civicSI95

Alright. So, this is how I painted my Valve Cover.
It's easy and not expensive.

Tools Neened:
(1) Valve Cover "From your engine"
(1) Dupli Colour Engine Enamel "High Heat" (colour of your choice) -$8.99 CND Tire.
(1) Pack of Engine Sand Paper -$2.99 CND Tire.
(1) Gloves -$.99 CND Tire
(1) Exacto Knife
(1) Pack of Cuttips (yes, cuttips LOL, the ones to clean your eat, you'll see why)
(1) NewsPaper for the paint
(1) OLD CLOTHING.. TRUST ME.



Alright, so, ince you got all of that, let's begin.
I will show you examples on how I did mine.


1.
Take off the 6 nuts that are on top of the valve cover, along with the plug wires.


2.
Remove the timing belt / cam gear cover.


3.
Remove the valve cover, flip it up-side down and set it down. Cover the engine with a plastic bag so nothing gets in the engine. If the valve cover is stuck, take a flat head screw driver and carefully pry up the edges.

4.
Take the gasket and carefully set it down some where, where it wont get messed up.


5.
Get some paper towels and clean up all of the oil on the inside of the valve cover.


6.
Flip the valve cover right side up, and set it on some paper towels, remove the plastic and metal washers if they are still there (some oil will still drip down).


7.
Begin to sand the valve cover. The sanding doesn't have to be perfect, its just so the enamel will better adhere to the cover. I went over it using a mesh thing, not sure what it was, but it worked good, and sanded easy. Wear a glove too. You want to sand the cover, not your fingers.
A good 20-30 minutes should be all you need for the sanding.


OKAY. NOW THAT YOU HAVE SANDED AND CLEANED IT, ITS READY FOR PAINTING. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PRIME IT, SINCE THERE IS NOT REAL ENGINE PRIMER. PLUS, YOU DON'T NEED TO PRIME, JUST DO 3-4 COATS OF PAINT AND IT WILL STAY THERE.

PAINTING STEPS:

1.
COVER ALL HOLES AND ACCESS POINTS WITH AUTOMOTIVE TAPE/PAINTERS TAPE (shown below):


2.
NOW, SINCE I LIVE IN A CONDO, I DON'T HAVE A BASEMENT OR BACKYARD, SO, I GOT STUCK PAINTING IT IN MY ROOM ON THE FLOOR. AND FOT THAT REASON, I OPENED MY WINDOW WIDE AND PLACED A FAN TO TAKE THE AIR FROM INSIDE OUT (like ventilation):


3.
I COMPLETED MY FIRST COAT WITH THE "ENGINE ENAMEL":



4.
JUST A CLOSER LOOK... THE PAINT IS SEMI-GLOSS AND IT LOOKS AMAZING:



5.
OK. SO, HERE COME THE CUTTIPS lol ... I used them and sprayed a bit in the cap of the spray paint, and use the cuttips to dip and paint the letters "VTEC, ETC"... it works like a charm:


6.
AND HERE IS THE COMPLETED PRODUCT. I painted the emblem Silver and Honda Silver but vtec i wanted to stand out a bit so, black.




After all is done, let it sit and dry for about 4 hours. (In the Sun is the best way)

Then once it's all dried up, carefully flip it over and tap (with your fingers, or a towel) the gasket back into place. Reverse step one, and re-install the valve cover. make sure it is firmly seated and the gasket is not damaged.


Thats it, your done and now have a great looking valve cover.

moparfwdsleeper

Brake caliper paint is much more better, less likely to chip, and harder to stratch. other then that nice:thumbsup:

If you want to get a smooth and real deep shine...

blast it with aluminum oxide.
spray it with your brake caliper colored paint
let air dry in a clean CLEAN area with min. air movement(dust, trash, etc)
spray it with your brake caliper clear paint
once again, let dry as above
wetsand with clean hot soapy water using 1500grit
wash off with clean hot soapy water
apply another layer of clear, let dry
wetsand with clean hot soapy water using 2000grit
wash off with clean hot soapy water
apply another coat of your brake caliper clear paint

should turn out great, if nothing else ~ use brake caliper paint it will last longer...

GTISleeze

That definitely turned out well, that looks sick

civicSI95

it looks really sweet in the engine compartment

honda-vtec9@hotmail.com

it will last longer if u dont put it in the sun

GTISleeze

Do you have a pic yet of it back on the engine?

msavides

looks Awesome. Great job!

gtprince

ye a pic on the engine?? to see if it cracked or faded

Vroom

That looks sweet! The thing I liked most about it is the price, good bang for your buck

Default User

iTrader: (1)

I'll add my 2 cents....

If you're looking for a real glossy look - on the second last coat - use a heat gun or hairdryer....wetsand it.....then on a low blower mode - use the heatgun/hairdryer again.

the sanding is for 2 reasons - (1) to ensure proper adhesion with paint and metal, and (2) to ensure there is no more oil on the valve cover. Remember - proper prepping will avoid the bubble and run off.

If you are on a real tight budget - Crappy Tire has their own Motomaster brand High Heat Engine Enamel for about $1 less.

While you're in the mood to paint - grab a can of Aluminum High-Heat paint and hit your exhaust manifold.

civicSI95

Hey guys, sorry for the loooong wait. But here, finally I got a couple of them.

It has not faded or chipped... its just a little dirty as you can see, I want to give it a good wash in the summer and replace some stuff...

tell me what you guys think.

Vroom

looks good man. Thanks for the tips :thumbsup:

Default User

iTrader: (1)

Looks good - just remember that most engine degreasers and cleaners may ruin the finish on painted products

civicSI95

thanks good to noe