Has anyone had any bad experiences caused from using a powdercoated or painted valve cover? I have seen cases where the sand blasting media can get stuck in the baffles of the valve cover and then over time get into the oil and ruin the engine bearings.

I just got my valve cover professionally powdercoated when I found out about the possibility of it ruining my engine. So I guess I'd like to know if anyone has been using a painted or powdercoated valve cover - and how long the engine has lasted after using it.

 

the only time you can run into problems with paint is when you dont mask off the spark plug holes, oil cap hole, and grommet areas. paint on the surface of the vc as long as its designed for heat can do no harm

 

^^ exactly!

i see people that paint their valve covers and they paint inside the threaded areas for the oil cap spark plug holes unmasked

when i paint my valve covers i make sure i mask off even the spots where the rubber washers are going to sit for the valve cover...cuz once everything is "dry" and you try to tighten your valve cover...those spots will crack the paint...and you're SOL!

 

I'm not talking about the paint getting ruined, I'm talking about sand blasting the valve cover before painting. If sand gets caught up in the baffles under the valve body, it could still be there when you put the valve cover back on the engine - and then sand can get down in your engine bearings and wear them out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tim2179 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm not talking about the paint getting ruined, I'm talking about sand blasting the valve cover before painting. If sand gets caught up in the baffles under the valve body, it could still be there when you put the valve cover back on the engine - and then sand can get down in your engine bearings and wear them out.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Make sure you blow it off really well before painting and reinstalling...If you're putting a valve cover back on with media, or sand still in/on it, you're being lazy. If you had it done professionally and something happens, try to get them to pay for it, but I don't think you'll be able to prove it.

 

as far as getting the paint off and getting ready to re apply paint, i would use aircraft remover and sand paper, but sandblasting may be alright just be sure to rince it really well, though even that might not get all the tiny bits of sand out

 

A real powdercoating shop will stop off the valve cover prior to sandblast. Then they should blow it off thoroughly. Spark plug holes and non threaded holes does not need to be stopped off. For paint yes, because it will chip. Threaded holes needs to be stopped off for obvious reasons, and so does the ground spot. The valve cover gasket for the bolt should be able to squeeze into the holes, and no powdercoat will not chip or wear off from it. Sucks for the people that blew their engines, This is the first I heard of. On a side note, how stupid can someone be getting a fresh powdercoated valve cover and not inspecting it prior to putting it on. I would think just picking it up you will feel the sand on your hands. And if there is a little bit of powdercoat inside the valve cover it will not melt unless it reaches 380 degrees. I dont think I ever burnt myself from touching a valve cover lol.

Ps. I know because my shop does powdercoating, and had my valve cover powdercoated for 5 yrs. I've also done 5 others on the side and nothing ever has happened.

 

Thanks for the post. I didn't think anything of it when I go my valve cover powder coated, but then a friend of mine pointed this link out to me and I was just a little nervous.

http://www.engintecs.com/galle...=3356





It seems that real professional shops have the equipment to properly clean the material from the valve cover. I just wanted to hear from ppl that had had their valve covers painted and haven't had any problems.

 

Do you have any pictures of the actual blown engine? To me it just looks like the valve cover was dirty to begin with. Some parts are really clean, and the others rusted, Like water got in there or something. Beats me. Also whoever did that job did a poor job at stopping it off. lol.

 

Some powdercoating shops will also chemically strip your valve cover instead of sandblasting. I had to scrap a VC because there was too much sand in the baffle and wouldnt come out. Wasnt going to take the chance of sand messing up the internals.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95ProjectEJ1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Some powdercoating shops will also chemically strip your valve cover instead of sandblasting. I had to scrap a VC because there was too much sand in the baffle and wouldnt come out. Wasnt going to take the chance of sand messing up the internals. </TD></TR></TABLE>
So could you hear the sand in there when you shook it, or was it pouring out?


I talked to my powder coater and asked if he would just chemically strip the valve cover. He said that the only way (well the best way I guess) to get the powder coat to adhere to the surface was to prepare it with media blasting.

I just got my valve cover back yesterday and it looked ok to me. I could't find any sand left in the baffles. Still, I'm going to change the oil next week, and maybe a gain a month later to try to minimize any chance of getting crap in the engine.

 

Yeah, I shook the hell out of it and I could hear the sand slosh back and forth. Some of it was pouring out. I got so pissed and frustrated that I slammed it on the ground and broke the damn thing. Yanked the baffle off only to discover a small sandbox in my VC.

 

Yea the easiest way to powdercoat is to sandblast it. Or you can sand it by hand but then it's not guaranteed a smooth finish due to gassing out from stuff stuck in the material. If they properly stop it off with masking tape, there shouldn't be much sand in the valve cover.