Stage 2 in progress Valve cover painting right on schdule. I began this project last week and have been working slowly on it. Stage 1 was to hot tank the VC to remove all the grime and grit, prime it and sand. Stage 1 was completed the other night. I had a smooth gray primed VC hanging in the garage drying.

Today I did stage 2. I began by bringing the VC in the house and doing a little more sanding of the primer with 320 grit sand paper. After knocking down any high spots and smoothing out the primer at the same time I washed the VC in the sink using hot water and a sponge. I dried it using a cloth and allowed the VC to air dry in the garage for about 2 hours. I wiped it down one more time before applying paint coat 1.

I placed the black High Heat paint in the sink and ran hot steamy water over the can for about 2 minutes, this is a trick I got from my dad who builds models. He had an article published in a model building magazine about this trick. I then shook the can till I was blue in the face. I went outside and sprayed 1 coat of black paint. Warming the can helped make the spray more even and the coat even. I overlapped my spray pattern and did the entire VC. I let that dry for about 20 minutes before hitting it again with a thinner coat to even out the missed areas. I must say it looks good at this point. I am waiting another 20-25 minutes before laying down a 3rd coat then I will hang the VC and let it dry over night.

Tomorrow I will check it for any kind of drip marks and uneven spots. From there I will use a 400 grit sandpaper to even out any problems areas before blasting it 2 more times with the paint. Final step is the clear coat for which I bought high heat clear. After the black is on even and dry I will begin the same process for the clear coat, stage 3.

Stage 2 is 75% comeplete at this point.

W00t!!, sounds cool man, i always wanted to paint my valve cover, or just polish aluminum, except its plastic , anyway, good luck, and pics when ur done, u know hte routine!!

While I was at it I replaced all my door lock clyinders for the hell of it. I bought the entire lock set from Nissan about 4 months ago for 75 bux. The set came with a new ignition switch w/keys, new door lock clyinders and trunk lock. The whole set is keyed with the same key code. I just did both lock cylinders in the doors in less than an hour. I need a chisel to do the ignition cylinder so I wasn't able to do that today. Trunk lock? Who needs a trunk lock cylinder when you have one from Japan off of a BB SSS. I will pick up a chisel tomorrw from work and when Im done I will return it.

The paint is drying nicely at this point so I think I am done with it for today. I will sand it again tomorrow.

sweet, i wouldnt mind playing round with my car, if only i had some damn money