civicchick2001

So, I thought I'd share a little something I did a while back with everyone. it's not hard and doesnt take long to do, and if you wanna spice it up under your hood a bit, well here you go.

this is an old pic of what under my hood looked like before.


and this is what it looks like now:


as you can see, nothing fancy like intakes or whatever (yet) but it does give it a little character i think. and i chose blue bc my car is blue. anyways, if this is something you wanna do, then keep reading.

Materials you will need:
- your color choice of Rust-Oleum Engine Enamel (mine is "ford blue")
here is a link to their site for info/color choices: http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=372
- your color choice of car engine pipe covers (plastic protective tube)
this is a site to show size and colors you can get: http://www.solware.co.uk/customise-car-part-accessories/carenginehoseandwirecovering.shtml - i picked mine up from autozone for like $8, but they only had blue and black at the time. if u want a different color, might have to order online
- butter knife
- newspaper
- tape
- scissors

step 1.
first thing your going to want to do is remove the fuse cover from under the hood. not hard. just squeeze sides and lift up. then your going to want to remove the plastic engine valve/spark plug cover. mine is fairly easy bc it has 2 plastic locks holding it down. grab your butter knife and insert the edge into the groove of these little screw/locks and twist counter-clockwise 1/4th turn. do this to both of em. once you do that, just lift it upwards and it's off.

step 2.
cleaning. your going to want to clean these parts very well to get all the grease and grime off of them from being under your hood. i used soap and water for mine and just make sure to get all in the cracks and small areas. let them dry completely after you wash them

step 3.
this is optional. i didnt want to paint the actual screws holding the cover down, so i removed them. there's a little plastic washer on the other side of the screw that you can (very carefully) pull off. just work it off easy and you should be good. after that i just set them aside. if you want them to match your cover, then you can leave them, i just didnt want paint on em.

step 4.
get your news paper and tape and head outside. lay down your newspaper and tape it down so you have a spray area. i did this in the sun, so that the paint could kinda bake on as it was drying.

step 5.
lay your fuse cover and valve cover on the surface and make sure to follow directions on the spray paint can. i believe you keep it about 8" or so away and start spray painting. dont go crazy the first time. your going to be spraying about 4 or 5 coats and you dont want it to run. between each coat, you have to wait a few minutes and once you are finished with them both, i believe you let it sit for 1 hour. *please read instructions on can to be sure*







step 6.
once the pieces are all dry, bring them in, and if you took the washers off the backs of the screws, insert the screws back through the cover and place the washers back on them.

step 7.
pop the fuse cover back on the fuse box, and place the valve/spark plug cover back to its original position and once again, gently take your butter knife and turn it clock wise 1/4th turn to lock it back in place. make sure its snug and on correctly (both pieces).

step 8.
the pipe/wire covers. this part is totally up to you. you can choose where you want them. i just put them in basic places and didnt go too crazy. but the way you put them on is fairly simple. they have a slit running all the way down them so you can insert them over wires. the easiest way to get the right length is to place them where you want them, hold the groove with your finger, grab your scissors and cut at the groove. once you have the piece, your going to gently work it over the wire. you'd be surprised how tough these are in some spots, but just work the cover over the wire til its completely on. dont be too rough with them, or they will have permanent creases from where you bent them. do this for all the wires your wanting to cover.

step 9.
put everything away, check out whats now under your hood, and enjoy.


i know its nothin fancy, but i do think it spices things up at least. i dont know if other model civics are the same as mine. as far as removing pieces. my model is a 2001 ex. if yours is a little different, i apologize, but you'll have to look up how to remove the cover, if it is able to be removed. and the reason i say use a butter knife instead of a flat head scew driver is bc a butter knife is thinner and flatter and just works better for this project. anyways, hoped this helped anyone who was considering it.

maxtierney

iTrader: (5)

Great post. Always impressed by your write ups on DIYs.

