Tips on painting my valve cover

[Boosted DSM 32]

Hey guys me and my buddy recently got a couple extra valve covers, and i thought since i have an extra one i might as well paint it.

What is the best way to prep it for painting? Does it need sanded down? Primer?

How should i go about removing the old paint off of it?

What paint is best for use in the engine bay? And does it need clear coated afterward?

Most importantly to me how can i get a shiny smooth look to it? And i plan on painting my timing belt cover as well if thats possible

If anyone can give me some tips so that i can have a long lasting good looking valve cover would be greatly appreciated!

 

[eclipse gsx]

i painted mine a couple of times just take all the paint off and add some paint the stands heat they usually sell it at auto zone or wall-mart. or caliper paint works wonderfully too. and well afterward when its smooth its your choice if you want to put clear coat or not i will suggest you to put some if you dont wan to get chips of paint with any little hit.

 

[Boosted DSM 32]

Did you use primer at all? and i was reading on some other threads that they were sanding them down a little so the paint would stick better

 

[awzer2]

1.get a bottle of gasoline
2.pour over your engine bay
3.light vapors
4.repeat

No,seriously it's pretty straight forward bro.
clean,sand,primer and coat with paint that's heat tolerable .
Use the search.
We're not gonna spoon feed it to you .

 

[007jimmy]

When I painted mine, I used aircraft stripper to get the old paint off and used brake cleaner and a brush to get the hard to reach spots. Take your time and be sure to get all the oil/dirt/grime off these things or your paint job will look like shit. I didn't use clear coat on my VC because I read that some clear coats can tend to yellow due to heat. I did however use hi temp paint. Add some stainless bolts when you are done and get her looking all purdy

 

[awzer2]

Check these links out my friend.
Paint vc
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/appearance-interior-exterior/418183-painting-vc.htmll

 

[Boosted DSM 32]

1.get a bottle of gasoline
2.pour over your engine bay
3.light vapors
4.repeat

No,seriously it's pretty straight forward bro.
clean,sand,primer and coat with paint that's heat tolerable .
Use the search.
We're not gonna spoon feed it to you .

sorry about asking a common question, and i did use the search but everyone i was looking at had a little different detail and i wanted to just get a base of what to do so that i could follow that and paint it when the weather warms up a bit

 

[2slow4now]

Aluminum has paint adhesion problems so prep is one of the most important steps of a good finish on it. There are a bunch of products and processes that can make adhesion better. If you have access to a sand blaster they make a great surface for adhesion. Self etching primer or epoxy primer are options.
When I still worked in a boat shop I sandblasted an aluminum drive and then just shot it with an automotive paint without primer and its durability was great. It was on a stern drive cutting through water and getting beat on by sand, rocks, and stumps. It stayed better than some I had acid dipped, epoxy primed, top coated, and baked on. I added the sandblast process to the list and we never got paint failure complaint again. Surface prep is Number 1.

 

[Boosted DSM 32]

Aluminum has paint adhesion problems so prep is one of the most important steps of a good finish on it. There are a bunch of products and processes that can make adhesion better. If you have access to a sand blaster they make a great surface for adhesion. Self etching primer or epoxy primer are options.
When I still worked in a boat shop I sandblasted an aluminum drive and then just shot it with an automotive paint without primer and its durability was great. It was on a stern drive cutting through water and getting beat on by sand, rocks, and stumps. It stayed better than some I had acid dipped, epoxy primed, top coated, and baked on. I added the sandblast process to the list and we never got paint failure complaint again. Surface prep is Number 1.

Unfortunately i dont have access to a sand blaster.. could i just sand it down with sand paper a little bit?

 

[snowborder714]

Sand blasting should only be done if either you plan on removing and installing a new baffle or you are positive you can fully block off the underside and only blast the top. Otherwise you will get media under the baffles which could fall out later and ruin your engine.

Soda blasting is what you ideally would want to do to a valve cover, as the soda will just wash away with water.

 

[Boosted DSM 32]

Would a shop be able to do the soda blasting? i dont have a booth or any sort of blasting station i couldnt do that myself

 

[snowborder714]

Some shops can, yes. You'd have to call around. I'm sure you can search around here and find some other methods of prepping though.

 

[awzer2]

carquest does it if you have one around. and yeah you can sand it,or use a brass brush tip on a drill to get between the spark plug holes

 

[Boosted DSM 32]

Ya i have read all the how to's on painting the valve cover and i think im just going to sand it myself and go with some primer and proper paint for it then clear it over once its done im not worried about spending the extra money for a shop to prep it just so it lasts a longer if it needs redone ill redo it haha it only costs like 15 bucks to paint it yourself.

Would you prep the timing cover the same way as the VC??

