Polishing the Valve cover?
 

Those of you who have done this, or know how:

How would I go about doing this? My JDM Valve cover is dirty, and needs a shine. Advice?

I haven't polished my valve cover yet, but I bought a polishing kit to polish the frame/swingarm/wheels of my Ninja sportbike and I'll let you in on a few things.

1. Once you start you can't stop.

2. It is a perfectionists nightmare.

3. Get it powercoated instead.


Reasons;

1a. My kit had 2 steps (medium compound, polish compound). You will keep doing the 2 steps til your arms fall off. Polishing aluminum to a mirror finish is "A perfectionists nightmare".

2a. See # 1

3a. It's around $40 - $80 to get your valve cover sand blasted and then powercoated. It's an incredibly tough, beautiful finish, and will last forever.

I'm not trying to discourage, only warn you. :dunno:

Example Please...
 

Can you show me a picture of something powdercoated?

HOWEVER...if you do want that mirrow finished look of polished aluminum.....see if you can find someone that does that sort of thing for a living....and pay them to do it...it may not be cheep....but if you have EVER done it once....you will know why...its WORK WORK WORK...many hours of it, and that is if you have all the right equipment to do it with...and if you just get a little do it yourself kit....it will get the job done...but with a LOT more time and work involved.....but after its done....THEN you have to keep it up.....

my suggestion...if you what that look.....get it polished....then have it clear powder coated....that would be the top of the line way to go.

as for things that are powder coated? most of your wheels that are any color at all are powder coated....it can be done in ANY color...even with different textures if you like....its better than epoxy paints....

here is how it done, Powder Coating is an advanced yet simple way of spray-painting a very fine, dry plastic powder paint onto a metal surface. As the powder paint cloud gently leaves the front of the spray gun, it is charged with static electricity. The charge attracts the powder paint to the part that requires coating. The part is then placed in an oven, where it bakes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. While in the oven, the powder paint melts and flows into a beautiful and durable finish. Primers are not necessary. And there are no unsightly runs or drips, as often results with the use of wet paint. Prior to baking, powder coating is very forgiving of coating mistakes. Because it is powder, the paint can be blown with a low-pressure air nozzle, quickly and easily covering up the mistake.

haha im in the process of polishing the valve cover off my original engine. yup its ALOT of work. you have to sand the rough surfaces down till they get smooth and then use finer and finer grit sandpaper. Polish it after that. I like the fact that im actually polishing my own valve cover and it actually gets to the point where i can see my reflection in it but it is alot of work. good thing i have 2 engines!! If you arent patient take it somewhere and get it done professionally.

Jeremy

the Man.....youre welcome...its My Pleasure to help whenever I can.

Knowledge is POWER. :bt:

and thirst is everything!.......sorry just bored

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Sorry to sound stupid, but is the valve cover that big shiny metal cover that is under the factory airbox, against the engine, that has the picture of the HAND on it? (the do not touch type of hand)?

Thanks

Nope...that would be the exhaust manifold heat shield. The Vavle Cover is that cover with the spark plug holes in it :) The metal cover on your motor. :peace: :smoke: :cheers: :cookoo: hehe playing with some of the new smileys :mach: :wackit:

Something else about powder coating...
 

You can do it at home for a lot cheaper than paying some one else to do it.

They sell the stuff you need for reasonable prices, and it's farely easy to find used ovens that work for cheap.

I say a used oven, because it's probably not the best idea to use the oven you use in your home on a regular basis to "cook" the powder coating. Maybe it's just me, but i don't want my food to taste like powder coat.

If you plan on powder coating lots of things, it might be cheaper to go this route. Plus it comes in handy for other projects.:nod:

Yeah, I've been considering Polishing my Valve cover but I wanted to find another valve cover because I know I wont be able to do it in a day & I need to drive my car!! But, Im not sure I want to take the time. I also considered checking into the equipment so I can do it easily & then start selling the polished valve covers (or not really selling the valve cover, but trading it for your stock valve cover & then charging for the polishing) but thats going to be down the road. Right now, Im looking into getting into powder coating. Much easier to get into!!

Polishing Valve Cover
 

First off, it is very very time consuming, I probably had 10-12 hours in the valve cover on my integra. If you wish to proceed, I would suggest having the following:

1) Aircraft Stripper (to strip the old paint off the valve cover)
2) 3M Sand Pad (round sand pad for use with the end of drill, has multiple flaps that when spinning, will sand down your rough spots with the quickness)
3) 1500-2500 Grit Sand Paper
4) A DREMEL
5) Dremel Polishing Kit

Those 5 things will make the job ALOT easier, and will definitely make it look like a professional job, just have to be patient, patient, patient...and a perfectionist!

Good Luck

:D
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Suzuki MightyBoy history

Gotcha, I know I felt a little stupid asking. But hey, as the old saying goes, ask a question and you'll be stupid for 5 minutes, don't ask a question and you'll be stupid forever.

Then, speaking of the VALVE Cover (as I now know what it is)... if you don't want to have it powder coated, but just CLEANING it, whats the best way?

Last year I bought that engine cleaner stuff. You know, spray it on, and it turns into a foam, then scrub/wash it off?

Well it worked pretty good, but NOT as good as I would like it to be. Any other ideas?

Also the "exhaust manifold heat shield". Whats a good way to clean that?

How much is powder coating? I was thinking of doing that to my rims too.