CKOPOCT
Proven Member
- 519
- 383
- May 27, 2017
-
Fort Meade,
Maryland
Been a member of DSMTuners for a little while and haven't posted much (hence still a noob). I've been slowly resurrecting a 97 GST that was headed to the bone yard. Part of that process was shaving and painting the valve cover on the cheap. I took a few pics and decided to post it all here as my first contribution to the site.
Original (well, a stock replacement as the previous owner overtightened and cracked the VC that came on the car...):
Using a die grinder with a metal cutting disc, I carefully ground down the raised portions. I made sure to cut [almost] to the base of the cast. Didn't want to cut too deep and end up with the VC cracking under heat.
After about 15 minutes of careful, though crude, grinding...
I cut too high in some areas so I went back over it to reduce the amount of final sanding...
Using a combination of a 90-degree die grinder with a steel scuff wheel (3M Tan coarse pad) and hand-sanding with medium-grit sandpaper, I spent another 30 minutes or so to get the VC to this point...
Once sanded and scuffed, I thoroughly cleaned the VC. Soap and water followed by brake cleaner and compressed air. Acetone before painting. Simple spray can VHT red and black, with clear final coat. Wanted to highlight the spark plug wire arrows in red and put a design on the black portions. This is the under coat for those portions.
I found the spider design on the internet, magnified it to the right size, and printed it on a large white shipping label. "ECLIPSE" was done using one of the Windows fonts. The Mitsu tri-diamonds was a simple ruler and razor blade effort on the shipping label. Stuck the labels over the base coat and sprayed the top coat. Once almost dry I peeled the labels off, carefully using a blade to cut around the edges of the labels (to keep from peeling the paint). You'll see that the arrows are still black. I taped over these with painter's tape, cut with said blade.
With the tape removed from the arrows. HVT Clear coated over all...
Before and after comparison:
So there you have it. Not a very professional job, but this was an experiment that turned out fairly well. The engine is being built by Jerry Jackson at Jackson Auto Machine, and I'll have the VC sent out to get powder coated. But this was a fun way to spend a summer weekend...
Original (well, a stock replacement as the previous owner overtightened and cracked the VC that came on the car...):
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Using a die grinder with a metal cutting disc, I carefully ground down the raised portions. I made sure to cut [almost] to the base of the cast. Didn't want to cut too deep and end up with the VC cracking under heat.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
After about 15 minutes of careful, though crude, grinding...
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
I cut too high in some areas so I went back over it to reduce the amount of final sanding...
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Using a combination of a 90-degree die grinder with a steel scuff wheel (3M Tan coarse pad) and hand-sanding with medium-grit sandpaper, I spent another 30 minutes or so to get the VC to this point...
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Once sanded and scuffed, I thoroughly cleaned the VC. Soap and water followed by brake cleaner and compressed air. Acetone before painting. Simple spray can VHT red and black, with clear final coat. Wanted to highlight the spark plug wire arrows in red and put a design on the black portions. This is the under coat for those portions.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
I found the spider design on the internet, magnified it to the right size, and printed it on a large white shipping label. "ECLIPSE" was done using one of the Windows fonts. The Mitsu tri-diamonds was a simple ruler and razor blade effort on the shipping label. Stuck the labels over the base coat and sprayed the top coat. Once almost dry I peeled the labels off, carefully using a blade to cut around the edges of the labels (to keep from peeling the paint). You'll see that the arrows are still black. I taped over these with painter's tape, cut with said blade.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
With the tape removed from the arrows. HVT Clear coated over all...
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Before and after comparison:
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
So there you have it. Not a very professional job, but this was an experiment that turned out fairly well. The engine is being built by Jerry Jackson at Jackson Auto Machine, and I'll have the VC sent out to get powder coated. But this was a fun way to spend a summer weekend...
