Took the valve cover over to the guys place and he was a little afraid of the sealer that is under the baffle. There is also a small piece that is mounted in some type of sealer that looks like it directs oil from above the baffle down on one of the cam lobes.

Basically this guy is afraid it want withstand the heat of the oven.
Anyone that has had there valve cover powdercoated ran into any problem of the sealer melting? He said usually he takes the baffle off but the baffle is held on by some kind of pressed rivits or possibily a tack weld.

powder coating doesn't involve heat higher than 400°. this is twice what a normal engine gets to. but again the sr20 is ready for anything! here's proof: http://www.sr20deforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17830&highlight=powder+coating

actually there are several threads on PCing a VC, ya just gotta search. :)

i havent painted or powder coated anything but i did polish the nissan on mine. here's what it looks like.


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid37/p12d03be9c6379229067aff00ac4becd6/fd1d8a6d.jpg.orig.jpg

:mad:

crap, anyone have a clue as to how to get a pic on the posts.

Stilletto I know the material the VC is made of will take the heat but the sealer that seals the baffle in the VC is what I am concerned about.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid37/p12d03be9c6379229067aff00ac4becd6/fd1d8a6d.jpg


Darren

The entire valve cover is completely safe from powdercoating. I had the same concerns years ago and the SE-R list assured me the same thing. It turned out perfect and still looks FANTASTIC.

Get it coated you will love it. There are probably close to 100 SR20 valve covers coated on the list and ***** has ever had one have the baffle 'seal' melt. *****.

im getting mine done anodized blue!:D

The shop that did mine asked me to remove the rubber sealer glob of crap that secures the oil director/drain. Everything was fine. I would suggest having them also bead blast it first. Even just a little grease, oil, or dirt will mar the results. I got mine from a junkyard out of a blown up SR20. It looked like the oil was NEVER changed. After the bead blasting You would have almost thought it was new. Hope this helps some. Post some pics. when you get her all done Darren.

Thanks for your input Thomas Reynolds, thats exactly what I needed to know.

SERMitchell, I am getting mine coated red. It's not a bright red, but between a bright and a dark red. I hope it looks good. I got a Blue PR CAI and blue vaccume hoses and NGK wires.
Judging from the color of yours, it should look nice.

darren

Darren--

Just like Thomas said, the sealer will be fine. And...you can get away with not bead blasting the surface, if you'd like.

When the time comes to actually apply the powder, you will HAVE to de-grease the VC so that there is NO residue (from anything) left on the surface. Like Ralph said, if there is, it will mar the finish.

As long as you use a cleaner/de-greaser that DOES NOT use phosphates, you'll be good to go.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid37/pe44acf54937a1bdeb755dbcdd4d7ac96/fd1d8ee1.jpg

Got it back today and I am very pleased with the finish.

The raised letters look good and he only charged $45.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid38/pe66fe1fc76e4581084eb2f898d1fde41/fd12a1b8.jpg



Darren

WOW that looks really good. where did you take it?

American Precision. Local Powder Coater, small business ran out of his back yard.

darren

That looks really nice man, and for 45 bones!! Dude I paid too much on mine. I was looking for a local shop to do it so I would not have any shipping worries and I'd get it back quick. I called around and found, Triangle Coatings, its near the Raleigh/Durham Airport. Now don't get me wrong... they bead blasted it and powder coated too with the results TOP NOTCH... BUT, at $110.00 I got took. Though they were cool enough to remove the coating over the raised letters. :) All I had to do was polish them. The powder was called "Little Red Wagon" It actually came out brighter than the sample they had showed.

Looks real good though Darren!! You'll enjoy the compliments you'll get. :D


-Ralph

Originally posted by Its311Pete
Got it back today and I am very pleased with the finish.

The raised letters look good and he only charged $45.

Darren

Wow Darren, that looks really nice! How far is King, NC from Norfolk, VA? ;) I really do plan on getting mine done as well. Did you have a spare or is that the only one you got and how long did it take for him to get it back to you? :)

Originally posted by Mr Sentra
Wow Darren, that looks really nice! How far is King, NC from Norfolk, VA? ;) I really do plan on getting mine done as well. Did you have a spare or is that the only one you got and how long did it take for him to get it back to you? :)

Mr. Sentra: I talked to a truck driver I work with and he said Norfolk was about 260 miles from here. I had a spare valve cover from my engine swap. It took him about 2 days to get it done, I just chose to pick it up a few days after the fact.

Ralph: Thanks for the compliments. I asked him if I needed to polish the letters but he said he done that at no extra charge.
He also owns a machine shop and port and polished heads also. He said he applys the powder then brushes it off the letters before he sits it in the oven.


Darren

How did you guys do the lettering on your valve cover? I had my dad do mine in red at his work and it looks great but the whole top is red. I wanted to do something with the lettering. Any ideas?

I just had mine powdercoated candy red. I went in to the shop to check it out, and that little drain with the glob of black stuff was off!!!!!!!!! I don't know if it got melted off or sandblasted off, but my question is do i need that little drain thing? I hope it's not neccessary because i don't want this to be a waste of my money, help

STEVE-O

Originally posted by freak4
I just had mine powdercoated candy red. I went in to the shop to check it out, and that little drain with the glob of black stuff was off!!!!!!!!! I don't know if it got melted off or sandblasted off, but my question is do i need that little drain thing? I hope it's not neccessary because i don't want this to be a waste of my money, help

STEVE-O

I don't know what effects you would see if you installed it without the drain piece but as best I could tell it directed oil above the baffle down on one of the cam lobes.


Darren