I want to repaint my valve cover, because the factory paint is starting to look raggedy, anyhow i've look around the net and i couldnt really find a 240sx valve painting faq, i knoe its pretty much common sense, but better safe than sorry, if anyone has any tips id be thankful, and also, do you need to replace the gasket once removing the cover or is it possible to reuse it, stating that i dont tear it or it isnt cracked...thanks in advanced

 

It depends on how far you want to go with it. You could just rattle can it with some high temp paint. Or you could sand it, primer it, then spray a nice color on there, and put on some clearcoat. If you want to get really fancy, you could have it powdercoated which would look killer. You can find some painted ones on ebay right now for $50 I beleive.

 

powder coat it!! it cost $40 and it looks great

 

Powedercoat is the way.

As for the gasket, replace it. It isn't very expensive, and it's better safe then sorry!

 

 

flat black with brushed lettering would look nice

 

where can you get it powdercoated? from reading around the net, it seems the best option, because sparying paint could just chip, can you go to like a hardware store or is there like a special place for that? and how much would a gasket go for?

 

we have a few powdercoat places in town and i dont live in a big town, so you should be able to find a place or 2,and the gasket is optional i just put some silicone for insurance!

 

If it was me, I would 1st sand it down nice and smooth, 2nd i would spay a layer of primer, then i would buy some Dupli-Color High Temp paint and paint her, get a can of clearcoat and seal it up real nice... Or replace it if it needs it.

 

I am SURE there are a few places that can do that for you in the L.A. area.

Research is key....

 

do you have to paint it with high temp paint ? or would some regular body paint be fine if its sanded and primed ?

 

Just don't use hobby stuff... I used regular spraycan autobody primer (2-3 coats) and then 4-5 coats of Krylon Fusion on my valve cover... I know Fusion says you don't need primer, but I did it anyways (see pics on my cardomain page)

 

The main thing is to get it good and clean. You don't need to get a new gasket, but it is cheap and you really have nothing to lose. Rattle cans work the best on small projects like that. High temp is okay but NOT necessary. That would be more necessary for exhaust manifolds. Works okay on a valve cover but the colors are mor limited. Powder coat is fine but more expensive than you need. Kind of overkill.

Just paint the whole thing....then with coarse sandpaper on a nice long skinny sanding block to take the paint off the lettering. It'll look sharp.

 

screw getting it powdercoated, this looks just as good