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A Little Polishing
Decided to tackle the valve cover on my spare engine and see if I could get it to shine up a bit. Turned out sort of OK...
I learned a lot in the process and did some things that cost a bunch of time in the long run and compromised the overall appearance, but it was very rough to start with so it's OK. On my current engine, I cleaned up and painted and cleared the valve cover. It looked really good for about a year, but it's now starting to look a little tired, chipped and discolored. I need to figure out what to do about the linkage before I install the valve cover on the car. It's a shame to put an ugly linkage on the polished valve cover. I'll probably do the oil filter cover and the vacuum pump next.
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#2
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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!! 1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere! |
#3
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Know when I did the mono-valve plate, I didn't degrease it enough, so there is haze in the pores. Quote:
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Current fleet: 1985 Mercedes-Benz 280TE - Waiting for heart surgery. 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300TDT - Rear ended 23 September 2016 and now looking for a new home. 1979 Mercedes-Benz 300TD - Parted out. 1964 Volkswgen Beetle - Vater's since September 1968 and undergoing a restoration. 1971 Volkswagen Sunroof Squareback with F.I. - in need of full restoration. 1971 Volkswagen Squareback automatic with F.I. - Vacationing with her caretaker until he is in better health. |
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The biggest mistake was doing the initial cut with a nylon "wire brush" that was way too coarse. I never could get the scratches out that that left. I also should have started with a better valve cover. This one had some serious scarring around the injectors that was impossible to get out and some casting blemishes that were difficult. If you start out with a good cover, you should be able to start with 200 grit.
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#5
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Oh! Yep, those scratches can be a pain. I am surprised a wheel is courser than 200 grit. I be tempted to start with 600 and see how that went. If bad, can go back to courser paper? I too have scratches by the injectors, wonder why? Don't think I would have the guts to do the whole cover in a high polish though!
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Current fleet: 1985 Mercedes-Benz 280TE - Waiting for heart surgery. 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300TDT - Rear ended 23 September 2016 and now looking for a new home. 1979 Mercedes-Benz 300TD - Parted out. 1964 Volkswgen Beetle - Vater's since September 1968 and undergoing a restoration. 1971 Volkswagen Sunroof Squareback with F.I. - in need of full restoration. 1971 Volkswagen Squareback automatic with F.I. - Vacationing with her caretaker until he is in better health. |
#6
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How are you planning on keeping it that shiny?
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! |
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Not exactly sure what's going to work, but I'm going to start with just a good coat of wax. I live in southern CA so the kinds of corrosion that exist in other areas won't be a problem. Then a simple repolish at each valve adjustment should work to keep it looking ok.
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#8
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they simply paint wheels to keep them shiny...
maybe a clear coat would keep it nice and clean?
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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!! 1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere! |
#9
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I think they can do clear powdercoat, that would be super easy to keep clean
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1982 300D Turbodiesel, daily driver. Mods so far: Fram 8038 paper filter, 4 brake light mod, Gen II w126 (front) rotors/calipers, boost turned up to 12lbs, non-egr manifolds, water/methanol injection, 4-speed manual 1980 300SD Turbodiesel, project car, nearly ready to hit the street 1974 240D, New paint |
#10
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Simpler DIY options are provided by Eastwoods too - I think they call it detailing spray stuff (or summit like that)
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! |
#11
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As someone who does a lot of powder coating, I discourage clear powder coating large surfaces of polished metal whenever I can, as a polished finish doesn't leave much for powder to grab hold of, and once the finish is broken, it's not easy to fix without stripping, repolishing, and recoating. The end user is almost always better off just polishing the raw finish occasionally with one of the many products that leave a thin layer of anti-tarnish sealer behind. The defunct Zoop system comes to mind.
The only part of my cover that I polished was the star, which I then masked off for the base coat of a charcoal metallic powder coat. Clear coat was applied over the entire cover, including the polished star, so it is sealed completely. I have to say it looks pretty good, but seeing as how it is the only part under my hood that is even remotely nice looking, I don't exactly show it off much.
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- K.C.Adams '77 300D Euro Delivery OM617 turbo / 4-speed swap 404 Milanbraun Metallic / 134 Dattel MB-Tex Current status: * Undergoing body work My '77 300D progress thread |
#12
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There was discussion of this on a Mopar site I visit, relative to aluminum intake manifolds. Most said that clear engine paint yellows over time. Drats, I used that on my intake but haven't driven that car much. Most recommend a colored "aluminum" powder coat. Many guys there use Leonna (seach posts on A Body Mopar Forum - Home of Vintage Mopars like the Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda). I ran across a photo of a Jeep w/ a M-B diesel that used red powder coat. That valve cover really stands out, probably too much. Maybe blue or yellow would look interesting. If you don't do anything, bare aluminum will corrode to pits and white powder (Al2O3), especially in humid areas. Not only is it ugly, but the last thing you want getting in your engine is aluminum oxide, which is 2nd hardest to diamond. I expect the factory had some coating on the valve covers.
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#13
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Remove the rubber seal from the oilcap, or leave the PCV hose open. The oily coating will keep it shiny forever
Seriously though, just wax it
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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges $110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges No merc at the moment |
#14
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#15
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