painting valve covers

[LETZRIDE]

So, I wanna paint a spare set of valve covers I picked up, but I am not sure how to go about doing it....anyone have a walk through guide, or instructions as to how to get this done?

Do I need to prime it, and do I need a clear coat, and is it ok to use caliper paint or do I need something with even more high temp rating?

thanks

[dmw319]

Re: painting valve covers

i dont have a write up.. but its simple. sand them down nice and smooth with sandpaper and then (prime if you want to, not completely necessary though) paint with some 500degree temp paint. caliper paint is fine, no need for anything higher. id do 2-3 coats of base color and 1-2 coats of clear and youll be fine. its real easy.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: painting valve covers

what kind of sand paper should I be using...these were previously painted so I it looks like most of the crap is off them just paint now....what kind of paper should I use, wt or dry? aluminum oxide or something else, and how many grit steps should I go through lol....

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: painting valve covers

How much you sand really just depends on how smooth you want the final finish. Get it down to 1000ish if you want super smooth, or just clean them good if you just want them painted. Cleaning is the most important.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: painting valve covers

so Im going to assume dry sand then right?....how do you clean them?

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: painting valve covers

I wouldn't dry sand past 150 or so on aluminum, it will start to clog more particularly the higher grit such as 800+.

Use a brake parts or engine cleaner, followed by some good grease cutting soap like dawn, and paint thiner is what I would do to ensure a good adhesion. If they aren't at all oily or greasy, you can probably skip the brake/engine cleaner and just scrub them with dawn. Engine degreaser and dawn before sanding, thinner after.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: painting valve covers

alright...I'll pick up all the stuff hopefully 2morrow...how long should I wait between coats, and how long inbetween for the clears....I've never painted ANYTHING before lol....so, ya....

also...Im painting the runners a silver, and the rest black...how do you think I should go about doing this to make it look professional as possible...(basically the same idea as meatyshells valve covers only his runners are polished mine will be silver....should I paint these first then tape, or paint it all black then cover all else and paint silver?....

[kristen]

Re: painting valve covers

untill it's dry really...it was a very sunny hot day when i did mine, i waited about 20 mins if that.

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: painting valve covers

10-20 minutes is fine between coats, but wait about 3-4 hours for clear for best adhesion.

I polished my runners as well, 3-4 people did it following me, but I don't think I ever mentioned doing it, it was just an idea I came up with, I suppose everyone else came up with it as well. Anyway, prime it if you want, then spray the silver on the runners. over spray elsewhere is fine. Then tape off the runners and spray it all black. Then clear everything.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: painting valve covers

if I choose to go with polished runners, how hard is it to get that polished look?....and is it even possible to get them to shine?

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: painting valve covers

Took maybe 30 minutes for me, but I also have a bench grinder/polisher with lots of polish. I sanded down with 220, 400, 800, 1000, then polished with the bench polisher until it was mirror shiny. Honestly, if I had to do that by hand, it's not worth it considering how visible they are in the engine bay.