valve cover

[turabaka]

So I got an lx-i valve cover the other day for my car, and I stripped the paint off of it today, and painted it with duplicolor 1200 degree engine paint. My question is do I really need to wait 7 days for it to cure before I can bake it and put it on my car?

ps. I don't have pics of it yet, but I'll get some for you tomorrow after I finish polishing the raised areas. I already have the paint stripped off of them, but I want to get it really shiny

[lostforawhile]

never heard of that before,you don't need to bake it, just put it on the car the engine heat will bake it

[turabaka]

hmmm. interesting. I was just curious because the instructions say to bake it at 400 degrees for 15 minutes for maximum strength.

[Civic Accord Honda]

i would bake it... thats what bitesize and other members do and it should last longer if u bake it

[forrest89sei]

meh, i'd bake it, the one i got from bitesize was baked, and you could tell the paint looked alot better!

just bake it and be done :wave:

[turabaka]

That wasn't really the question. I'm going to bake it, the question is should I wait the 7 days for it to cure before I bake it, or is that really unnecessary.

[forrest89sei]

not i haven't heard of the 7 days crap, i know bitesize never did, frantik didnt, and both there covers have held up and look great

[87roach]

I waited a day before I baked it, however it didn't say to wait a certain amount of days before I did so. I just waited incase, turned out good too.

[turabaka]

alright thanks guys. I'll bake it tomorrow, and then show some pics after I install it.

[Demon1024]

I obviously didn't read the directions if it said that on mine about the curring. i heated mine up first painted it with primer baked that 30min took it out painted it and baked it again for an hour put it back on my car when it was cool. holds up to everything but tools scraping it!

[2oodoor]

hope it turns out well, Im sure it will

Im not putting my valve cover in the oven for f*cks sake, I think I will just slow cook it on the motor about 223 degrees, put a little habanero castrol rub on it... it's nummy

[BITESIZE]

I usually wait two or three days, because you will put finger prints in the paint. Don't bake it hotter than 300 degrees. The paint will start to burn, and keep an eye on it, don't bake it too long.

[BITESIZE]

Also, get a flat head screwdriver and scrape the paint off that you want to sand off. Scrape it first with the screwdriver and then get a block of wood and use some sandpaper. I used 200 grit and then went to 1000 grit, but I've had alot of practice, you may want to start with 800 grit so you don't screw up the paint. take your time or else you will want to cry!

[lostforawhile]

where is cheese with the cooking comments when you need him?

[turabaka]

Also, get a flat head screwdriver and scrape the paint off that you want to sand off. Scrape it first with the screwdriver and then get a block of wood and use some sandpaper. I used 200 grit and then went to 1000 grit, but I've had alot of practice, you may want to start with 800 grit so you don't screw up the paint. take your time or else you will want to cry!

thanks for the advice. I did mine a little differently that that though. I put vaseline on the raised parts where I didn't want paint to stick and then let the paint dry for a couple of hours. Then I went back in with an exacto knife and scraped the paint off. It was cake. :thumbup:

[forrest89sei]

thanks for the advice. I did mine a little differently that that though. I put vaseline on the raised parts where I didn't want paint to stick and then let the paint dry for a couple of hours. Then I went back in with an exacto knife and scraped the paint off. It was cake. :thumbup:

Never heard of using Vaseline, I'm eager to see pics :D

[turabaka]

Never heard of using Vaseline, I'm eager to see pics :D

That's kinda funny considering I got the advice off of 3geez somewhere. :Owned:

[BITESIZE]

Post some pictures!

[AccordB20A]

well i didnt even use heat paint. the vave cover doesnt even get hot enough. the only problem i made when painting my valve cover was not removing the gold paint underneath and the blue comes off if you hit it hard or scratch it.

[BITESIZE]

The valve cover gets up to 300 degrees at least, maybe even hotter!

[lgoldtop]

Yeah Fuck that i just painted my headers and they said to wait 7 days and i put them on and the enginge heated them up just fine

[86ccord]

pictures!!!! lol but yeah the covers do get hot.. lol i remember i got home and popped my hood and decided to lean in and put my hand right on it.. didnt feel too wonderful..lol

but good luck with everything bro! im sure it will look good!

[Civic Accord Honda]

The valve cover gets up to 300 degrees at least, maybe even hotter!
yep i bbq hot dogs on mine :) there tasty

[russiankid]

The valve cover does get hot as the engine heats up to over 210F which is boiling point of water.

