New Valve cover!

[ProjectAWDeagle]

Hello,

I got my valve cover repainted. Wnated to show it off. I used paint stripper and the the Dupli color "anodizing" paint. Worked very well. I hand painted the lettering on the VC.

Thank mike

 

[paranoidTSi]

I think it looks good, good job. I'm too lazy to repaint my valve cover I just sanded mine down..works for me.

Where'd you get the paint at?

 

[ProjectAWDeagle]

Hello,

I picked it up at Home Depot.. Was $4 a can. pretty cheap. I picked a can of clear coat that I am going to spray on there when it dries.

Michael

 

[Dave_Hash]

looks good. i plan on doing mine soon black with gray lettering

 

[Mike1992]

I did mine last monthm I used paint stripper then cleaned it inside and out removed all grease. The used 1500 degree high temp gloss black, and polished the letters. Also since most of my valve cover bolts were stripped out I retapped them to a standard sizem all new chrome hardware

 

[CSSMiketsi]

That blue one is PRETTY. Looks quality man. I had mine done last spring...
http://community.webshots.com/photo/77140541/113115122wHdXcO
Only bad thing... the person that powder coated it for me cleared it... and now it takes a hand of god to get my injen oil cap off The clear melts onto the cap and creates a pretty bad ass seal. It sucks...

 

[Defiant]

That anodize paint looks terrific. Keep us posted on how it holds up.

 

[Spidey]

Yeah MetalCast(what it's called) is great, looks really good. There's some other brand of anodized-style paint too, I found it on a 3kGT site while searching for Niteshades, and they had a few more colors I think.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

That looks really nice...I think I might look into that as well, but glossy red.

ROW

 

[dave99gst]

purdy

 

[eclipsegsx9797]

Very nice man, I was going to send mine out for 150 to get gloss black and polished letters but now im thinking of doing it myself. could you please give us a walk through on how you did the black, such as what did you use to get the old paint off, what you did to clean it, what type of paints was it and what clear coat did you get and from where if you could list all that, thanks jim

 

[cait sith]

Make sure you don't crack it upon reinstallation.

DSM's have two settings on their valve covers– Leak, and crack.

 

[Mike1992]

Originally posted by eclipsegsx9797
Very nice man, I was going to send mine out for 150 to get gloss black and polished letters but now im thinking of doing it myself. could you please give us a walk through on how you did the black, such as what did you use to get the old paint off, what you did to clean it, what type of paints was it and what clear coat did you get and from where if you could list all that, thanks jim

Stuff I used: Simple Green, Aircraft Stripper, Wire Brush, Engine Degreaser, Craftsman Air/Water Gun, 1500 degree engine paint, die grinder, 3" wire wheel (to fit Die grinder)

1. Remove Valve Cover and put in a wash tub of some sort
2. Use AirCraft/Automotove paintstripper and let it sit for about 15 mins, then use a wire brush and get most of the paint off,(then wash clean) after that more paint stripper and another 15 mins. Then bust out the wire brush and all the paint should be off by now, if not more paintstripper. Then clean with simple green and a wash it off.
3. I cleaned the backside is was caked in dark brown oil, this is the time consuming part, but you dont have to clean it, but I Did since I had it off. I used about 2 hours of engine degreaser a paint brush and an Craftsman air/water gun. The cleaner the better right. Also a good way to clean out the Vents in the valve cover.
4. After everything is dry and EXTRA CLEAN, its time to paint. Make sure the room your painting in is above 70 degree's, you dont want cracking in the paint. Since its an engine I used 1500 degree engine paint. Simply apply a thin coat every 10 mins until 3/4 of the can is gone or until your happy.
5. Let dry for 24-48 hours in a warm dry place
6. As a way of polishing the letters, I've found my trusty die grinder w/3"wire wheel gets the paint off the letters and shines things at the same time. If you dont have a steady hand I suggest using a different method as its easy to slip and then your back to square one.

Think this is good enough for the tech article section?

 

[Spidey]

I would submit it

 

[FiReBReTHa]

With better pics



Good post, im going to use your info!

 

[DSMbish90]

looks great!.. now, how does the valve cover get takin off? just bolts? do u have to worry about oil at all? or exposure to o2? just wondering. thanks!

 

[Mike1992]

Originally posted by DSMbish90
looks great!.. now, how does the valve cover get takin off? just bolts? do u have to worry about oil at all? or exposure to o2? just wondering. thanks!

Ill make some additions to the article

The valve cover can be a PITA to get off. I had to pry mine off with a flat head screwdriver it was stuck hard. This can damage some metal so be careful. Plus while the covers off its a good chance to oversize/tap stripped bolt holes, if you have them as I did, all the outer bolts were stripped out. You dont have to worry about draining the oil it wont come out from taking the valve cover off, so no need to drain. If your worried about getting water in the head after the cleaning process, just use some compressed air through the vent holes in the valve cover.

 

[FiReBReTHa]

to redo those bolt holes you have to:


(no idea) because i take it its not as easy as install AE head bolts and Kabam, done.

 

[greenmachine97]

i reallly liek that blue one! it turned out very nice, i think i am going to do mine the same style only red. what is the name and style of the paint that you used exactly. keep up the great work.

edit: Nevermind i am an idiot, you used the Dupli-color Anodizing paint. sorry i didnt read that earlier. is that what it says on the can?

 

[BlueTalon95]

That looks pretty sweet.

 

['96_Talon_TSi]

I also used the dupli-color paint, only i used the regular 1600*, not the anodizing paint. I also used a dremel and a bufing tool to polish my letters.

For those guys that wonder how it holds up, i sprayed mine in august/september and its still looking great. I have a couple little scratches on it, but those are from when the paint was still wet.

 

[Defiant]

A better tip to polishing is a sanding block -a regular, wooden block, not a bodyshop rubber paper holder- some 800 grit sandpaper, metal polish and a T-shirt. Sand off the letters, get them nice and flat (very hard to do with a Dremel) then polish them with the T-shirt and metal polish also on the wooden block. If you're spastic and have trouble controlling the block to keep from hitting the paint near it, you can -once the paint is cured- mask it with duct tape.

 

[FiReBReTHa]

ah, true defiant, thats a problem i have with dremel is keeping things flat and level.


GREAT POST!! very constructive!

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

u did a really good job on ur vc..

here's mine..

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[2GeNTSi]

bah, if only the ngks came in a diff color other then blue. I want to paint mine also, either gunmetal with polished lettering or a metallic candy apple red with polished lettering. That would be if I had the magnecore wires though, since I have the NGKs I think I''l just use a wire wheel and do the same thing I did to my bov.

What do you guys think, here's a pic of my engine bay how it looks now.