Shaving the valve cover

[BoSsRsT]

Hey I know this tread has been done before, buti can't find exactly what I'm looking for. I wanna shave down my VC and paint it.

What grit sandpaper should I use?
Do I wet and dry sand?
How do I get in the small areas?
If I don't have a dremel tool can I use the Air Rotary?

Ok that's that for the shaving a sanding, but I also want to upgrade the the stock VC bolts to stainless steel Hex-key Bolts.

Where can I get the proper bolts? (Thread size, hardness length etc)

Thanks for advance for the help.

 

[turbotalon31]

here is a link to ss valve cover bolts i have used them and there great. Stainless Valve Cover Bolts Eclipse Talon DSM 4G63 EVO: eBay Motors (item 170477943518 end time Sep-22-10 20:12:51 PDT). i started with 500 grit paper and worked my way up to 2000 grit takes tons of time. just be careful u dont go to deep in the areas shown in pic link attached... (this not my pic ) http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz265/boostedtsi32/images.jpg

 

[yepes281]

I always used this as a polishing guide, honda tech but whatever, its good.

Metal Polishing How-to - Honda-Tech

 

[BoSsRsT]

Anyone have tips on the paint process?

 

[schroder]

Basic how to with needed parts. It doesn't matter if you are using auto paint or rattle can, you'll need this for a good paint job.

-well prepped surface. It needs to be free of dirt, oil, grime...etc. If you are shaving it down smooth, make sure you are rid of all of your metal shavings. You also need to make sure it is not a SMOOTH cover, but still has the sanding marks in it. I wouldn't go above a 400 grit sand paper at this point.

-self etching primer. Once your valve cover is prepped you are going to spray it with self etching primer. BE CAREFUL, self etching is very thin stuff and only takes a light surface coat in order for it to work properly.

-Sandable High Build primer. Once the self etching has had about 10 to 15 minutes to dry (heat can make this faster/slower) apply a few coats of high build primer. Once the primer has had time to fully dry, break out the 1200 sand paper and wetsand your primer smooth. Make sure you have all of the loose primer off of the valve cover and allow the valve cover to dry.

-Paint and Clear Coat. After the primer is dry, lay 3 to 5 coats of paint (10 to 15 minutes between coats...heat dependant). After the final coat, give the paint 30-45 minutes to dry and apply another 3 to 5 layers of clear coat (3 or so for auto paint, 5 or more for rattle can). After the clear has had plenty of time to dry, you have two options. You can sit back and enjoy your labor, or you can wetsand the clear coat with a very fine (1200 grit or more) sand paper. If you do this, make sure you either have and know how to use a buffer with buffing compound, or be willing to use a buffing compound and buff the clear coat by hand. If you wetsand the primer smooth and know how to lay paint properly, you shouldn't need to wetsand/buff the clear coat as there shouldn't be much orange peel to it.

Good luck with the shaveing of your valve cover, just remember to take your time and be patient, and everything will work out fine!

 

[LiquidX]

I used a right angle grinder formthe letteres and a dremel for everything else. I'd sufferer to get it powder coated.