Right now, I have had coats range from $40 to $100 around where I am located.

 

Finally finished mine today, it took basically a full day to complete. What took so long for mine was the 3 diffrent coats of powder. 1st was the primer coat, then a chrome coat and last the red translucent top coat. They may not be perfect but heck I dont think their too bad for the 1st try at cam covers and this style of coating.

 

Looks good!!

 

Looks veddy nice!

 

Is that Translucent Red Top Coat pretty durable?

I had something similar done on mine and the Translucent coat scratches a lot easier than a 'solid' powdercoat.

 

It seems to be pretty tough, no scratches getting them installed. I could have put a clear top coat for more protection but it seems to dull the shine down a touch. Now that I've done this color if it does scratch I'll just coat them again.

 

I had something done similar to yours on my coolant tanks. I had a brain fart recently and placed a gallon jug of water on top of the tank then rotated it slightly to meet the hole. I heard a scrape as the dirt on the jug rubbed the tank.



Coater gave me wetsanding/polishing instructions, but I might have it recoated with some other gear soon.

 

Ok, I finally got my valve covers off. None of the places that do powder coating around here do any prep work. So I am going to go get them sandblasted. The guy told me it is a DIY and they just provide you with the facility and materials.

Has anyone done this before? It sounds like it is pretty easy to do.

 

clean! spray! bake! Thats it

 

Are they still bare frome the factory? If they are I would not sandblast them. Sandblasting can pit the cover and is a pain to get completly out of the cover if you get it in the inside.Wash the cover inside and out with Simple Green. Take a fine wire brush cup that goes in a drill and go over the entire cover and use a Dremel brush to get in the small areas. The covers will look like you are polishing them, almost a rough chrome look. You then need to bake them at around 400 deg for 20 min to get rid of any remaining contaminants off the surface and oil residue from inside the cover. You the need to spray them down with an outgasing wash, you can get this from where you buy the powder, I got all of my supplies from http://www.columbiacoatings.com/ . You will then need to apply an outgasing primer powder coat before you do your primary coat. The materials our covers are made will outgas causing spots in your top coat. If you do it right its not as easy as they make it sound, you will be baking the covers 3 times. Yes you can do it yourself just take your time hope this helps.

 

I do not have access to an oven. The price is quite reasonable to have them done professionally.

 

Does anyone know if the metal pieces (a couple of threads that have a plastic cap that helps to hold down the wiring harness, metal part that connects to PCV hose etc.) that protrude out get masked off or anything?

 

Just got mine coated & installed this past Friday. Co-worker bought a powder coat kit. Bead blasted prior to coating. Cost me $14.00 for the powder & 2 afternoons of labor. I baked the covers prior to coating, did not mask off the studs or tubes, just capped the openings.

 

Pass side, did not upload w/rest of pics

 

Off topic, but when you powder coat the wheels (from chrome to black), how long to they usually last? And what exactly does sand blasting do?

On topic, killbee - I don't think it's that bad either, it looks good overall.

 

Aircare84 your covers look great! What did you cap the metal tubes with? Are they still functional with them powder coated as well?

 

Thanks 5pointoh.
I used aluminum tape to cap the tubes & yes they are still functional. The powder coat is very thin, doesn't affect sealing with the tubes at all.

 

Listen to this guy. My Dad had his covers powder coated by a professional shop. They sandblasted them first. Finish was beautiful, however we did not rinse them with anything and there must have been a clump of material stuck up behind the manifold inside the cover. Who knew?

To make a long story short his engine seized after about 30 minutes and he's now sporting a 2010 engine in his 2005. What started out as a $100 powder coating project ended up costing him 10 grand.

Tim

 

I was just going to order a set of Ford ones that are pre powder coated.

What sucks is that my car is an 06 and has 14 bolts and the ones now only come with
10 bolts.
They say they still fit the 05-06 but I don't want it if they do not completely match.

I think it's B.S. They should offer both.

 

I just put the 10 bolt covers from FRPP on my 07 that has 14 holes and the unsed ones are hardly noticable. If you want to keep the exact same cover, you will probably need to get yours coated or find a used set to get done.