simple color change your staying deep within the herd. You have an opportunity before you to do something jaw dropping and be classy. Think outside the box and I know you can pull it off. Good luck and happy new year

Pooly

 

Can't argue that, IRX. Not dealing with the engine bay would be heresy, but pulling the engine would probably be a deal-breaker.

But if a guy was really careful and diligent, he could possibly shoot all of the exposed original paint color under the hood flat black and come away with a satisfactory end game.

Thoughts?

 

Pulling the engine really isn't all that hard and would give a much better result.

 

Hi all and a happy new year!

My intensions are of course to make it as nice as possible. However I believe that lifting th engine is overkill for my part. If it de-values the car I do not really care as it strengthens the value for me Also, I am not painting it in a dodgy colour. Simple original alabaster white. I saw pictures of bodyman nd he managed to paint his engine bay very nicely. But as I find the Aeroblue nice I might stick with it.
25 days and counting... Have a nice one everybody!

 

I forgot, maybe you have any pointers on how much that can be loosened in the enginebay so the painter can reach the all corners.. As I do not have my SRT6 yet nor my N/A I cannot really imgine what is possible..

 

Do you have a paint shop picked out yet? They will be able to give you the best advice as to what you can do to save on labor costs. I will be surprised if you have found a reputable painter that will recommend leaving the engine in the car. At this point, lets hope that you like the blue. I do remember a previous post where you were talking about painting the engine bay with a brush, so that explains your knowledge in the matter. Yet you will dismiss the advice of people that work in a paint shop (GreenGhost), and others that have many many years experience painting cars. Sounds like you still have a few more life lessons to learn my friend.

I am curious about something, and maybe it is a cultural thing. Here in America, car enthusiasts are just as proud of what is under the hood (if not more so) as what is seen from the outside. Go to any meet or GTG, and you will find men (and women), hunched over the engine bay of a car admiring the work that has been done. A true enthusiast takes great pride in the engine bay and details it on a regular basis. This is the reason that you are getting so much negative feedback from members here. We can only imagine the horror of leaning over the hood of a beautiful Alabaster Crossfire and see some Aero Blue paint or a mixture or the two. If an engine bay to you is the place the mechanic looks at on occasion, then I guess that might explain it.

 

Hi! Thanks for the comments. My answers in red.

Do you have a paint shop picked out yet? They will be able to give you the best advice as to what you can do to save on labor costs. I will be surprised if you have found a reputable painter that will recommend leaving the engine in the car.

Well I have been discussing this with two very good paintshops / painters that actually won prizes / scandinavian masters in paintjobs or something similar. I have seen about 25 pics of the UK guy Bodymans paintjob also in the enginebay and it looks just fine without remoiving the whole engine. Of course it will be better if I did lift the engine but I am not going to have my car as a show car.

At this point, lets hope that you like the blue. Me too. I do remember a previous post where you were talking about painting the engine bay with a brush, so that explains your knowledge in the matter. Well I am no professional painter that works in a paintshop no, and also my choice of vocabular was improper. I meant that it would be possible to spray, or somewhat use some touch-up brush or whatever tool to paint the parts of the engine bay that the painter won't reach. Yet you will dismiss the advice of people that work in a paint shop (GreenGhost), and others that have many many years experience painting cars. Sounds like you still have a few more life lessons to learn my friend. I have not dismissed any advice at all, I am liseing to what everyone has to say to at a later stage make my own mind up. Who knows, I might ven stick with the blue.

I am curious about something, and maybe it is a cultural thing. Here in America, car enthusiasts are just as proud of what is under the hood (if not more so) as what is seen from the outside. Go to any meet or GTG, and you will find men (and women), hunched over the engine bay of a car admiring the work that has been done. A true enthusiast takes great pride in the engine bay and details it on a regular basis. This is the reason that you are getting so much negative feedback from members here. We can only imagine the horror of leaning over the hood of a beautiful Alabaster Crossfire and see some Aero Blue paint or a mixture or the two. If an engine bay to you is the place the mechanic looks at on occasion, then I guess that might explain it

Well, probably not cultural thing. Here in Sweden car enthusiasts are just the same. If not more when speaking of old american cars. Nevertheless, me myself and I, I like design and the looks of this vehicle, and if I can change the appearance of this vehicle to my favourite colour, and make it just as good as Bodyman did without picking up the engine I could definitely live with having some blue spots that I later could fill in with a "brush"

What is nice though is that I am liking the frontbumper a lot. It is way nice! even the alloys are growing on me. I wonder how the car would look like with white SRT alloys and blue body.. Still working on the wing. ;D

I am soooo keen on meeting it (the pearl) for the first time

 

Yep, it would probably be best to have the car for a while..... Let it grow on you..... Before making any decisions. Good luck with it. Looking forward to seeing pics when you get her.

 

Hi everyone!

I found this on re-painting the SLK. I think engine bay looks just fine.
Got my yellow SLK back yesterday (pics) - Page 2 - Mercedes Benz SLK World Forum
Anyone else fid some cool repaint photos?

 

Wow...... beautiful color. Too bad he did not decide to pull the engine. Even from the picks that he put up (which does not show the whole story), there are numerous places in the pics where you can see under spray. Sad..... sad..... sad indeed! As meticulous as you were about finding the right car, I would think that you would be just as meticulous as to what you do to it.

Not a good example to justify your point IMHO!

 

Check bodymans photos, they are on the forum somewhere. I got them all in an e-mail, and it looks great. To lazy to pull them all on to the forum.
As you said, I could also see some parts that were undersprayed. But anyways, I see your point. I will post a good pic of mine when its done. (If I do it that is ;D)

 

What are you looking at spending an how much work would you save taking the car apart yourself?

Here is the US, a complete color change like that, done right, would run you $6,000 - $8,000. If you had the car completely stripped, prepped and ready to shoot, you could find a good painter who'd do it for $2,000.

My question is - if you're willing to take the car apart yourself, why not shoot the paint yourself?