Valve cover finish

[jburnsinnj]

I am changing my v/c gaskets and cleaned up the stock 87' valve covers but they look pretty dull. What finish did they have from the factory ? I don't want to powder coat them but would like them to look new.

 

[QUIP'6']

I am changing my v/c gaskets and cleaned up the stock 87' valve covers but they look pretty dull. What finish did they have from the factory ? I don't want to powder coat them but would like them to look new.

cast aluminum vht

 

[jburnsinnj]

They are not aluminum

Believe the v- covers are a cast iron or pot metal of some sort..... will aluminum paint look original factory finish ? The original 34K gaskets I removed were sprayed with aluminum color paint.

 

[QUIP'6']

Believe the v- covers are a cast iron or pot metal of some sort..... will aluminum paint look original factory finish ? The original 34K gaskets I removed were sprayed with aluminum color paint.

they are aluminum. make sure you get cast aluminum cause the regular aluminum is too shiny

 

[whitecobra98]

why do u not want to powdercoat them?

 

[87gninpa]

I used the regular old Duplicolor aluminum cast and they came out great. Just scuffed them with some scotch brite pads, rubber them down with mineral spirits and layed on three or so thin coats. Think I have some pictures somewhere if you want to see.

 

[turbofrank]

add a coat of clearcoat to your finish.

 

[phillyturbosix]

They are made out of a low grade combo of junk aluminum/pot ash metal. I've been down the spray bomb road and they won't last. You might get a year or 2 tops from spray paint but the heat from the engine bay and the way these cars mist oil all over under boost + hot engine = look like crap in no time. I spray bombed my 87 when I first got the car and hit them with clear and that's what happened to me.

Save some time and money and have them powder coated. It will look great and last forever. All you need is some detail spray and a rag in the spring time and they will come up like new again.

The picture below is of my 86 engine bay. Everything is powder coated on the top of the engine. Powder coat and never look back!

 

[charlief1]

Here's a pic of how good they can look if you get the powder coated.:biggrin: This was done by rmar before he shut his shop down and he did a beautiful job of them for me. Thanks again Ronnie.:smile:

 

[dsa87gn]

They are made out of a low grade combo of junk aluminum/pot ash metal. I've been down the spray bomb road and they won't last. You might get a year or 2 tops from spray paint but the heat from the engine bay and the way these cars mist oil all over under boost + hot engine = look like crap in no time. I spray bombed my 87 when I first got the car and hit them with clear and that's what happened to me.

Save some time and money and have them powder coated. It will look great and last forever. All you need is some detail spray and a rag in the spring time and they will come up like new again.

The picture below is of my 86 engine bay. Everything is powder coated on the top of the engine. Powder coat and never look back!

hey phillyturbosix
do you have clear over the powder ?

 

[phillyturbosix]

I have heard on the engine bay parts just due to the heat that the clear can crack, turn yellow, and or get dull over time. So I've never cleared anything just powder coat. I've also seen clear coated items and if you powder and then clear coat it almost looks too thick. The detail of the items starts to go away from the thickness of the powder and clear. IE: if something has a part number on it you almost can't read it any more because the coatings are so thick. I've had such great success with just powder coating I've never even bothered trying to clear it.

The nice part about powder coating is on it saved me from a mess on my 86. When I got the engine all back together and fired it up one of the injectors had a tiny nick in an o ring and fuel was coming out all over the valve cover and flooded the top of the intake in seconds. I turned it off and cleaned it up and replaced the o ring. Well if that was spray paint you might as well have started all over again because it would have been a hot mess! With the power coating I got some rags, wiped it up, sprayed some detail spray on the engine, wiped it down, and you would have never known it happened! It's real nice for when things like that happen that's for sure!

 

[whitecobra98]

same here...powder coating saved me about 3 years of my life by not getting pissed when I put mine back together and one of the injector orings didnt seal...fuel everywhere, quick wipe and done... life was good

 

[phillyturbosix]

same here...powder coating saved me about 3 years of my life by not getting pissed when I put mine back together and one of the injector orings didnt seal...fuel everywhere, quick wipe and done... life was good

lol that's why I posted that story! I think all of us have been down that road at one point with these cars!!