Polishing raised Aluminum Letters on valve covers?

[1999GTSsilverwblue]

My raised letters on my valve covers are beginning to dull due to oxidation.

I plan to polish with a Dremel type high speed unit with a polishing tip and polishing compound. Time consuming ,but probably effective.

Any other suggestions?

Long Live American Muscle

 

[Randy]

I beleive I've heard a sanding block with your favorite 1000 to 1500 grit paper, followed by polishing works well. I need to try it myself.

 

[Jack B]

Mask around the letters to protect the the painted area. Use one of the 3M abrasive flexible sanding blocks. I found some 2" X 2" blocks they are perfect.

 

[1999GTSsilverwblue]

Thanks ,guys

I like the idea of blocks . TIwas concerned about a slip of the hand with my idea a messing up the Red.

 

[big-n-italian]

just be sure to take it slow. there isnt much distance between the polished surface and the painted surface.

 

[Newport Viper]

I blocked with 2000. Lot's of water. Fold paper over on itself around the edges. ( Won't catch.)


Before:

After:

 

[PhoenixGTS]

was concerned about a slip of the hand with my idea a messing up the Red.

Like mentioned above bury the red all around the logo in masking tape. That will give you time to stop sanding if you see you have tilted or otherwise gone wrong before you mow into the red.

 

[DrumrBoy]

When sanding, I'd recommend 1500+ and sanding in one direction. If you go longitudinally with the letters, they'll catch light differently and look goofy. There's a post on this a few days back with more info....do a search for "powder coated valve covers".

 

[2000gtsgsxr1000]

I just use comet and a wet towel with one finger touching the raised area only.It works great and won't harm paint.

 

[LETHAL GTS]

Posers......the lot of ya! LOL

 

[Hisserman]

Guys --

There's no need to use sand paper and keep knocking the level of material down! Just get some good wadding polish (at any hardware store), use a little elbow grease and they will shine up bright as new. You don't need to worry about slipping off onto the red part of the cover, because the wadding polish won't hurt the paint (it just washes right off).

Before:

After:

Touch it up once a month or so and you're good to go!

 

[Randy]

There's no need to use sand paper and keep knocking the level of material down! Just get some good wadding polish (at any hardware store), use a little elbow grease and they will shine up bright as new.

I've tried that, no dice. I don't know what the corrosion is on mine (it was there when I bought it used), but its very deep, and no amount of polishing seems to affect it. Hence, at least in my case, I'm going to try the sandpaper thing someday when I care enough to work again on how the engine looks.

 

[Daddy Long Stroke]

Wadding polish? Like "Neverdull" ?

 

[joe117]

Am I wrong or are the valve covers made of magnesium?
I think I remember that the magnesium won’t stay bright for long.

 

[Matt M PA]

I do mine about once a year....it comes back.

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

Wadding polish and then mist on a little WD40 or CRC, once a month or so put more on. Old saltwater boaters trick for keeping things looking nice on the motor.

 

[Bo knows]

Does anyone know if these valve covers can be chromed ?

Bo don't know

 

[RoadiJeff]

Even if you can chrome them you should not. It will radiate the heat right back at the engine, sort of like putting Reynolds Wrap around them.

 

[snakebitdave]

I sand mine. If you use this method I suggest gluing the paper to the block to keep it flat. This will reduce the risk of accidentally scratching the red due to "bulging" sandpaper.

 

[KenH]

The lettering seems to have a clear coating of some type on it from the factory, therefore sanding the letters down the first time seems to be required to get rid of the coating and then you can just polish with your favorite mag/aluminum polish. Flitz seems to give a pretty lasting shine.

 

[Kenny]

Am I wrong or are the valve covers made of magnesium?
I think I remember that the magnesium won’t stay bright for long.

You're exactly right.

 

[BLWNV10]

These never have to be polished again.

We add a final clear powdercoat finish.

Alan
Alans Performance

 

[XS TORQ]

Those came out very nice, BLWNV10!
I did not have such good luck with my powdercoating. It started bubbling off within the year.
What do you get ($$ wise) for powdercoating the valve covers and intake (on a non-Roe car)

 

[BLWNV10]

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the compliment.

Doing the intake vs Roe Setup is a lot more work. We get $375.00 for the Roe setup with valve covers.

$425.00 for valve covers and stock intake. This actually doesn't reflect the additional work involved. The intake is like 30lbs, it has to be stripped which takes 2 to 3 times in the stripper. Then all the openings have to be taped up which is very time consuming.
Powdercoat is added to match the color of your car, and is wiped off of the ribs before baking. Then the clear is added and also wiped off of the ribs and baked again. After that all of the ribs are hand polished to a really bright finish. We don't use clear coat on the ribs because the intake is aluminum and it is very easy to polish the ribs if they dull. They also don't dull very fast because they are aluminum vs magnesium (valve covers).

Wish the intake was easier, and we could charge the same for that package.

Thanks,
Alan
AlansPerformance.com

 

[ViperBing]

Do you have any pics of a blue Roe setup?

 

[klamathpro]

I just did mine with Mother's Aluminum Mag polish and a microfiber rag. Turned out good and didn't affect the paint.

 

[BLWNV10]

Hi ViperBing
I have a really close match to the blue of your Viper.
Thanks,
Alan

www.AlansPerformance.com

 

[ViperBing]

Do you have any pics?

 

[Mccarlin]

I tried the mother aluminum mag polish, the wadding polish, and nothing has worked either. Seems like theres some kind of "film" on the letters and nothing is making a difference. I guess the only alternative is to use the sanding block.

 

[klamathpro]

I tried the mother aluminum mag polish, the wadding polish, and nothing has worked either. Seems like theres some kind of "film" on the letters and nothing is making a difference. I guess the only alternative is to use the sanding block.

Just so you know, it takes about 15-20min per side to do it by hand. The oxidation won't come off immediately. Work the polish on until your fingers get tired, then try again. Unless your valve covers were painted by the previous owner.