help painting valve covers

[Boone.Msi]

hey guys, i searched but didnt find much. Im takin the valve covers off tomorrow, i want to paint them to match the silver on the v8 cover. what color(code) did you guys use.

also theyre not that bad looking. the oem paint dosent look that bad over most of the cover. what grit sand paper should i use to get that stripped. did you you guys prime and clear coat them?

im new to painting so i hope this isnt a disaster. any pics would be helpful. im taking the covers off to do a gasket replacement by the way. thanks

[Super90]

I had the covers media blasted, milled, and I painted them with high temp silver paint. That was maybe three or four years ago and now paint is flaking off again. My indy said the covers are magnesium and that not much will stick to them. Powder coat should work better than anything and I would do that if I had to do it over again.

FYI, when you put it all together afterwards, use some Permatex anaerobic gasket sealer on the new gaskets. That will keep you from having leaking valver covers again within a couple of years.

Best of luck,

Robert

[infinity5]

i took off my VC's and sanded them for a long time. i applied about a dozen coats of high-temp spray paint.

i'd say it lasted 6-months or so before it started to bubble up and peel off.

You should powder coat them. Or else use primers and all that fancy stuff ;)

[zman-95-540i]

+1 for powder coating them.

[Boone.Msi]

guess it wont be as easy as i thought, any guess at what it will cost to powdercoat? im about to lock it up in the garage for a week.

[winfred]

if you do it right paint lasts just fine i use vht ceramic engine paint, i start by killing off the cosmoline with something like aircraft stripper spray, once clean degrease and let dry in the sun, and hit it with a few light coats, i put around 40k miles on my 535s paint
http://members.cox.net/wdixon27/535r%20motor.jpg
and probably 65-70k on this valve cover
http://members.cox.net/wdixon27/%20m20%20r%20motor.jpg
i hit this intake with a laquier clear coat the next day after paint and pulled off a cool wrinkle finish
http://members.cox.net/wdixon27/wrinkleedm20.jpg
no peeling or bubbling

[barry 90 525i]

ive done many m30 covers and did my 525, i sell them on ebay, first i clean it real good with chemicals, then lighty sand it all, making sure all grease and dirt are off, then i use 500 degree engine paint, several thin coats, let it dry and bake in the sun for a day, then use my sander and sand all raised areas so the actual metal shows thru, the use 500 degree clear to seal it, after a year and a half, no flaking or bubbling and looks great, just takes some time and effort.

[Super90]

I think the M60 covers, which are reported to be magnesium, are a different material than the I6 motors' covers. That would potentially explain the difference in peoples' experiences.

Do what you like, but the powder coat is the best bet, and it sure is a bummer to do all the work only to have it peeling up a few years later. A year and a half is not long enough. Mine were fine for a couple of years at least; then it started lifting off at, say, year three.

Regards,

R.

[winfred]

the m50/m60 covers have this shitty epoxy trash smeared all over them that makes them look like weird under the crappy paint, they look like aluminum to me, i've never done up a set of them for myself but id sand blast them to prep for a fancy paint job, that epoxy laughs at stripper. i am at about year 6 or 7 on my e30s valve cover and it's still tight


I think the M60 covers, which are reported to be magnesium, are a different material than the I6 motors' covers. That would potentially explain the difference in peoples' experiences.

Do what you like, but the powder coat is the best bet, and it sure is a bummer to do all the work only to have it peeling up a few years later. A year and a half is not long enough. Mine were fine for a couple of years at least; then it started lifting off at, say, year three.

Regards,

R.

[Boone.Msi]

Thanks for the input guys, im definantly gonna get it powder coated. I just got my ass kicked trying to lower my suspension(even though ive done 3 cars before) so i would rather just pay=have it done right= :D