Painting and Powder coating rocker covers

[lexbomb]

Hey guys i want to paint the rocker cover of my RB20 but i dont know what kind of paints i should use. im guess i should just use a normal primer or a plastic primer (when painting plastic bits ie,cam cover) and then a heat paint.

has any one done it and if so can you post some pics cause i think me engine needs a nice tidy up.

thanks

[Duncan]

Yeah I took 2 shots at with the spray on engine paint, then gave up and had it done in tupac.

You can pick up the engine paint at any car bits shop and ahve a go, it may be OK if you are going a dark colour like black, but it looked crap in yellow.

No primer required engine paint goes straight on bare metal

[Craved]

or try the metal cast paints.. there is a section in the DIY regarding painting brake calipers.. heat resistant and has a primer and colour application.

thats what i'll be using for my cam gear and spark plug covers. just gotta get off my arse and do it lol

http://www.duplicolor.com/products/metalcast.html

[gt-t_r34]

i painted mine rb20 engine cover blue with plastic primer paint came up a treat and my friend also painted his cover too in white also came up well, cant see any cracking or anything from the heat so its all good.

[mokompri]

or try the metal cast paints.. there is a section in the DIY regarding painting brake calipers.. heat resistant and has a primer and colour application.

thats what i'll be using for my cam gear and spark plug covers. just gotta get off my arse and do it lol

http://www.duplicolor.com/products/metalcast.html

i tried using that shit on my cam cover, and the results were tragic. the primer worked a charm and actually looked really good, but once the blue metalcast went on, it was SOOO flat and DULL. it looked like absolute shit

it was pathetic. ontop of that, the design of the nozzle is so ingenious that the spray pattern is such that it actually clips the rim of the can when spraying, so as your spraying your creating this pool of paint on the inside of the lip on the can. my first can had a faulty nozzle and just leaked like crazy, i took it back to autobarn and they replaced it for free. tried again and it came out dull and shit again, i dont know if i didnt give it enough coats or what, i was up to 2 coats and a single can wasnt enough it seemed for a rocker cover..

after hours spent paint stripping it back to bare, i used 'engine enamel' from autobarn, no primer required, chose a gold colour, looks awesome. this is my experience

[B33st]

I found Powder Coating to be very cheap. Cost me $70 to have both my cam covers and greddy plenum done and that included the sandblasting.

Edited March 2, 2006 by B33st

[Rezz]

^^^ Nice one! Ican only fault the red GReddy badge... I know thats what is supplied, but a silver on black badge would look sweet.

[taynewguy]

An old thread I know - but I just wanted to warn everyone about the Dupli-Colour metalcast (anodize) colours!!!

I too have experienced the very dull appearance of the blue one. If only I read this thread earlier.

Followed every instruction to a tee and had all surfaces preped perfectly (with undercoat etc). It looked like shlt - dull as, not even a metallic look to it.

But I do not think it is limited to the blue one as I have heard of a few others turning out dull - bad batches??

As I am a sucker for punishment, I gave it another go using red this time and it turned out perfect. Ironically blue was probably a poor colour choice in the first place as red looks the goods.

Anyway - if I had my time again I would go the powdercoat route - prolly works out cheaper!!

[shanef]

Normal acrylic paint. Full prepping, rub back, prime (as many times to get a smooth finish) colour coat (cant remember how many) and then finally 5 coats of clear!

[Logikal]

Anybody had experiences with VHT Wrinkle Plus?

Seen some pics with that on a holden rocker cover and it looks pretty schmick.

[_Scotty_]

I painted my old R31's valve cover and the bases of the strut tower brace in Metalcast blue, I was pretty happy with how it turned out...

[taynewguy]

Here's a pic of the duplicolor red > cam covers, apexi pod adapters, and a few other bits. Also did the OEM strut brace - no more faded red (yay). nice chrome strut brace would be nicer but hey - gotta work with what you've got.

Just the coil pack cover to come and then I'll bolt it back on. knowing me I will scratch the sh!t out of them putting it back on and have to start again

Cheers,

Tay

[hanyou]

sorry for the noob question lol.. but does the engine have to be out to paint? or can i jus unbolt the cam covers & timing belt cover? cuz i really want to spray the engine r34 gtr red. looks the goods

[shanef]

nope it doesnt need to be out

[Trooper]

nope it doesnt need to be out

Cost on having this sort of thing done professionally?

I imagine it would be 'fairly' cheap if a common colour was chosen.

e.g. if timed properly could use the 'leftovers' from someones respray

Possible?

[hanyou]

is it a hard job to take these parts out to spray?. need to move anything out of the way? for RB26..

[N1GTR]

Yeah its sort of tricky to do it IMO

If youre not doing the plenumn it would be easier

Its basically just some screws and unplugging the ignitor box - aswel as the cam gear cover

Get in there and have a look around the base of all the parts you want to spray at what holds them on - that will give you the best idea

Oh, you may need to take the crossover pipe off for a bit aswel so you can get easy access to the ignitor

[shanef]

Cost on having this sort of thing done professionally?

I imagine it would be 'fairly' cheap if a common colour was chosen.

e.g. if timed properly could use the 'leftovers' from someones respray

Possible?

no idea what it'd cost to get 'professionally' done, i got a mate to do mine

[series2r33]

Im getting the rocker covers and the cross over piping polished chrome, and intercooler piping repolished as its not much more expensive to get that done aswell, And the plastic covers painted.

Just wanted to know when u removed the rocker covers did u need a new gasket or anything as i haven't removed them on my car before.

If so how much was the new gasket or could u re-use the old one?

[shanef]

just soak them in oil so they dont go brittle and crack