valve cover paint
 

i have this posted in the paint section, but would like some quick responses if possible.

this is the first time i've ever painted anything. i'm painting a B16A valve cover and it came out well, minus for a couple sides that are still unwrinkled. I did this last night and let it sit all night to air dry. I've got a 5 coats of paint on it as the can stated to keep painting the sides that are not wrinkled or look uneven. am i doing something wrong? do i have to bake it before it all wrinkles up or does it wrinkle after air drying, then cures after baking?

Re: valve cover paint
 

I have had the same probleM

Re: valve cover paint
 

Well, I still had the original honda Black Wrinkle Finish on my B16A SiRII and here was what I did. . .

Removed valve cover from car and cleaned thoroughly.

Purchased (Can get this stuff at Menards/HomeDepot/Napa)
- Aircraft Remover $8 (Best Paint Stripper Ever)
- 1 Can of 2000 Degree Primer $8
- 1 Can of 500 Degree Low Gloss Engine Paint $5
- 1 Roll Masking Tape $5
- 1 Roll Paper Towels $1
- 1 Can of Break Cleaner $4

After I removed my VC and cleaned it. I sat it down on a solid surface on a piece of cardboard. With the Aircraft Remover, Just coat the VC heavily and let sit for 10 minutes. With this stripper your going to not want to have any heavy breezes, causes it to dry to quickly. After it sits for 10 minutes or so you can clearly see the old Wrinkle finish bubbling off. Than took a plasic scraper, brass wire brush (new), and a toothbrush and removed ALL the old paint. Only took about an hour with the Aircraft Remover.

When paint was all removed it is really important to make sure the environment you are painting in is pretty clean with no wind. Any spec of dust can cause the paint to not stick correctly or cause eye sores. I then washed the entire VC with soap and water with a scrub brush. Dry thoroughly with Air Compressor. Than wiped the surface with some Pre-Clean metal cleaner. Brake cleaner will also work. This is to to remove any left over chemicals/oil/anything washing could have missed. When cleaning for the last time make sure NOT TO TOUCH VC ON SOON TO BE PAINTED SURFACES! The oil from your fingers will make the paint not stick and you will see fingerprints in it. Thoroughly dried it with air compressor again after the last wiping. At this point, I didnt want the lettering on the VC to be painted because I polished them to be crome-like. Now if your interested in how I did the lettering, you have to find out on your own, sorry. But I will tell you after the last cleaning I was careful to not touch the soon to be painted surface and applied vasoline on all the letters. Be careful to not touch the VC or get Vasoline anywhere else except on the top, flat surface of the letters. The vasoline will make the paint not stick so if it gets on the sides of the letters, or the VC, youll have to re-clean.

I then placed it where I was going to paint, A nice open, Clean, wind free environment in my garage. I had the VC sitting on cat food cans so it was raised up off the surface of the cardboard: 1. So it doesnt Stick 2. So paint can evenly coat all surfaces. Than sprayed on 2 thin coats of the 2000 Degree primer. Waiting 10 minutes between each coat. 1 hour after the last coat of primer is when its OK to put the Paint on. I did 2 light EVEN coats with the Low Gloss 500 Degree Engine paint. Again, roughly 10 minutes between each coat, and the 3rd and last spray was medium instead of light.

I recommend at least 24 hours of drying time to allow the paint to cure. I also put mine in the oven for a while to help speed up the curing process. The steps for painting I followed were exactly what the back of the primer and paint said, even the oven bit with temps. and baking times. Heres the finished result.

The first picture is a BEFORE picture with the stock Honda Wrinkle Finish paint. The last 3 are AFTER I polished the letters and painted.

Re: valve cover paint
 

SeanK325, did you completely remove the VC with aircraft remover spray and cleaned it afterwards? The wrinkle may be from gunk left over.

Re: valve cover paint
 

Great job on your vc

Re: valve cover paint
 

heat will make wrinkle finish paint wrinkle better..... I use this paint all the time. Fewer coats the better.

Re: valve cover paint
 

REALLY appreciate this post. I'm with you on all the parts to complete the job, even the aircraft stripper, except for the primer. Is it absolutely necessary? The DIY's I found didn't use primer.

I wore nitrile gloves and made sure to try and not contaminate the surface. I feel like I cleaned it well. The paint has adhered to the cover nicely. It just didn't wrinkle in some spots. I think it's just a lack of applying thick coats, as per the can's directions. I thought they were heavy coats, but guess not.

Nice job on your cover. The paint is absolutely even and nice throughout.

I completely removed all paint. Problem is, I WANT it to wrinkle. That's why I got VHT Red Wrinkle paint. The only problems were the sides where it's too smooth.

I think I've diagnosed my problem as a lack of applying a thick coat. I feel like it did it too much like a powder coat, as opposed to laying down thick paint.

I'm going to paint over the bad spot once again and bake it. If it doesn't come out the way I'd like, then I'll just strip it down and start over again. No big deal. Just mistakes on my part.

Re: valve cover paint
 

Thanks man. No the primer wasnt nesecarry. Its just what they had at napa. But ya, If I want something I'm going to paint to look nice, I will use primer. What primer does is make the paint stick better and helps even out the surface. Ya I just followed the directions on the can for both primer and paint. Some other tips are to at least bring spray paint inside for a couple hours before painting. I have even put the spray can in the toaster oven set at like 100 to 120ish for 10 minutes or so. The more heat that is applied to the paint, the more it exands inside the can. This caused the PSI in the can to rise. So the paint comes out at a higher psi with finer particles. This always ensures a nice even coat.

Re: valve cover paint
 

Engine ground is in the wrong place - move it to the valvecover mounting bolt.

Nice paintwork/prep.

Re: valve cover paint
 

Looks beautiful, I need to get mine looking like this...

Re: valve cover paint
 

please do not bump old threads