Powder Coating Valve Cover

[andrewjscott]

I called a couple of powder coaters in my area, and they can't powdercoat my valve cover becuase its plastic. I've seen powder coated valve covers for sale on ebay. My question is....how do these people get them powder coated? Thanks

 

[Flash]

FYI, your valve cover is not plastic.

 

[andrewjscott]

Oh fair enough....then that explains it. If they are not plastic, why do they crack so easily?

 

[Phat95Talon]

Are you talking about the plastic piece that covers the plug wires?


If you are, some companies sell metal ones.

 

[andrewjscott]

no no, not the plastic plug cover, the actual valve cover. It was painted when I got it with what feels like acrylic paint, which makes it feel like plastic, and since its so light...i figured it was. out of curiousity what is the cover made of? cast aluminum?

 

[pnishr]

Oh fair enough....then that explains it. If they are not plastic, why do they crack so easily?

Because they are thin and people often over-torque the bolts holding them onto the head. I got a black powdercoated one from FFWDconnection.com it was beautiful. and a good price. give them a call.

Oh, and technically it's a "rocker cover," I wouldn't recommend having a shop you don't know powdercoat it, they may not get all the sand out from the blasting, then you get a noisy/sandy rocker cover.

J

 

[yunior]

Are you talking about the plastic piece that covers the plug wires?


If you are, some companies sell metal ones.

no bro hes talking about the actual valve cover.... the reason they crack so easily is because there either hot and your putting too much pressure on them or tightening up the screws too hard (in case of some sparkplug wires) I made that mistake my self and had to get a new one to replase it once you take it of you will see why they break so easily is really thin metal on the inside, I saved my self a lot of trouble by buying a new one and not having my eclipse down for the time it would take to do the powder coating and installation. Got it and put it on the same weekend, down time was 24hrs to let the sealer dry up for no leaks. good luck it will give your engine bay a nice look.

 

[andrewjscott]

The cleaning is not a problem, I can media blast it if i want, I was just going to chemically strip it, so to not fill all the corners and stuff with sand. I've had the powder coater do things for me before, he does nice work and is cheap. I just thought it was plastic...thats all.

 

[n0c7]

The cleaning is not a problem, I can media blast it if i want, I was just going to chemically strip it, so to not fill all the corners and stuff with sand. I've had the powder coater do things for me before, he does nice work and is cheap. I just thought it was plastic...thats all.

Put a magnet on it, you should be able to tell pretty quick. A bolt pan works really well

 

[Defiant]

Put a magnet on it, you should be able to tell pretty quick. A bolt pan works really well

Yes, and when you find those aluminum-attracting magnets, let us know. NASA has a bounty out to get them back.

 

[Crawl]

Yes, and when you find those aluminum-attracting magnets, let us know. NASA has a bounty out to get them back.

! you crack me up

 

[n0c7]

My bad. Didnt realize our valve covers were aluminum.

 

[Defiant]

My bad. Didnt realize our valve covers were aluminum.

That's okay. A shop trying to make a living out of working with them thought they were plastic.

 

[cb3016]

haha plastic valve cover in an engine bay that gets as hot as ares on top of cam shafts with burning hot oil splashin on it...thats great.

First you sand blast a valve cover, then you electrify the cover to get the pores of the metal open, then you spray on the powder coat...its a powder not a liquid like normal paint, then you bake the cover in an oven. lets it cool DON'T TOUCH! its hot.

then you install with BRAND NEW GASKETS.

most of the ones you see on ebay don't have the electrical treatment done (step 2). so you can sratch it and see the original metal under it, eletric treatment opened the pores of the metal (not melthing) and the powerd gets in those pores and bonds with the metal, so if u scratch it its still the same color it was paint...think of it like food coloring.

-CB

 

[Defiant]

haha plastic valve cover in an engine bay that gets as hot as ares on top of cam shafts with burning hot oil splashin on it...thats great.

Fiber-reinforced plastic valve covers first appeared in the late eighties. Early Neons had plastic intake manifolds. And don't some of the Mustangs?

 

[wingnutt]

yup...LS1's too

 

[cb3016]

ya but cold air is constantly running through those arn't they? the mustangs had them too? i know the old escorts did but mustangs?

 

[Thomas91169]

yes, 99-04 mustangs have plastic intake manifolds. they are prone to cracking and can cause quite a headache. though it is better than your average household plastic, when i took off my plenum, i tried to crack a small piece off with a plier(it was just excess support), and i couldnt even chip it. when i hit it with the pliers, it makes a ding sound that youd expect from metal. so the shits pretty strong.

 

[Defiant]

ya but cold air is constantly running through those arn't they?

No once you park and it soaks.