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View Full Version : Valve cover refresh with wrinkle paint



bfarroo
05-04-2009, 08:33 PM
I had a VC that came with my shadow that was painted a gold color that I will never use on another vehicle. It was the one piece style so I decided to clean it up and paint it to install on my 87 and get rid of the leaky 4 piece unit. I first stripped the old paint off with some paint stripper. It's some nasty stuff so if you use this stuff make sure you wear a face shield and some good rubber gloves. It burns pretty good if you get it on your skin. After the paint that was going to come off was removed I used a die grinder with a carbide bur to remove the casting flash from the bottom front of the VC, then some sanding rolls to clean it up. I polished the lettering and ribs with a gold 3M pad on a angle grinder and then a blue pad. I did the polishing first to get it cleaned up before the new paint was sprayed so that I don't have to spend as much time after the new paint is applied so there is less chance for me to slip off and screw up the lettering. I wiped it down good with some wax and grease remover and then applied 3 medium to heavy coats of wrinkle paint as per the instructions. I allowed it to dry overnight and then moved it into the window where it could sit in the sun for another week to make sure the paint was good and hard. Then I repolished the lettering and that's where I'm at. I'm up in the air about leaving the lettering with the grain from the sanding disk giving it more of a machined look or hitting it with some wetsanding paper and polishing it with some mothers. anyways here's some pics.

http://www.extremepsi.org/gallery/album21

and the finished product

http://www.extremepsi.org/gallery/albums/album21/DSC01325.jpg

Mario
05-04-2009, 08:37 PM
Looks great man. I think polishing it more like you planned would look better. Or get a sanding block with some medium to heavy grit and go in a horizontal direction. That's usually how I do mine.

BadAssPerformance
05-04-2009, 09:27 PM
Looks awesome Benji! :clap:

A couple more details on the steps and pics and it would be a nice KC article ;)

Gaboon
05-10-2009, 09:04 AM
Looks great!

What brand paint did you use?

Mopar318
05-10-2009, 09:53 AM
Looks great. Thats not the rubberized coating is it? Hope not, it will melt right off, already been there.

minigts
05-10-2009, 12:10 PM
Looks awesome. Get some fine sand paper, like 1000 grit and get it nice and slick, then polish it if you're not at that stage yet. Just DON'T mess up the paint!! Looks so good the way it is. :)

Mopar318
05-10-2009, 02:57 PM
Looks awesome. Get some fine sand paper, like 1000 grit and get it nice and slick, then polish it if you're not at that stage yet. Just DON'T mess up the paint!! Looks so good the way it is. :)

Ummm, explain how to polish a krinkle finish?:confused:

Mario
05-10-2009, 05:12 PM
Ummm, explain how to polish a krinkle finish?:confused:

The lettering....

minigts
05-10-2009, 11:35 PM
The lettering....

Thank you Mario. :)

xdig
05-11-2009, 09:30 AM
The valve cover is looking good. Try using a heat gun or hair dryer to dry the paint after you spray as it seems to help the wrinkling process.

bfarroo
05-11-2009, 08:15 PM
It wrinkled good and even. Took about 2 hours. It says on the can that a heat lamp can be used to wrinkle the paint quicker. I'll have to look which brand it is. I bought it a while ago to do a few other things. It comes in a black can with a red logo from what I remember. It may have been Krylon. I did both of the BOV pipes on my Shelby Z and Spirit and they are holding up good so far. The biggest thing I've found is to make sure it is good and dry/hard before installing on the car. I'm going to polish the letters when I get some time.

OMNI-Potent
05-12-2009, 09:05 AM
Nice job, looks awesome!

neonsox
05-12-2009, 09:13 AM
Add another vote to "Looks Great". IMO, this looks so much better than some color painted or chromed out VC, but to each his own.

bfarroo
05-12-2009, 09:02 PM
They each have their own place. I like the stock look in my 87 so that's why I'm doing this valve cover. I've polished the one on my dakota just because I wanted to see what it would look like and wanted something more custom/flashy. And for a all out custom engine bay a matching block,intake,VC ect looks killer if done in the right color.

bfarroo
05-18-2009, 08:54 PM
wet sanded to 2000 then polished with Mothers.

http://www.extremepsi.org/gallery/albums/album21/DSC01328.jpg

omniac
05-27-2009, 03:05 PM
wet sanded to 2000 then polished with Mothers.

http://www.extremepsi.org/gallery/albums/album21/DSC01328.jpg

I had my valve cover powder coated (black crinkle coat) for $40....looks identical to yours. I haven't installed it yet - but soon :thumb:

Gaboon
05-28-2009, 08:30 PM
I just finished refinishing the one I picked up recently.
Still a few minor touch ups to be done but it's not too bad.

omni_840
05-28-2009, 08:59 PM
looks great!