About a year ago, I made a post asking for help picking a color for my ‘81. I was debating between some different greys and blacks, some nardo-ish some more traditional. Eventually I landed on BMW Individual Gunmetal II. It’s a super dark, highly metallic grey, and the goal was to do black wheels, black interior and some red accents.

So with the engine out, I sent it into the paint shop, had the engine bay sprayed that color, and the rest of the car just primered. I did it this way with the intention of getting it all set up and running, and then driving it back to the shop when it was all done - that way I wouldn’t have to worry about scratching the car while working on it.

Well, the car is running and pretty much set to drive at this point, engine is back in the car and it’s time to bring it back in for paint…and in the 9 months or so since, I’ve started to have second thoughts. Everyone who has seen the engine bay is shocked when I tell them it’s grey, they all think it’s black (which is discouraging because I don’t want the car to appear black), and numerous people have been t vehemently trying to convince me go with a loud color like Amplify Orange. I initially thought AO was a little too modern for this car, but the idea is kind of growing on me. Regardless, I do like the idea of an orange, which makes it difficult.

My biggest hang up right now is the fact that I’ve already painted the engine bay Individual Gunmetal II. If I had gone with a satin black, I wouldn’t be here right now - I’d likely be changing the color. But because the engine bay is already grey, I feel like I now HAVE to go with this color. And in all honesty, I was a bit rushed into this at the time. We had to get the engine bay in for paint while the motor was out, I was pressed for time and initially WAS just going to do a satin black, but got convinced otherwise at the last second. I’m now regretting not going with my gut.

So what do you guys think? Should I stick with Gunmetal since it’s already in the engine bay? Or should I say screw it and have the bay not match the rest of the car?

I’m genuinely not looking for anyone to “say what I want to hear”, I just want real advice so I can be confident in the ultimate decision that I make.

Thanks!

 

just my opinion, when I see something like... a nice corvette paint job but see they didn't take off the handles, locks, mirrors etc I always wonder what would make someone not take the extra few days in a long project to remove and reinstall those items after spending all that money on paint and materials... all for just a few days of work.
I know it's easy for me to say but what's it going to take to remove the engine again... a few days worth of work, going to a semi gloss black can be done by yourself and not have to be sent back to the paint shop (frankly I think the semi glass black will look better regardless of color decision) this will also give you the time to decide on any color against that semi gloss black.

 

Well it's entirely up to you if you feel like the bay needs to match the exterior. For lots of folks a black engine bay is just fine with a nice new paintjob of any color. And you said it's a dark grey, but to everyone else it looks black, so it would probably look just fine without respraying.

 

If I were to paint the bay again, it would be black. I wouldn’t repaint to match whatever other color I chose again.

That said, I don’t plan to respray the bay. Taking everything out after I just put it al back in sounds like a nightmare!

 

 

BMW Individual Gunmetal II is absolutely not black in my eyes. I like this color. Perhaps it looks more black indoors or in poor light but it is certainly not black. I would go with your gut. I'm 100% with Golfobsessed on taking the time to do it right. Details matter in my opinion like taking off door handles, door locks, mirrors, and doors to do the job right. I look at it this way, if you don't take the time now to do it right, when will you ever spend the money and time down the road to do it again. Probably never. So, this is a most likely one and done. It's worth taking the extra time IMO.

I have seen a number of custom paint jobs where the body color and the engine bay color are the same and that looks nice. I wouldn't change it. It's not black. All you have to do is open the hood in better light conditions, like outdoors.

I overthink stuff all the time. I get it! I think you had the engine bay and body color right from the get go. Nice looking color and it will look sharp on this body style.

BMW Individual Gunmetal II


https://www.reddit.com/r/BMW/comment...ion/?captcha=1

 

Set your course by the stars not by the other ships. In other words pick a color that you want not what others think. You have to drive it not them.

