roman_pushkin
New Member
have a valve cover and been wanting to repaint it, but dont have a sand blaster so what kind of sand paper should i use??? Any color suggestions its a 90 white accord with a stock engine
how to paint a valve cover????
- Thread starter roman_pushkin
- Start date
- Replies 12
- Views 5K
We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms
When I did mine I used a sand blaster. If I was in your position I would try to use some paint thinner or paint remover. If not use some 120 grit sand paper. as long as you put a few coats of primer on it and take your time it should come out nice smooth and shiny. Remember when painting to let the coats dry before applying another and not to overspray. Here are some pics of mine.
Before
After
Before
After
I would prefer to not sandblast a valve cover actually. Yeah, it will give you a nice surface to paint, but it can also leave junk inside the valve cover that will eventually end up inside the motor.
Here's how I did mine:
First, I stripped the paint off with aircraft stripper. It works great; just spray the valve cover down with it and then wait 10 mins or so. The paint should start to bubble and then you can just take a hose and wash it off. You might have to repeat this a couple times to get all the factory paint off. Also, be careful with the stripper, because it will burn your skin.
After that, I bought a little sanding kit from Wal-Mart that has discs you can put on a drill. It came with 3 discs, a course sandpaper, a lighter sandpaper, and a Scotch Brite one. I just went over the whole valve cover with each of those, ending with the Scotch Brite. I would also recommend buying a few sheets of sandpaper and a Scotch Brite pad to get in the little areas where the sanding discs won't fit.
After that, wipe it down with a tack cloth to get any sanding dust off (or just wash the whole thing with soap and water. Now you're ready to paint...
You don't really need to use a primer, but it doesn't hurt. I used Duplicoler engine enamel. I sprayed about 3 coats of primer, followed by 4 coats of color, and then about 3 coats of clear. I did all of that in succession (like don't wait for the primer to dry completely before you spray the color), waiting about 15-20 mins in between coats. Just take your time, hold the can about 8-10 inches away from the valve cover, and spray light coats. 3-5 light coats is better than 1-2 heavy coats; you won't get runs if you do light coats.
After that, I'd let it sit somewhere for a good 48 hours if you can. If you only have one valve cover and you need to drive the car, then you can try baking it in the oven to cure the paint, or just install it back on the car and let the heat from the motor bake it.
If you have any other questions let me know. Here's a picture of how mine turned out:
roman_pushkin
New Member
here it is how my valve cover turned out!!
Attachments
philyphreak2127
Back in the Game
brutal you should do a write up in the tech section...I know there is already one but do a revision for people that don't have a sandblaster.
Nice work.
I have one on a different site actually. Maybe I'll ask B or some of the other staff if they'd be interested in having it on HondaSwap.
philyphreak2127
Back in the Game
for sure. It's worth it. I didn't even use paint stripper when I painted mine. I went over it with an air powered sander, and then by hand, I am in the process of wet sanding it now. Just to get some of the deep scratches semi out of it before I paint it.
I bet that thing will look real nice when you're done...
philyphreak2127
Back in the Game
thats the plan. there are actually 2 in the works, and one already painted on my car. I have a couple spare motors.
Similar threads
