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View Full Version : Sandblasting woes...


buddiiee
10-20-2006, 10:42 PM
Ok, I was milling about underneath my hood, straightening some things out on my car, and decided since im doing valve springs anyways, why not just yank the covers now, and clean em. Well I put them under some really hot water to warm em up, soaked em with eagle ones spray foam wheel cleaner (that stuff cleans ANYTHING, works awesome) and they cleaned up nicely, but not anywhere NEAR how good my plenum looks.. My valve covers are stained with grease and oil stains. Looks like bloody hell. Now that theyre clean, the stains stand out even worse, and are about as obvious like someone took a crap on a brand new white bedsheet.
So I took em over a friends house to sand blast em, and while they came out ok, the really deep oil stains are still there. Im to the point to say '****it' and just mount em. Well, theyre soo rough, they collect and hold EVERY little piece of dirt that brushes across them. From dirty fingerprints, to EVERYTHING in between. And the finish is soo rough, they stick there. Ya cant wash the prints off now. So I clear coated one of them with clear lacquer. First question. Is there any 'high heat' clear coat in a can out there? Second, will lacquer hold up on valve covers ok? and finally, has anyone ever 'hot tanked' a set of covers before? How do they turn out? Is it expensive?

kenmosher
10-21-2006, 10:33 AM
Yes, VHT makes a high(er) temp clear and you can paint them.

You might consider taking them to a metal polishing shop and have them take a look ... many can polish them and clean them for a reasonable fee. Once you have them polished, THEN clear coat them. WAAAAY back in the day I had mine polished for about $50 for the pair ... eventually I chromed them and then painted in between the "fins".

"Hot tanking" like a block will probably destroy the covers, although there are hot washing processes (like a big dishwasher with mild detergent) that can work really well ... most machine shops have something like this.

IL KIM
10-21-2006, 10:56 AM
I have "bead blasted" versus "sand blasted" in the past to eliminate pitting the parent aluminum material while still cleaning up the surfaces. Same process but using different media.

chrisgarrett
10-21-2006, 11:24 AM
I bead blasted mine and used Rust-oleum High Heat Silver. I use it on all the silver parts. It has a beautiful finish. Available at your local hardware store.

IL KIM
10-21-2006, 11:58 AM
Very nice Chris; getting of the thread, but where did you get the stand-off for the breather? :stooges:

chrisgarrett
10-21-2006, 12:00 PM
Don't know where it came from. It was on the car when I bought it. Maybe Kirbans?

PaCemkr86
10-21-2006, 01:19 PM
very nice and clean Chris.. looks great

breathers here

http://www.gbodyparts.com/product_info.php?cPath=46_21_51&products_id=403&osCsid=57e4317391b424022a92a42ebc4f50b9

chrisgarrett
10-21-2006, 01:36 PM
very nice and clean Chris.. looks great

breathers here

http://www.gbodyparts.com/product_info.php?cPath=46_21_51&products_id=403&osCsid=57e4317391b424022a92a42ebc4f50b9

Thanks. The real challenge is keeping it clean.

deputydawg
11-01-2006, 03:09 AM
you may want to check with a transmission shop. My buddy's dad owns a transmission shop and they have a parts washer (looks like a dishwasher on steriods), they use it to clean transmission housings and we all know how fugly those can get. When they are done, they look like brand new aluminum. Just a suggestion....

onefastcar
11-01-2006, 06:22 AM
Sand blasted mine turned out pretty good and i used my disc sander on the fins for that bling bling i'll take a pic oh and cleared with some eastwood clear for that hose off procedure i ain't it buffin or scrubbin, i'll take a pic when i get home.