So I am preparing to powder coat my truleo intake, but need to know what the techical answer is for the valvecovers. I want to emphasize that money, and being cheaper is not the answer I am looking for. What I want to know is:

1. are the valve covers able to be powder coated which includes the baking without any damage or warping?
0r
2. If they are unable to be powder coated, then what is the highest quality paint to use to ensure the pait will withstand heat and fading?

thank you

The valve covers are just aluminum. They can be sandblasted and powder coated without issue! Should turn out beautiful.

I would sandblast them and have them powder coated the color. Then use a belt sander to sand off the flats like the factory, use a fine paper so it comes out smooth and almost shiny, then have the whole thing powder coated clear. The clear will protect the color and keep the bare aluminum shiny and clean so it does not oxidize.

Good luck!

quote Originally posted by thedrue: The valve covers are just aluminum. They can be sandblasted and powder coated without issue! Should turn out beautiful. I would sandblast them and have them powder coated the color. Then use a belt sander to sand off the flats like the factory, use a fine paper so it comes out smooth and almost shiny, then have the whole thing powder coated clear. The clear will protect the color and keep the bare aluminum shiny and clean so it does not oxidize. Good luck!

+1

I do a lot of these. Have a set for sale in the mall that you see how they look. Also in this build thread https://www.fiero.nl/forum/F...6690-2.html#lastpost there is a write up on page 2 showing the process of coating a set.

Stripping them can be tough. I burn the paint off in the oven. Put them in and turn to clean. When the door locks, set the timer to 17 vminutes. It is a pretty ugly process, a lot of smoke. When they come out of the oven, sandblsat and then coat. DO NOT wipe them with anything, blow them claen. I grain the fins with a belt sander, abou a 100 grit belt. They look good like ths. I do not clear, it looks like plastic and tends to yellow over time.

Aaron

Thanks for the information guys!

Be different. Strip them and have them polished. I dont recall ever seeing polished or chromed valve covers on a V6 Fiero. All the time on V8s.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Be different. Strip them and have them polished. I dont recall ever seeing polished or chromed valve covers on a V6 Fiero. All the time on V8s.

I tried...
The cast aluminum on the stock Fiero valve covers is a PITA to polish; there are allot of small imperfections in the cast metal...

Yea, they look bad polished. It does nol look like a mirror, more hazy.

If you intend to keep the top natural/polished aluminium, you should either carefully wipe the coating off those surfaces before baking or tape off the surrounding areas before placing it a on a surface grinder or belt sanding. Reason being, belt sanding cured powder coating can make hot dust/bits fly off that love to stick where you don't want them.

One other note; we pressure test all of our intakes for air -vacuum- leaks, pin holes etc. That said, if you did any grinding of welds etc, before coating and putting it back on the engine, I would strongly suggest you make yourself some covers/flanges to bolt it to. Here's what you can use/make to test it. Kind of simple.

1/4" Masonite is quite smooth -just use some RTV- and cheep.
Make a:
A base and bolt it lower flange to it
A cover for TB opening
A cover for ERG if it has one
Block off all of vacuum fittings but one.

You can either test with + or - air pressure.
+ test, connect your air hose, bike pump etc to the one fitting and connect a balloon -a strong punching bag like type- one. Yup a party balloon. Pump away and then see how long the ballon stays hard, It should last for at least 10 min.

- test, connect a break bleeder type vacuum pump to one fitting and see if it will hold vacuum

Intake coating important notes: make a couple small handles, mount one a threaded TB bolt hole -8mm 125pt- and mount the other to one of the rear fuel rail mount or MAP sensor mount. Put spare bolts in the fuel rail mount and all other threaded holes. Don't run the bolts in and then out too far or they will be a bear get out -coating on the threads. After you coat the intake, hold it by the handles and slide the bottom across something like a paper towel to get the coating off the bottom. If don't you're going to need a big surface grinder to get the bottom even and smooth enough not to leak. That should cover it, oh yeah; make sure it's free oil, hand or otherwise. I like to pass a torch over ours before coating

Good luck




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[This message has been edited by Francis T (edited 04-08-2012).]