Brian1037

Something fun, easy and relaxing to kill time one day

pheaton

iTrader: (6)

Sweet. I just sprayed my battery tray the other day, because it was getting all rusted and corroded. I found some Rustoleum that was close to my cars color, removed the battery and the tray and sprayed the tray down. I got impatient waiting for it to dry so I re-installed while it was still tacky, but it almost looked brand new, less my finger prints, haha.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Looks good,
Lil tip, color the Honda lettering with either a black or silver, looks much better IMO

Love how you're doing DIY's, but you're a tiny bit late on this one
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...ire-cover.html

civicchick2001

thanks ill do my best to post more in the future

civicchick2001

yep, it's definetly not a hard project at all.. and doesnt cost too much either, which is always good lol

civicchick2001

haha i know what ya mean about the waiting.. im one of the most impatient people ever, and if i dont find somethin else to do while im waiting on whatever, ill jump the gun too.

but that's sweet though.. i was gonna paint the piece holding the battery down.. just that metal piece.. but i didnt have the tool to get that bolt off. i think its an 8mm and i only had a 12mm layin around.. oh well, ill buy a set of new ones soon, especially if im gonna be doin more to the car.

civicchick2001

yeah, i was thinkin white or silver, just to make it pop..

just looked at that diy.. and it only has the cover.. nothin else so haha, nah im kiddin.. sorry for the doubling up, ill search for what im posting before i post anymore.. just wanted to share what i had done under the hood really..

Shift-E

I like when theres more then 1 DIY on something. Shows you 2 possible ways of doing and 2 different turnouts. Good Job (Y)

civicchick2001

thanks

MindBomber

Another great write-up

Your setting a great presidence for the rest of us, time for everyone else here to start writing a few new diys!

civicchick2001

well thank you

im just tryin to help out. cant say thank you enough to those around here that have helped me out, especially with the things i never thought i could do. and i got a whole lot more i wanna do, so hopefully a few more DIY's will be rollin in soon

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

turned out nice!

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

The blue's a little bright for my tastes, but it turned out nice!

Back when I had my battery "cover," I painted that and the battery tie-down to match. I also painted the tops of the coil packs, too. Just taped off the electrical connectors and everything that goes into the valve cover.

civicchick2001

thanks!

civicchick2001

thanks

and yeah, that would look cool

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

you remind me of me when i first got my car. didnt know anything and wanted to change everything lol. i think i actually went to the dealer and asked how to install new tails so i wouldnt have to pay them.

civicchick2001

haha thats exactly the mood im in now. ive had the car for just about 4 years now, but never had time to do anything to it, and also moved away from all my "car buddies" who could do anything and everything to their cars - so when i found this site, somethin kicked in again and now im wanting to customize everything. you should have seen my 97' spyder eclipse that i sold before i moved, man.. she was beautiful. and i wanna get to that same feeling about my civic. and im gettin there.. there's just so much more i wanna do to her.. its gettin there though, little by little.

Lopes101

I can vouch for that feeling, I love just painting anything I can! I did an engine cleanup and painted somethings today as well, check my build thread

civicchick2001

just did, looks great! i always have to hear "why are you cleanin up under there anyways? who's gonna see it?" my answer.. i dont know who's gonna see it, but when they do, they'll be impressed . any more questions? lol

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

1 more:
Who ya tryna impress?

civicchick2001

anybody and everybody

but mostly, the ones who told me i couldnt do it. or my favorite, the ones who tell me im a chick and to give it up. 3 words for em.. kiss. my. @$$.

Lopes101

well I suggest keep it clean, so it doesnt end up all grungy like mine. It was a lot of work. I dislike lack of maintenance work.

civicchick2001

oh believe me, mine was crazy dirty. i also changed the cabin air filters (interior) that day and took a pic of the old ones vs the new ones.. i dont know if those things have been changed since the car was made. lol.. heres the pic..



not that you need the descriptions of which one is old and new, but yeah. lol

i did this after i watched some dude on youtube take his out and replace them, and sure enough, its easy as pie. dunno why i got on a cleaning spree that day, but it did nothin but good for the car

green01civic

My cabin air filter was wayyyyy worse than that when I bought my car. It was as black as yours, except had twigs, leaves, hair, grass, and all sorts of crap caked into it.

civicchick2001

yep, if i would have taken close up pics, you would have seen the same thing. bugs, dirt, parts of leaves.. it was so gross. but its all good now. i changed my air filter under the hood too at the same time as these, and it was rough, but not as bad as these. lol

lazlong

I found a mummified gecko in mine. haha, I win. lol
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@ supercoolcivicchick2001: You need a nice oil-fill cap to go with that new look in the engine bay. You can always put another sticker on it, or paint it if you don't like that sticker.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Civic...item33692a9c8d

Lopes101

I dont like tacky ricer things like that.

lazlong

^^ I think with the sticker it's kinda tacky but, I'm sure you can remove it. A plain anodized one would look nice.