 

[5taR]

You should think about powder coating too. With the money you'll have in prep time, sand paper, tools, and paint you can pay to have a nice base powder coat done. Lots of guys do it around here for 30-50 bucks.

 

[Boosted DSM 32]

You should think about powder coating too. With the money you'll have in prep time, sand paper, tools, and paint you can pay to have a nice base powder coat done. Lots of guys do it around here for 30-50 bucks.

Wow if i could find someone to do it for 30 even 40 i would get it powder coated forsure but all the paint shops around here are really expensive, on my one gst i got the middle piece of the taillight painted to match the car and it was 30 bucks! ill search around and see if i can find any other places but i doubt it

 

[laserspeeddemon]

I think he's talking about people on here like me. Who have a sand blast cabinet, powder gun and oven designated for curing.


'Cept, I never actually got around to buying the gun.

 

[kchaazz]

Why sand/ soda blast when you can just spray her down with aircraft stripper? < This stuff will literally eat the paint off in minutes, and is by far the cheapest and simplest solution for stripping the old paint off of your parts. Just use eye and skin protection, this stuff is nasty.

One more thing, everyone I know who paints valve covers pre-bakes them after cleaning/ prep, then bakes it again for a few minutes. Personally, Id prefer a nice, durable powdercoat and pay someone else to do it.

 

[Boosted DSM 32]

Why sand/ soda blast when you can just spray her down with aircraft stripper? < This stuff will literally eat the paint off in minutes, and is by far the cheapest and simplest solution for stripping the old paint off of your parts. Just use eye and skin protection, this stuff is nasty.

One more thing, everyone I know who paints valve covers pre-bakes them after cleaning/ prep, then bakes it again for a few minutes. Personally, Id prefer a nice, durable powdercoat and pay someone else to do it.

OK thanks for the tip man i think im gonna give it a shot this weekend

 

[Silver99OZ]

When I painted mine I did a lot of prep work. I purchased a spare valve cover that already had the paint removed, and then sanded with 220, 320, and 400 grit paper. Cleaned the valve cover really good with pre paint cleaner and finally painted with high temp paint following the directions perfectly on the can. It came out great and is still holding up one year later.

 

[2slow4now]

Sand blasting should only be done if either you plan on removing and installing a new baffle or you are positive you can fully block off the underside and only blast the top. Otherwise you will get media under the baffles which could fall out later and ruin your engine.

Soda blasting is what you ideally would want to do to a valve cover, as the soda will just wash away with water.

I removed the baffle on mine during the sandblasting and cleaned all the inside as well before putting the baffle back on. (thanks for throwing that in there snowboarder) I was surprised when I removed mine how much gunk and crap was under that baffle. 140k worth of crap.

I picked up a cheap blaster for about $30. Its about the size of a suitcase and works ok but for bigger jobs I just take stuff to work. Acid etching would still be a good option if you can't get it blasted.

 

[dsmcarnag3]

I was a powdercoater for 7 yrs, and sandblasting and powdercoating is the way to go. far more durable than paint. I've had mine coated for 6 yrs on my 1g and it still looks as good as it did when I put it on. side note on the use of soda blasting, it needs to be neutralized with vinegar. otherwise paint or powdercoating WILL NOT stick. I know from experience,

heres a pic of the vc and intake I just had done. not bad for free!

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[mchustle]

Like stated above prep is number one. Personally what I did was get some spray airplane stripper, DO NOT LET IT TOUCH YOU, spray it down to get all the paint off. Afterwords I lightly sanded it so the paint would adhere to it better, then I cleaned it with surface prep a few times. Then I sprayed it with automotive enamel paint followed by clear coat. It has held up perfect over a year and still looks great. You can look at my pics to see how it turned out. Also SS bolts are a must afterwords, they make the vc look 110x better.

 

[Boosted DSM 32]

I was a powdercoater for 7 yrs, and sandblasting and powdercoating is the way to go. far more durable than paint. I've had mine coated for 6 yrs on my 1g and it still looks as good as it did when I put it on. side note on the use of soda blasting, it needs to be neutralized with vinegar. otherwise paint or powdercoating WILL NOT stick. I know from experience,

heres a pic of the vc and intake I just had done. not bad for free!

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

Wow that looks great i really like the intake done too the 1g intakes normal metal color looks like s*** in my opinion that looks 20x better nice!

Also SS bolts are a must afterwords, they make the vc look 110x better.

Yes definately getting those ive seen them on my friends and it honestly makes it look soo much better

 

[NeMiZiS]

As far as powder coating goes, what about getting sand under the baffles?
I had a guy in town powder coat a valve cover.
After it was done I removed the baffle, it was full of sand!
The Powder coating guy, assured he wouldn't get sand in there."I've been doing this for 25 years".
The worst part is, I can't find a machine shop in town that will tack the baffle back in place.