Engine compartment coating?

[Hermit Scott]

I pulled the engine in my Catalina 30 and I am rebuilding it now, and applied a baked on engine paint that looks pretty good. I want to make the floor of the engine compartment look nice too, and I want whatever I put in it to last.
I have a can of truck bed liner (polyurethane) that I wanted to use for it. Has any one ever used any of this type of brush or roll-on coating on fiberglass? I am wondering if it will adhere as well as it does in a truck bed.

 

[Tim R.]

Epoxy barrier coat

I would go with Interlux 2000e. Not sure about the bed liner stuff.

 

[BobM]

Color?

If the bed liner stuff is a dark color it will be difficult to spot engine leaks. You can get around that though by putting an oil absorbant mat under the engine, which is good practice for the environment anyway.

I think the bed liner will work fine, but haven't used it myself. Just make sure you start with a clean surface and then rough it up a bit to promote adhesion.

Also, I don't know how the engine beds are configured on a Catalina 30, but with the engine out you should take the opportunity to make sure they are still sound and firmly affixed to the hull. Mine weren't, but engine mounting is one of the few places where S2 clearly missed the quality mark in my opinion.

 

[Ross]

With all coatings surface preparation is the key

Almost all paint today is very good to excellant. If a paint job fails it is usually because of poor preparation. Light colors make finding problems and dropped parts easier and wiping the engine everytime you check the oil (that's everytime you run it. Right?) lets you spot leaks early. There is probably no more demanding servive than a bed liner in a work truck. if it will stay on there it will stick anywhere.