So someone mentioned the valve covers that I make in my spare time in another thread, and I got a bunch of PM's about it - sooo, I thought I'd make a thread about them.
I have my own powdercoating setup in my garage. I've been doing it now for about a year and a half or so, and I'm getting halfway decent at it.
When building the motor for my notch, I wanted someone clean and "sanitary" looking. I also hate the way tall valve covers can complicate intake fitment and whatnot. I really like stock fox valve covers because they seal well, clear roller rockers (with the baffle removed), and can look really nice if you spend some time on them.
I start out with ordinary foxbody aluminum valve covers. These have already been either glass bead blasted, or spent fifteen minutes in a Wheelabrator shot-blasting machine. They are cleaner than new, but have tons of casting flash and are just generally not very smooth.
Then I spend FOUR FREAKING HOURS sanding the crap out of them. Seriously. That's PER SET. This is all done by hand with a Porter-Cable vibrating sander, and a half-dozen different die grinders and other implements of destruction that I have. They are well-suited for the task. First they get 40 grit, then 60, then 100, then 150, then 220 grit. Here's some pictures of prepped covers at various stages:
After I've successfully wrecked my garage and there is aluminum dust everywhere, (and no doubt sitting in my lungs and causing cancer right now) I clean them up with oodles of brake cleaner to prep them for the oven. They get pre-heated, then taken out, and coated with what color powder I decide to use. This is a chrome powder before it gets melted in the oven.
Then after curing in the oven at 385* for 18 minutes, then come out and cool down.
Here's some silver metallic covers. (Matt94GT has these)
This is Columbia single-stage Chrome.
This is Gunmetal Gray. (I have these on my motor)
I want to try some new colors next time around. I'm going to do some in Ultra Mirror Black like this big block Ford tunnel ram intake I did for my friend.
I also want to try a set in a candy translucent color. These colors are a real pain in the a*s because I have to do an Xtreme Chrome base coat, cure for a LONG time, cool all the way to room temperature, re-heat, then coat the candy color. That's a real b|tch because you have to have perfectly even coating all the way around or the color won't be even. Nooks and crannies are near impossible because the Farraday Cage Effect keeps the powder out. I want to try some in the Candy Red Translucent like these pulleys I did for a very good friend of mine.
I've been selling them for $110 a set shipped to the lower 48 states. It's not really worth it because of all the time I have to put into them, but for me it's more about practicing my coating, and seeing what new colors look like. I need to do some more sets soon.
Paul.
I have my own powdercoating setup in my garage. I've been doing it now for about a year and a half or so, and I'm getting halfway decent at it.
When building the motor for my notch, I wanted someone clean and "sanitary" looking. I also hate the way tall valve covers can complicate intake fitment and whatnot. I really like stock fox valve covers because they seal well, clear roller rockers (with the baffle removed), and can look really nice if you spend some time on them.
I start out with ordinary foxbody aluminum valve covers. These have already been either glass bead blasted, or spent fifteen minutes in a Wheelabrator shot-blasting machine. They are cleaner than new, but have tons of casting flash and are just generally not very smooth.
Then I spend FOUR FREAKING HOURS sanding the crap out of them. Seriously. That's PER SET. This is all done by hand with a Porter-Cable vibrating sander, and a half-dozen different die grinders and other implements of destruction that I have. They are well-suited for the task. First they get 40 grit, then 60, then 100, then 150, then 220 grit. Here's some pictures of prepped covers at various stages:
After I've successfully wrecked my garage and there is aluminum dust everywhere, (and no doubt sitting in my lungs and causing cancer right now) I clean them up with oodles of brake cleaner to prep them for the oven. They get pre-heated, then taken out, and coated with what color powder I decide to use. This is a chrome powder before it gets melted in the oven.
Then after curing in the oven at 385* for 18 minutes, then come out and cool down.
Here's some silver metallic covers. (Matt94GT has these)
This is Columbia single-stage Chrome.
This is Gunmetal Gray. (I have these on my motor)
I want to try some new colors next time around. I'm going to do some in Ultra Mirror Black like this big block Ford tunnel ram intake I did for my friend.
I also want to try a set in a candy translucent color. These colors are a real pain in the a*s because I have to do an Xtreme Chrome base coat, cure for a LONG time, cool all the way to room temperature, re-heat, then coat the candy color. That's a real b|tch because you have to have perfectly even coating all the way around or the color won't be even. Nooks and crannies are near impossible because the Farraday Cage Effect keeps the powder out. I want to try some in the Candy Red Translucent like these pulleys I did for a very good friend of mine.
I've been selling them for $110 a set shipped to the lower 48 states. It's not really worth it because of all the time I have to put into them, but for me it's more about practicing my coating, and seeing what new colors look like. I need to do some more sets soon.
Paul.
ccasion14:
