how you like my valve cover

[esp]

i removed it and sanded it a few days ago.



and




took about an hour to do. steps are available upon request

[Jas_M]

Looks good to me.

[esp]

Originally Posted by Jas_M

Looks good to me.

thanks now i just need to get new plugs and wires to make it look a little cleaner under there.

[Options]

I like it, i want to do the same thing to mine but i am to lazy to do so

[Bambooseven]

looks nice, if only it would stay that way forever huh?

[HXCivic97]

is there any trick to doing that? my valve cover desperately needs some treatment like that - what're the steps involved? Thanks-

[esp]

pm me for steps if u need them

[kevin808]

They look good. I took mine off, sanded it, and then painted it using off the shelf hi temp paint, and a series of masks.

[kevin808]

The car is for sale by the way. If you are interested and want details go to:

http://home.comcast.net/~kevin.hannon/

Phone: 978 452 2341 (Mass)

Thanks,

Kevin

[97civichx]

that valve cover is real nice. clean enough to eat off of.
i'd do mine too but i'm just so damn lazy

[lkailburn]

very very sessy valve cover. i pm'd you for steps great work man

[esp]

it is clean enough to eat off of. it is very sexy in person too. it likes long walks on the beach, oh crap wrong forum. j/k

[kevin808]

I wish I took pictures as I was doing it... I had actually considered doing it on the side to make money.

Here is what you need for supplies:
1. 3 cans of high temp paint (Gloss) 2 different colors of your choice, 1 can for highlight, 2 more for the rest of the cover
2. Plain wide beige masking tape.
3. an exacto knife, and plenty of sharp blades.
4. somewhere as dust free as possible to spray it. If you do it outdoors, try to pick a windless, dry day.
5. An ass-load of time, patience, and an understanding wife.

The Procedure:
1. Remove cover,
2. Clean the oil out of the inside of cover as best you can with an oil removing solvent, like gas, or perhaps a heavy-duty orange cleaner.
3. Sand for hours using proggresively finer grits. start around 150 and go up to like 400 (Not totaly sure of these numbers but you get the idea). I sand-blasted mine but later realised this was a wast of time seeing as I had to re-sand the whole thing anyway.
4. after you are done sanding use a air sprayer to clean surface followed by alcoholic swabs. Let dry.
5. Start masking AROUND any lettering, not on top. (Your going to spray the lettering first) You may want to get some hard charcoal, and do a rubbing to get the general shape of your letters for a mask. Do this by placing the paper over the letters, and rubbing the large flat side of the chalk or hard charcoal gently over the paper. You can then cut the general shape of the letters out of the paper, and place it over/around the letters on the valve cover. At this point break out the tape, and cut small pieces on a cutting surface like cardboard with your exacto knife to futher mask up the sides of the letters (without covering the top of the letters). When you are ready to spray your first color, cover the rest of the valve with paper, and tape.

Painting Part 1:
6. Ok, your ready to paint... Make sure the valve is as flat as possible, make several quick even passes in a row, while the paint is still wet. Make the coat thick, but not so thick it will run. DO NOT paint again once paint is dry. make sure you get it on the first wet coat. If you do there is a good chance you will make the paint buckle. There is an agent in certain paints that turn dry paint back into a liquid state and cause problems. (This may be a result of me not using a primer. you can try it with a primer if you like but It may not turn out the same with hi-temp paints. If you do make sure it is hi-temp primer).
7. while the paint is still wet remove the mask being very careful not to smudge the top surface of your paint. If you wait, the paint can become gooey and pull, or it you let it dry totally it can chip.
8. Let dry over night.
9. Mask the letter area by putting the wide masking tape in large strips over the lettering, and use the flat back edge your figernail, or a plastic spoon to rub the tape on so it sticks well to the letters.
10. With your exacto knife carve around the edges of the letters cutting away the tape. what you should end up with is masking tape forming the shape of the letters with the rest of the valve exposed for painting.
11. Paint on the second color using many light coats getting heavier as you go. Do not let paint dry totaly between layers. the early layers you should let tack a bit, but the last layer should be thick and wet. Your last coat should be heavy but not so heavy it will run. Be very carefull because your valve has verticle walls, and gravity is your enemy. Watch for too much build up and runs!
12. let dry, and enjoy!

This is mearly an acount of how I acheived a sweet coat of paint on my valve cover. Professional painters may not agree with my methods, which is fine, If you have any methods you would like to share go for it! Just don't knock mine.

Kevin808
Feel free to ask questions: [email protected]

[97civichx]

Originally Posted by esp

it is clean enough to eat off of. it is very sexy in person too. it likes long walks on the beach, oh crap wrong forum. j/k

eric you crack me up man
-------------------------------------
kevin808 do you got any pictures of your valve cover?

[esp]

Originally Posted by 97civichx

eric you crack me up man
-------------------------------------
kevin808 do you got any pictures of your valve cover?

tim,

dont be retarded, i know i am funny, know for why u are retarded, look at a few posts up above, there are already some pics of kevin808's valve cover, you know i am just kidden man bout being retarded u are my dog, i aint kidden bout the pics they are up there.