[frantik]

I would follow the directions on the package..

fwiw I did not use high heat paint, nor did I bake mine. I did wait 48 hours between coats and over 48 hours before installing (as recommended on the package). haven't had any problems with mine and it still looks good. even banged a wrench against it once and didn't make a mark

[2oodoor]

all this and NOT a PICTURE of the beaut? :huh:

[HondaBoy]

the reasoning for letting it dry a few days is so the paint doesnt lift off or wrinckle. baking it isnt such a bad idea as your valve cover wont be reaching 1200 degree temp. you could have gone with the 500 degree, that works best on engine parts that arent getting that hot. 1200 degree paint is best used on exhaust manifolds and bottem end parts and cylinder heads. but yes, do bake it or else it may stay somewhat gooey and peal easily. also in my experiences not baking it will allow it to absorb oil and dirt more easily.

[turabaka]

the reasoning for letting it dry a few days is so the paint doesnt lift off or wrinckle. baking it isnt such a bad idea as your valve cover wont be reaching 1200 degree temp. you could have gone with the 500 degree, that works best on engine parts that arent getting that hot. 1200 degree paint is best used on exhaust manifolds and bottem end parts and cylinder heads. but yes, do bake it or else it may stay somewhat gooey and peal easily. also in my experiences not baking it will allow it to absorb oil and dirt more easily.

Thanks. I ended up going for the 1200 degree paint because I couldn't find flat black in the 500, and I didn't really want gloss black. I baked it and it turned out great. I thought I already posted pics, but I'll take another look and see if I can't find some.

edit: added a pic

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee1/turabaka/valve_cover.jpg

[mykwikcoupe]

thats a beaut!!!! looks great

[HondaBoy]

woot!! looks great man. good job.

[race12001]

yea man that looks real good

[turabaka]

Thanks guys. I am having a little problem with it though. I can't for the life of me get it to seal down. so it goes for a day without leaking oil, and then it starts to leak. I've tried using the blue forma gasket on the rubber valve cover gasket, but it didn't work. Any ideas?

[MessyHonda]

sexiiiiiii!

[2oodoor]

LOOKS AWESOME !!
I am drewling over the 38/38 and FP, and the cool filter housing.. real nice.
where are you guys getting those sexy oil caps?

[race12001]

ebay

[HondaBoy]

saying you tried using the blue sealant, is that the anaerobic sealant? if so id wonder if that gasket is just slightly too small and maybe you need to try another one?

[russiankid]

For the gasket, i use the gray sealant. Works really well.

[turabaka]

LOOKS AWESOME !!
I am drewling over the 38/38 and FP, and the cool filter housing.. real nice.
where are you guys getting those sexy oil caps?

I got the oil cap from Bitesize a while back actually. lol. So I have no idea.

I think I'm gonna go to napa tomorrow and buy a new valve cover gasket and see if I can't solve the problem.

[russiankid]

I got the oil cap from Bitesize a while back actually. lol. So I have no idea.

I think I'm gonna go to napa tomorrow and buy a new valve cover gasket and see if I can't solve the problem.

Get a Felpro one. Mine leaks a little bit at one corner, but I'm not going to worry about it right now.

[turabaka]

^^ yeah I've noticed the felpro gaskets work really well in general. did you use formagasket on the underside between the head and the gasket? or just the gasket?

[MessyHonda]

no...get a honda gasket...my felpro started to leak....i guess i over tighten it....my honda one does not leak

[evil88accordLX]

i used a Felpro and the red gasket sealer and no leak yet in over 22,000 miles.....

[turabaka]

alright it's time I updated. I went to Napa last week and bought a new gasket. I got the napa one that comes with the grommets. I put it on, and waited a couple of days to be sure it wasn't leaking. Sure enough, no leaks. I didn't even use formagasket on the underside of it.

[DBMaster]

You guys are getting it all wrong. The instructions are for you to paint it and then GET baked! LOL

[2oodoor]

ahh haa haa ^^^^

I use permatex hi tack , you could also use Nissan weather strip glue, really really good stuff, between the gasket and cover to hold it in place while it is inverted. These rubber gaskets seal good and if you use silicone it tends to push the gasket out, kinda like hydraulic action there. Use silicone just a dab on the tips where there are sharpe angles that may create a void.