> My valve cover was half-assed done this way. (I didn't sand or use clear
> coat and it shows.) Probably one of the biggest issues people run into
when
> they do this is bad paint. Your exhaust header gets extremely hot. You
have
> to use a paint that can take this sort of heat otherwise it will flake off
> very quickly and make all your hard work look like doo doo.
Yes, definitely use engine paint! It's twice as expensive per can as
regular spray paint, but it can withstand the higher temperatures that the
engine (and exhaust) can reach. And we're talking $3-4 per can rather than
$1-2. Whoop de do. There's even special clearcoat for the engine that's
also temp resistant. Last week I took the old valve cover of my original
Miata engine (now fully dismantled), cleaned it all up, gave it 2 coats of
Ford Red and a coat of clearcoat, and swapped it onto the car. (So the car
has its original valve cover back, but now on the replacement engine.
Confused yet?) Looks great, even after a Saturday with long periods of
idling and 91-99 second runs at full tilt - plenty of time to heat up and
wreck the paint, if it was going to.
- Justin
SPOC NE web site: http://www.spocne.org
