Polishing Valve Cover (i searched)

[BDSeff1fitty]

i read in another thread, that after polishing a clear coat wont stick, so those who have done it, can you explain how you did it to prevent oxidation?

from what i got from reading:

sand with 400 grit
and lots and lots of polishing

what kind of polish should i use? should i work my way to a finer grit sand paper?

im gonna try and get most of this done tonight and ofcourse get pictures tomorrow of the finished product

 

[Pete]

i read in another thread, that after polishing a clear coat wont stick, so those who have done it, can you explain how you did it to prevent oxidation?

from what i got from reading:

sand with 400 grit
and lots and lots of polishing

what kind of polish should i use? should i work my way to a finer grit sand paper?

im gonna try and get most of this done tonight and ofcourse get pictures tomorrow of the finished product

I don't know who told you that clear coat won't stick to polished aluminum but I don't think they know what they're talking about. The aluminum on my '76 H-D Superglide was polished and clear-coated when it left the factory new. Over time the clear coat will yellow and get chipped by rocks and whatnot on a motorcycle and can look pretty crappy. That's the way mine looked after 20 years so I polished all the aluminum on it, lower fork legs, primary and timer covers, and rocker boxes. The best way to polish aluminum is on a buffing wheel using polishing compound. I bought a kit of compound at Sears that ranged from black (emery) which works better than 400 grit paper because the paper loads up quickly, to red jewler's rouge. Brown tripoli followed with white tripoli is about all you'll need actually to make the valve cover look almost like chrome. A spiral sewn flannel buff (wheel) works best with these. I'd forget the clear coat if I was doing it and every now and then polish it on the motor with a good aluminum poilish like Mother's or SimiChrome which is the best I've used. That will keep it nice. If you want to do it right, you should remove the cover from the motor and I seriously doubt you'll finish it in one evening if you want a really nice job.

Even though I've polished a lot of aluminum, I've never done the valve cover on my FJ40. I figure no one sees it but me so why waste the time? It's not like looking a motor parts on a Harley.

HTH
Pete

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

I don't know who told you that clear coat won't stick to polished aluminum but I don't think they know what they're talking about. The aluminum on my '76 H-D Superglide was polished and clear-coated when it left the factory new. Over time the clear coat will yellow and get chipped by rocks and whatnot on a motorcycle and can look pretty crappy. That's the way mine looked after 20 years so I polished all the aluminum on it, lower fork legs, primary and timer covers, and rocker boxes. The best way to polish aluminum is on a buffing wheel using polishing compound. I bought a kit of compound at Sears that ranged from black (emery) which works better than 400 grit paper because the paper loads up quickly, to red jewler's rouge. Brown tripoli followed with white tripoli is about all you'll need actually to make the valve cover look almost like chrome. A spiral sewn flannel buff (wheel) works best with these. I'd forget the clear coat if I was doing it and every now and then polish it on the motor with a good aluminum poilish like Mother's or SimiChrome which is the best I've used. That will keep it nice. If you want to do it right, you should remove the cover from the motor and I seriously doubt you'll finish it in one evening if you want a really nice job.

Even though I've polished a lot of aluminum, I've never done the valve cover on my FJ40. I figure no one sees it but me so why waste the time? It's not like looking a motor parts on a Harley.

HTH
Pete

im not expecting it to take 30 minutes, maybe 3-4 hours. if it takes more then so be it. im rebuilding my 40 from the ground up and trying to do it right (atleast whats right in my mind). when im done im hopefully gonna get a clear lexan hood and bring it to the classic car show and show it off. the cover is off the motor and already sandblasted. what i was thinking about doing is polish it and then where it says 2f toyota paint that black to make it stand out.

 

[Degnol]

I don't know who told you that clear coat won't stick to polished aluminum but I don't think they know what they're talking about.

HTH
Pete

Fxxxyouverymuch!

I had no luck getting clearcoat urethane to stick to mine unless acid etched first. It peeled off in sheets. Raw, polished aluminum will stain with every drop of antifreeze and under-the-hood fluids. The last one I just bead blasted, etched and cleared. It had held up just fine, but it is darker than it's original blasted finish.

Clear urethane is damn near bullet-proof. Clear powdercoating is another option.

Ed

 

[Texican]

Save some time and paint it with Hammerite gloss aluminum, been there done that , and the Hammerite looks better............

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

will urethane handle the engine temps? where can i get it? and does/can it come in a spray can?

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

Save some time and paint it with Hammerite gloss aluminum, been there done that , and the Hammerite looks better............

got any photo's of one done?

 

[Degnol]

Save some time and paint it with Hammerite gloss aluminum, been there done that , and the Hammerite looks better............

Butch, is that self-etching or do you etch it first?

 

[bsmith123]

jewelers rouge

to really make it sparkle try finihing it off with some jewelers rouge---work through by fine sanding and rubbing and polishing compound then the rouge--it makes plain ol steel look like chrome even when it is right next to chrome

Jewelers Rouge Polishing Compound

A buck a block? can't hate the price!

 

[Degnol]

will urethane handle the engine temps? where can i get it? and does/can it come in a spray can?

Yes. At least 6K miles anyway.

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

Yes. At least 6K miles anyway.

so re-do every 5k then?

 

[Degnol]

Here is a pic of the blasted, etched, cleared cover.

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

can someone give me a list of what sand paper they would suggest using?

after sanding use a aluminum wheel polish and then jewelers rouge and clear it with urethane?

is that a good plan?

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

Here is a pic of the blasted, etched, cleared cover.

it doesn't seem to give that polished look. but it does look good. i was hoping to get polished to really make the engine stand out in the engine bay.

 

[Degnol]

can someone give me a list of what sand paper they would suggest using?

after sanding use a aluminum wheel polish and then jewelers rouge and clear it with urethane?

is that a good plan?

Yes, that's perfect! then clear it, wait until it peels off and be pissed. Go ahead, I did, feel my pain



If you want the polished look, polish it however and then have it p-o-w-d-e-r-c-o-a-t-e-d................

 

[son69]

There is this stuff called zoopseal. supposed to work good, i have never tried it myself. for polishing, i would wet sand with 400, 600 800, 1000, 1500, and end with 2000. By that time you can start to see a dull mirror finish, hit it with some mothers polish and your done.

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

alright. ill give a few places a call tomorrow and see how much they want to powdercoat it. can they powder coat the color chrome?

 

[Degnol]

alright. ill give a few places a call tomorrow and see how much they want to powdercoat it. can they powder coat the color chrome?

It can be done, dunno if your local powdercoater can do it.

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

There is this stuff called zoopseal. supposed to work good, i have never tried it myself. for polishing, i would wet sand with 400, 600 800, 1000, 1500, and end with 2000. By that time you can start to see a dull mirror finish, hit it with some mothers polish and your done.

i know i can search, but what exactly is wet sanding?

 

[Texican]

I will shoot some pix tom. I have several covers in service on customers trucks they still look as they did when delivered, I have also polished several, never again.......I wash the cover in my parts cleaning solvent, then go over with oo steel wool and paint, several wet coats.......
Butch