When I asked about engine paint the specialist advised me to use whatever I wanted.  When I queries the heat aspect he pointed out that if the engine ever got too hot for ordinary automotive paint then the paint would be the last thing i would be concerned about.  

I used autoshop etch primer and then acrylic auto paint and its still good with over a 100 000 miles (that's over 25 years worth of use.

On the engine bay itself I used hardware store gloss house paint (because it was cheap and the right colour).  I was experimenting but have never got back to it.  Its still fine....

IMHO getting the surface clean and a bit of etch primer is the secret.

Cheers, Ian

KBS coatings/paint is great. Come in a number of colors and dries rock hard, very chip resistant and can be top coated (sprayed your car color) and can also be tinted . It's similar to POR15 , better price and quality might even be better. It can be brushed on and is self leveling. Meaning your brush marks go away. Doesn't have to be sprayed on.

Piece of advice. Wear the gloves that it comes with. Or Nitrile.

If you get it on your skin you will be wearing it off. Someone I know also did his engine bay, didn't wear gloves and panicked a little because he was getting married and feared the paint would show in the wedding pictures. His engine bay came out nice though. With serious scrubbing it did come off, eventually. He looked very handsome in his pictures.

He might even post pictures of his engine bay if he reads this. It's nice like his car.  

I have a 2x6 in the rafters with a large eye bolt spanning a few joists.  Then there's a cable pulley attached to the 2x4 that is holding up the body, just enough to get the subframe out.  You need to be creative when you don't have a lot of help, and don't want to spend the money on an engine lift that will be used once.

There is a cable coming down....seen in front of the window....I imagine attached to the 2x4

Guys, please take a little moment to look at this picture closely. tell me HOW did the owner able to suspend the front end of the car without anything supporting it below??? if you notice the jack stand doesn't even touch the car body,and  the wood that ran across the front side panels where just there and it's not even attached to anything on the other side.  This is somewhat a bizarre picture, a phenomenon. i cannot even see any single chain or rope or anything that supports it to suspend in the air. unless he has a huge Neodymium magnet attached to the ceiling.  oh my god!!!! there is something supernatural happening with this mini i swear. i can't believe my eyes., I am not funnying, and not BS'ing this time, remember 'I'm an asian and everything here in US is new to me,, I'm serious.

But you don't need to wrap or coat the headers to protect the paint which is what the original post was all about?

I used the heat wrap by choice, as seen in the picture..i can tell the big difference in cabin temp with and without it. I remember 2years ago when i wrapped the headers people jumped on me, the very first person who criticized me was that member which i dont want to mention his name because he already deleted his account recently, i dont want everybody to know his name out of respect.i want to preserve his privacy. he said that i shoulld not use a heat wrap on the headers because it will trap the heat and will affect the temperature of the air that goes in the intake and will upset the performace of the engine because engine needed cold air. I was like really?? I still went ahead and proved him wrong. Now i still have the wrap on , and my mini still runs like a champ. Few other also agreed with that member, even the guy above said the same thing, but now he ended up coating his headers, not just outside , but inside as well !!

He contradicts his statement 2years after... Omg

Anyway here's the pics of my exhaust.

Bingo. Ceramic coating inside and out is the real key. You'll net more consistent EGT's, and significantly cooler under hood temps. I ceramic coated the headers on my truck and the under hood temps substantially. Plus the added benefit of not trapping grease and oil on the wrap material. My header will be getting coated soon before it goes onto the new engine. 

 

Picture of my headers on my truck after numerous heat cycles and still shiny. Nice bonus.

Or ceramic coat it inside and out.

I wrapped my exhaust header with header wrap, made a huge difference!

Agreed.

The car originally had no "special kind of paint" in the engine compartment  So should not need it now. The exhaust is far enough away paint that it wont harm it at all. as for a shield make sure you have one between the carb and exhaust but not nessasary for the bulkhead/firewall. 

I'm looking to get rid of some rust issues I have in the engine compartment and paint it.  I looked at the spray can of primer and it said not to use it if the surface gets hotter than 200 degrees F.  My concern is the area near the exhaust pipes.  I imagine that area could easily get above 200 because of the lack of a shield.  Does anyone have any suggestions as to what primer and paint I should use for an engine compartment?  Or is there a shield out there for a classic mini?  I've included a picture of my insanity.  Thank goodness for this forum and Youtube.

J