Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines how hot do valve covers get?

Can you use a paint that is rated to 250* on them, or do you need something with a higher rating?

I use the same paint as i used on the body of my 64 The same goes for the Block.Even rustolem paint wouldn't burn off the Block.The body paint is what most use to color match the motor to the car or engine bay.

Do you clear the motor and engine bay too?

I have a few times but normaly i do not.

Clear tends to turn yellow when gas or gas fumes get on it.

An infrared heat sensor showed 180ish degrees on my 289 Stude engine valve covers today. The color of the paint probably affects the reading, darker colors (mine's yellow) would likely show a warmer temp.

Thanks guys.

On the engine bay, I'm trying to decide between a flat black or a shiny color called carbide black(which I used on the interior). I'd like to do flat, but I'm worried about oil stains and the like and not being able to clean them up.

Any thoughts on this?

Flat only looks good until you start the engine.
There's always a film of gas, oil, antifreeze, brake fluid present in the air, and it looks bad and hard to clean.
Something on my "to-do" list that I haven't tried is a cheap trick to make sheet metal resemble aluminum. Prep and spray with silver paint as usual, but wipe almost all of it off with a rag.

What about 'chassis black' instead of flat, 20% gloss IIRC?

Not perfectly flat, but easier to clean.

I thought about using POR15 Chassis black, but then I heard of a few people having a tough time with it.

The only problem I have had with a POR product is when someone I know tried to apply it when the part they were painting was too cold. Didn't flow and didn't stick very well.

Other than that I haven't heard of a problem.

What are the people that you are hearing from having for problems?

I like VHT engine enamel. They have a color called "GM satin black" that I think might look good on a valve cover. I don't think I've ever used it on a valve cover but lots of other underhood parts. VHT chevy orange seems to hold up well on valve covers.

POR-15 is sensitive to UV light (sun) and must be topcoated.

Yes, if you have it in an area likely to get much sun, just how much time DOES he spend with the hood up?

Most of the people that don't like it say that you need to spend a lot more time on prep than other paint - some guys have had a really hard time getting it to stick.

I always powdercoat all the removable tin. Otherwise I always use tractor paint. It seems to go on a bit thicker, but that may be in my head.

I've used the orange with decent success.

Not much, too busy driving

Here's what I ended up doing:





I still need to paint the engine block and head black, which will happen in a couple weeks.

My plan is too use stainless steel and black paint for everything under the hood.
The stuff I used on the headers is rated for 1500 degrees.
The stainless stuff on the valve cover is rated for 250* and will be used on the air cleaner cover, hood hinges and springs, and a few other things. It doesn't match the header pain as closely as I was hoping for. I don't want to use the header paint on a bunch of stuff, b/c it is $34 a can
The black is por 15 engine enamel.

I *hope* the stainless stuff will hold up.

Looks nice.

Thanks! I'm hoping the stainless steel paint will hold up with what goes on under the hood.

I was tempted to spray it with some clear (with some flattening agent mixed in). It's too bad the clear turns yellow.

i would suggest sending the headers out for jethot coating. i have had great luck with that stuff. headers will stay new looking.

p.s. the engine looks great! i like the look. tom

Thanks Tom.

I wanted to do the jethot coating, but it's not in the budget right now. If this stuff doesn't hold up, I may do that later.

We'll see if this actually works or not, but what I did on the headers was this - I put a thin coat of POR 15 manifold gray paint on them and then did a light dusting of the 1500* stainless paint over that. A friend split the cost of the paint with me b/c he is doing the same thing to his v8 ram horns.

Where did you get your manifold paint (the POR stuff) from?

I bought it from the POR website. In the end all of the stuff I got was kinda pricey. I barely made a dent in the manifold paint, but it was the smallest container they sell. I'm glad I'm splitting the cost with a friend.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEM# DESCRIPTION QTY TOTAL
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EEQB ENGINE ENAMEL 1 $36.25

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MCG MARINE CLEAN 1 $21.00

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MRQ METAL READY 1 $16.50

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SVQ SOLVENT 1 $11.75

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FMGP FACTORY MANIFOLD GRAY 1 $31.00

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUB TOTAL: $116.50
TAX: $0.00
SHIPPING: $11.75 UNITED PARCEL SERVICE - GROUND
ORDER TOTAL: $128.25

Thank you.

I already have the Marine clean and metal ready, so that's no big deal.

However if I ordered from the POR 15 website it would cost a fortune to ship it here.

Haz mat and all.

There is a local paint store that supposedly carrys the POR line, I'll check them out and see if the shipping would be cheaper. (geeze, I hope not)

Thanks again.

Good luck - I hope you can find the stuff locally.

I'm going to paint the block and head with the POR engine enamel. I think I'm going to try spraying it. The POR site says to only use their solvent with their products.

I found POR 20 at a local paint store. It claims to be good to 1400* F

I'm thinking of painting the race car header (small one) and the turbo and manifold for the tow rig (Diesel, if it crests 1200*F EGT something is horribly wrong).

Mocking up the turbo currently.

Hope to see good reults ( I would be satisfied with just a lack of rust).

Nexxussian - good luck with it. Be sure to let us know how it works out. Are you going to brush it on or spray it?

Brush.

Pop's has bogarted the task (not complaining ).

It is REALLY high solid content. When you take the lid off it's got a puck of goo on the bottom of the can and the (thinner? binder?) stuff over it is clear.

Amazing coverage so far, 2 coats on the header, 1 coat on the turbine housing, adapter and weld flange (haven't gotten to the cartrige housing yet) and the can is still roughly 70% full (8 Oz can).

It gives the silver color like the old 'aluminum' spray paint used to.

We have an oven in the shop for shop use only (no food, not with what we've heated in it , best $25 I've spent at a yard sale ) so the 'fully cures at a surface temperature of 300*F isn't likely to be an issue.

Hope to have the turbo at least bolted on this weekend, might have to wait to finish the plumbing though (I'm lacking the compressor discharge fitting, it's an elbow that attaches with a V band clamp, I've located them, now I just have to figure out how to get they guy his money, he's evidently still thinking about that ).

I'll post some pictuers after we heat cure the parts.

Lookin' good so far...



I have found that Eastwood's Aluma Blast is great for that fresh aluminum look.
They also make a "detail gray" that's great for looking like fresh cast iron.

I have tried most of the exhaust paints over the years on both cast iron and tube headers and found that the only thing that could be considered "permanent" is a ceramic coating.
The Eastwood stainless steel header paint did hold up well for several years on my Fentons, but eventually rust spots did start to appear.

Some POR-15 products require top coating, some do not. Just to clarify, "chassis black" is not the same thing as the product they sell for covering up rust. The stuff for covering up rust rquires a topcoat. It's best to wait to topcoat till the stuff can be touched, but you can leave a fingerprint in it. This way, no sanding is required.

I have used several clears over the years as well. The only time anything turned yellow was if it got ALOT of exposure to raw fuel. Some clears stain easier than others. Valve covers aren't exposed to gas, so don't worry about it.
I have used the Pelucid clear on my polished aluminum parts, and while it was difficult to use, once i got it right, it's been on my valve cover now for something like 10 years now without any issues. I have some of there two part clear, but I haven't tried it yet. Supposed to be easier to use than the Pelucid.

If you are going to clear a polished zinc or aluminum part, be sure to clean it with something like denatured alcohol, not mineral spirits or lacquer thinner. It needs to be absolutely clean. Baking-cleaning-baking-cleaning will help get all of the crap out of the pores of the metal. Especially necessary if you are going to be baking a coating on.
Metal prep type stuff will ruin a polished surface, so avoid using them. Ok if not polished.