Painting and Powder coating rocker covers

[Ronin 09]

ended up going JW0 millennium jade

they look great - sandblasted, high filled, rubbed down, grey base then colour and clear...

will get some pics soon

[markyboy.1967]

I have gone for the covers etc to be fully polished up for a nice clean look with some brackets powder coated blue where others are powdercoated black..Still have a hard pipe to fit this weekend which should brighten it up even more..Engine will then get a once over to clean the dirty fingerprints and then i will get some proper pics of the engine and car..

[ali-turko]

Heres mine with paint just mixed up at autobarn with the heat stuff clear,

anyone got any sugguestion on how to get the rest of the shit off the plenum

and markyboy.1967 ur engine bay looks good lots of works gone in to it

and btw i like ur idea on cutting the middle bit out for the coils never seen it b4

[hanyou]

ali-turko: did you jus spray the new color on without doing anything else?

[ali-turko]

nar i used a die grinder with a wire brush to stip the paint off, then primmer the bout 5 coats of paint and then the heat proof clear

[heller44]

Heres mine with paint just mixed up at autobarn with the heat stuff clear,

anyone got any sugguestion on how to get the rest of the shit off the plenum

and markyboy.1967 ur engine bay looks good lots of works gone in to it

and btw i like ur idea on cutting the middle bit out for the coils never seen it b4

sorry to bother you but what are your filters? they look almost the same as what I am chasing to replace the m's filters on my car.

James.

[ali-turko]

there blitz metal filters, i had to make up the adapters, bit dodgey but i couldnt neone selling them on there own

[sky017]

thought id pop these up , i thought id go for something completely different , i was gonna go get something done in the shop, but i thought id do this myself , and have 2 colours to make it stand out... looks crazy , im happy with the way it turned out.

[zebra]

looks hot...what did you use to paint it? vht or automotive paint (panels)

[sky017]

some engine enamel from super cheap auto . and some clear which resists up to 650'c . the vht stuff is pretty shit , its around 400'c

[sky017]

alright guys for those who want to know what was done . ill do a mini write up in this thread !

1/ pretty much if you search the forums for "rocker cover diy" you will find a great write up on how to remove them and replace the gaskets. now you dont need to replace the gaskets unless they are cracked . i planned on replacing mine because i had an oil leak along the bottom block . but the gaskets looked fine and were still rubbery . my guess is the screws werent tight enough even though they shouldnt be too tight !!

when you remove your CAS , gauge with a marking knife exactly the position around the bolts onto the CAS so you dont distrupt your timing .

2/ once you have removed everything and you basically have your coil cover / rocker covers and cam cover off place them on a surface. collect a can of degreaser . spray all these items down thoroughly . wash the degreaser off after 2-3 mins . now there still maybe a rough surface and build up of debree. so collect some 800 gritt wet and dry paper . wet each item as you do them and sand them down until they are 100% smooth and free from any dirt . on the coil cover also remove the nissan 2500 sticker or tape it up . along the sides of the coil cover it could apear cracker , this is a small thin like a gasket to make the coil cover sit hard in , mine was cracked heaps , so i just removed it - it comes of heaps easy , and just clean any debree with a stanly knife.

3/ once everything has dried , collect some thinners or turps/metho . and wipe down to clean any missed debree. thinners would be the best because it'll eat it away and dry off fast .

4/collect the engine enamel paint of your desire. now lightly do 1 coat with smooth strokes. repeat this process 3 times so you have 4 nice tough coats , and leave about 20 mins between each coat or until touch dry. leave to dry overnight. the supercheap paint is primer enriched , so you dont need to buy a seperate primer.

5/ the next morning . check for any debree that could fall on the parts , if so lightly sand them off and maybe spray a final coat . if not needed , collect the can of clear enamel , and do a nice thick coat , so that its all nice and glossy. do about 2-3 coats allow 1 hr drying between each . the clear enamel takes a lot longer to dry.

6/ you may need to leave everything for a couple of days . because the clear may take a while to harden , as said in on the can , the items wont fully be cured until under emense heat . so basically when they are on and installed again they will dry over time , and the heat will help dramatically.

7/ if you have light oil leak like i did , i also got some sealent for the gaskets from supercheap auto and placed it all on the bottom block where the gasket sits , to seal everything.

8/ collect all your bolts and spray them with degreaser before you install - so they are nice and clean , i found this usefull because mine were all dirty and im in the process of cleaning my bay out thoroughly.

9/ be carefull when installing everything , i had a few knocks and a few scratches . its not easy doing it by yourself so all i can say is be carefull because it could happen , and use something to prop up any cables/hoses to prevent light scratches . if you do get some , the spray is good because you can do little touch ups and it will dry as its been a full coat spray .

10 / once installed make sure your car starts properly etc . and everything is connected before starting.

my products used were from super cheap .

i used the following

- septone - yellow engine enamel - 2 cans , you will only need 1 and a quater can , will have heaps left over for future touch ups if needed. [ around $15 a can]

- septone - clear high protectant engine enamel . - 1 can only [ $18 ]

- 1 sheet 800 wett and dry [ $1 ]

- 1 can degresser [ $2 ]

- small amount of thinners / metho / turps [ $4 ]

- gasktet sealant [ $8 ]

thats pretty much all i can say for now , but if you have any further Q's , just PM me . or let me know if iv missed anything . thanks for the comments guys . cheers

Edited January 6, 2007 by sky017

[sky017]

i did one rocker cover before on another car - and in all honesty , the paint will only crack if you dont remove all oil from the covers , happened to me on my old car , small section cracked , i found moisture in between cracks , must of missed a spot when cleaning .

so be carefull and take your time dude . and cover all your pipes with cloth too , i dropped a spanner down my fmic pipe ha ha lol - had to take the lower pipe off - mistakes happen so take mine to your advantage .

good luck - cheers

[MANWHORE]

next up, pick up a buffing wheel from bunnings, and a wire wheel, and go nuts with your drill polishing things. It'll look really nice.

[sky017]

haha im on to you - i picked one up this morning from bunnings and started doing my crossover pipe . didnt finish it because i needed to drive . if you look at the crossover compared to other side you will see the colour difference. i need to buy a smaller one to reach into crevices .

[markyboy.1967]

Reminds me very much of this engine here in the UK.Its one of the big tuners cars..

[sky017]

lol at anime stickers on the cover , maybe a tad too much - am i thinkin of noody that kids show , or that a performance brand over there? lol

[markyboy.1967]

Yip a popular kids program called Noddy who`s best friend is called Big Ears...

[MANWHORE]

yeah, I saw your partial buffing. I've got a tip for you bud. You have to get it flat before you buff it.

Start by using a file, or a sanding attachment for a grinder. Get rid of those dimply things.

there used to be a great thread on supra forums, but the link has changed

[MANWHORE]

I love the clean and shiny/painted engine bays. The only thing making me scared to do it is the stupid cops. I'd hate to be pulled over, and the cop sees shiny bling bling, and decides to defect me.

Whereas, if it's stock looking, he might just look over it and ignore it.

[sky017]

yeah man i only used steal brush on the end of my drill to test it out . but im gonna do that properly in a couple of days .

btw why would a cop defect you for have a shiney engine bay? unless you have a visable atmo bov and some other things , then your asking for trouble.