 

I agree that it doesn’t look black to my eyes either, but I can’t deny what people are saying. Interesting enough, I’ve seen that photo from Reddit, it’s was one of the main drivers that pushed me towards the color. But I have to admit that it looks much darker in person, the camera plays tricks. Even my own photos come out “lighter” than what you see in person.

Most everything is off the car. The only thing remaining is the mirrors, and when we brought it in for primer, he sprayed right over it. So I’ll definitely be removing those before sending it back.

The other issue is that the heater box no longer fit inside the engine bay, so I decided to remove the heater core entirely and just not run heat for now (will likely do RetroAir next year or so), so I’m now left with a giant hole that I have to patch. I was going to have the painter spray a sheet of sheet metal and I’d rivet that in, but it’s not ideal.

Pics:
https://imgur.com/gallery/xsi5guc

 

https://imgur.com/gallery/xsi5guc

 

It certainly looks like a gray to me and not black. It's a great help where the overspray lays on the fenders, I think it's a nice one to go with. The gray will be much more striking in a classy "well-done" sort of way than any sort of eye-popping color – sometimes a loud color just says you're trying too hard. The gray will stand up to time while an orange could be passé in just a few years.

 

Your friends need glasses, that is nowhere close to black. Stay on track with your plan.

 

Most will be too busy admiring the LS too notice the engine bay.

 

How about fiberglass? I've done some repairs like battery box and jack compartment box using forms and molds lined with parchment paper. There is probably a release spray agent out there also. I just used parchment paper since that is what I had. Once the fiberglass cured, the molds came right off. Sanded, primed, and painted to color match. I was actually able to gel-coat tint fiberglass to match what was there. Since your firewall is painted it would be not too bad to paint. Fiberglass is pretty tough stuff and in fact most of the car is made with fiberglas so it would be a similar material.

 

While I don't particularly like them, maybe some LS engine covers with an accent color of your liking? There seem to be quite a few kits, maybe some that say Corvette?

 

I agree, 100%..........that ain't black!

 

You know, it's so funny, I actually have a set of those covers in black with the red "Corvette" on it. The ones that came on the C5's. The problem is that I chose to use Dirty Dingo's sliding engine mounts, which place the engine a quarter of an inch higher in the engine bay...which is just enough for those covers to contact the brake booster and not fit.

 

I am in the process of painting my 78. When the engine was out, a long time ago, I decided I wanted a color that was different than the rest of the car. If I wanted the engine bay to match the outside of the car I would have had a Mopar. I didn't want any variation of black since that is what most other cars are. I went with a Gunmetal shade and mine looks just like yours. In reality, there is not much showing along the inner fenders. The real color shows up on the firewall, and yours ( and mine) is definitely gray. Paint the car whatever color you want and I think the Gunmetal will compliment it. It will show that you put some thought into what it looks like instead of just painting it black. FWIW, my car was originally going to be some shade of blue. After much thought and with the approval of my wife, we settled on Crystal Red Metallic, to match our C6. And the gray goes just as well with that as it would with the blue, maybe even more so. But you definitely need some LS rail covers, same color as the car. Another decision that won't be wrong, as long as you like it.

Gunmetal,Not black for sure. And the firewall needs a little TLC after the install.

Behind the booster needs a little sanding down since it got scratched up during the build. Haven't decided if the hood surround will be Gunmetal or the Crystal Red

That inner fender is Gunmetal. But between the splash guards and the shadows, it looks black.

 

Stick to the plan or every week will be a brand new different favorite color

 

It looks pretty dark, almost black in the pictures.

Once the body is painted you’ll be able to tell it’s the same color though, especially in the sunlight.

I don’t think it’s bad at all though. The casual observer will only notice the LS and probably nothing else, I wouldn’t sweat it.

 

I think I would leave paint as is. When I did the LS swap in 71 C3 when the engine was out. I used Rustoleum semi-gloss spray bomb. I just cleaned and scuffed the original paint. Added C5 coil covers. Did the same with my current 80 Camaro LS swap.