hi peeps i was wondering how do you prep a valve cover for paint and what paint to use.. thanks

 

Depends on what kind of look you're going for. If you want a gloss finish, you need to sand it finer. If you want a rougher finish, just scuff it up so the paint will stick.

Let us know exactly what you want out of it and we can be more specific.

 

Aircraft Paint Stripper, available at any home improvement store in the paint section. It comes as a spray or a gel, either work fine, and with a few coats it will have it down to bare metal. Wash it off after each application, then clean the whole thing w/ detergent and water. If you want to be really safe, wipe with acetone and a clean cloth, and you're good to go. Make sure you wear gloves also, that stripper is nasty stuff.

This method is much easier than sanding, and you'll have more consistent results. Not to mention, you won't have a huge build up of paint if you decided to paint it over and over like some do.

 

coo thnks i will try that

 

this is true. also, VHT makes a wrinkle spray paint that you can get in either black or red.

 

Just brought this back from the dead aircraft remover and duplicolor high gloss black and high gloss clear!



shaved the letters..

 

Forgot to mention i put a layer of high temp engine paint first!

 

You could save yourself the trouble and get the Duplicolor high-temp gloss black : P. Comes in 500 & 1200 degree, but the latter is way overkill. The 500* High Gloss is what I use also, although your clear coat on top is waaay sexy.

 

The duplicolor engine enamel products work great.. As you can see from the pics posted above.

Everyone has their own way of doing things, but I did my valve cover using these steps:
- I start with around 3 coats of Air Craft Stripper washed/sprayed with water in between each coat.
- Scuff the surface with a Scotch Brite Pad
- Thoroughly clean it with acetone or a degreaser
- Mask off any areas you don't want paint on
- Hit it with some coats of Duplicolor heat resistant primer
- Then I hit it with some coats of the actual Paint using Duplicolor Engine Enamel
- Then I used the Duplicolor High Temp Clear Coat

Results:

 

^^ looks good.

 

what color yellow is that? looks better than authentic spoon :D

 

DE 1642 Daytona Yellow by Duplicolor... It's a heat resistant paint you can pick up at any auto-parts store. Hell of a lot cheaper than an authentic Spoon. Spoon products are awesome don't get me wrong, but I'm not rich.. haha

I also have a spare I'll be doing in this Purple color that looks like an anodized finish. I'll post that up as soon as it's finished.

 

I used aircraft paint stripper (paste), sandable primer, black Duplicolor high temp 500'degrees, and clear Duplicolor High temp. it looks real clean.

 

I also put mine in the oven

 

I just cleaned mine up i never sanded it or anything, i just put 3 layers of high temp paint, and i think it turned out great

 

do you have replace the gasket every time you take off the valve cover???

 

Heres one i did for my motor a few months ago, i got this for $20!!
Before (real ugly..)



After ( real nice!!)

 

Could you elaborate on this process? What temp. do u use?? Any advantages to using the oven? I'm assuming it's so the paint cures quicker?

 

Nope, unless it's old/cracked. Just remember to use Hondabond or Permatex Grey at the cams section of the gasket for a proper seal.

Also, if you plan on keeping the raised lettering/logo, you can use chapstick or Vaseline on the raised letters/logo to keep them metallic like OEM. Or if you're lazy, you can just go over the raised lettering/logo with a sander after the paint has dried.

 

Take your time, remove the old paint, degrease it, make sure it's the right temperature lay down some good high heat primer and thin even coats of high heat paint.