The paint on my valve cover is chipping off to the point you can remove the paint with your fingernail. I'm going to be replacing the gaskets, and want to just rub all the old paint off and leave it bare metal.
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Is this a bad idea? Would it rust/corrode? The paint is just rubbing off anyways so I don't see what purpose it serves at this point.

Can I leave the valve cover bare aluminum or is it necessary to paint it?

I mainly don't want to wait for paint to dry and don't want to risk paint getting in engine and would prefer to leave it bare.

Here's a photo of one I found online that looks similar to mine.. the paint is chipping off, but mine is to the point where you can wipe it off with a rag.

This is not my valve cover, but a photo of one that looks similar to mine.

 

Take it off, buy some aircraft paint stripper, spray it on, wash it off, leave it bare if you want. It's aluminum.

 

I decided to paint it. I'm doing 2 light coats and one heavy coat of both primer and color. How long after the final coat before I can drive the car again? I needed to go somewhere this evening but won't finish the last coat until about 4:00.

 

I didn't run into any problems so far, and I'm really happy with the results.


I hope the results will last a long time and not start peeling. I'm gonna do the heat shield under the engine tomorrow.

 

If the primer is rated for 2000f but the color is only rated for 500f would this work for the manifold heat shield below the engine, or would it get too hot?