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New valve covers for my car are about $200-250 EACH, at discount places. Of course, they are merely painted.
Interesting: I bought two sets on eBay with the intent of polishing them. The first set, a "bargain" or so I thought, had one of the two cracked (the one where the timing chain usually jumps). The seller "didn't notice it".
The other pair, not as much of a bargain (but definitely cheaper than above!!) had clearly visible grooves inside the cam gear "hump" where the chain was grinding on the cover - either that engine had experienced death by timing chain jump or it was about to do so.
These covers are thinner and more delicate than you would expect. When polishing them, I mounted them on 3/4" thick plywood a little bigger than the covers themselves, to keep grit out,to make sure I wouldn't flex them, and to make sure I didn't chip or dent the sealing edges. I would advise anyone cleaning them, painting them, or polishing them to do the same. I don't think they could survive a fall, for example. Remember, they are castings, and darned thin at that.
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