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What is this ugly brownish coating sh..stuff on my 1992s valve covers? I always thought the valve covers looked like they were made of molded clay by a 6th grader and they're just plain crappy looking and now this performance enhancing coating is flaking off making the covers look horrid. So, I gots to do something. Luckily for me, it's a 92!! The most oddball valve covers in the world!! I'm pretty sure that painting these 27 year old, oil soaked covers ain't gonna work out too well and it looks like new ones ain't gonna happen either. I found some cheesy looking chrome valve cover covers on flea bay that apparently stick on with double sided tape that sounded too awful to be true - NOPE! Ani't doing that. I'm running out of ideas here guys.
So, Is it possible to somehow strip off the rest of the factory coating and just leave them that way? How bad/good do you guys think they would look? What are my options with this?
Having a 92 as well, the brown crud is the effects of age on the factory coating. They can be stripped and repainted. The magnesium looks pretty sad when bare. And since they are magnesium, you will need to do some reading on cleaning and prepping magnesium for paint. There are several threads about it here. Another option is powder coating.
Here are mine before and after painting, not back to factory, but a color I liked.
Having a 92 as well, the brown crud is the effects of age on the factory coating. They can be stripped and repainted. The magnesium looks pretty sad when bare. And since they are magnesium, you will need to do some reading on cleaning and prepping magnesium for paint. There are several threads about it here. Another option is powder coating.
Here are mine before and after painting, not back to factory, but a color I liked.
This ^
They're the crappiest castings in existence, and they covered them with a thick "coating" of some sort to hide that.
Blast them and what is underneath is just sad.
You can do metal working to them to clean them up. I had good results with a used kitchen stove I bought for 30 bucks and the Harbor Freight powder coat kit, which I think was about 60. Use good powders, though. "Prismatic Powders" is a good source, and they have every color you could want.
One thing nobody ever says about powder coating is that you can use it as a kind of primer in and of itself. Solid colors, you can kinda sand and smooth it, and recoat, and fill little pits and things.
As a bonus, they will be very easy to clean as powder coat is very low porosity and the heat resistance is good, depending on the powder you choose.
Out of all the options, I guess cleaning them up and painting them seems to be the only shot. I've read somewhere that the covers are rather porous and after the 27 year oil bath these things have gone through, I thinking it'll be a perpetual maintenance issue with keeping paint on it. Never have done powder coating before, sounds a bit intimidating.
Btw, Good job, belairbrian. How long have you been running those painted ones. Any issues?
Last edited by VetteSpot; Apr 6, 2019 at 02:15 PM.
Out of all the options, I guess cleaning them up and painting them seems to be the only shot. I've read somewhere that the covers are rather porous and after the 27 year oil bath these things have gone through, I thinking it'll be a perpetual maintenance issue with keeping paint on it. Never have done powder coating before, sounds a bit intimidating.
Btw, Good job, belairbrian. How long have you been running those painted ones. Any issues?
Thanks. The credit really goes to all the folks here that provided advice on prep.
I went:
degreaser
Aircraft Strip
Wash
TSP Wash
Rinse
Sweated remaining oil out
Another TSP wash
Rinse
Self etching Primer
Top coat
I've had them on for about 18 months. No issues. Now that I have a blast cabinet I'll probably redo them at some point to use a satin black. Think it would make for a more cohesive appearance.
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Valve cover coverage?
