Serious Help Needed, Polishing aluminum valve cover.

[JohnG]

hi!
I am polishing the cast aluminum valve cover from an old SOHC Honda 750. The polishing is coming along ok...learning as I go.

Eventually I will get it to where I'm happy with it. The question then comes up: what to put on it to protect it?? While I can find a number of sealers around, my concern is with the temperature that the piece may be subjected to. I really don't know how hot the valve cover gets so I want to be on the conservative side. Put differently, I don't want to be sitting in traffic in July, look down and see the sealant flaking off!!!

Any advice appreciated.

John - MA

Originally Posted by JohnG

hi!
I am polishing the cast aluminum valve cover from an old SOHC Honda 750. The polishing is coming along ok...learning as I go.

Eventually I will get it to where I'm happy with it. The question then comes up: what to put on it to protect it?? While I can find a number of sealers around, my concern is with the temperature that the piece may be subjected to. I really don't know how hot the valve cover gets so I want to be on the conservative side. Put differently, I don't want to be sitting in traffic in July, look down and see the sealant flaking off!!!

Any advice appreciated.

John - MA

don't worry about the temp of the part ... that is friction that comes with polishing ... i never warped a part by polishing it .... you can either zoop the part when done ... or give it a good coat of high grade carnuba wax ..

[grommit]

Hello m3the01,alot of good advice there off loads of the guys, and it can be confusing.have a look at my latest post 'Valve cover polishing-time and effort' to give yourself some motivation.
to put things in perspective this is how i tackle Valve covers, there are loads of user tips that others use or may comment,so if i leave them out its because i am trying to not make this a 6,000 word novel
first you will hear CLEAN,CLEAN and MORE CLEAN,if you miss this inbetween grit or compounds you will regret it,
as advised pick your choice of grit and what tools you have available.My first decision was to use my 2" air sander with velcro pads to do as much of the valve cover as possible, some people spend time mixing between sand paper then power tools then back again,if you can use the power tools to get where you want without using the paper its less time using 'elbow grease'.
once CLEANED-pick your first grit and using sanding block start the tedious task of sanding.as i am in the UK my start choice was 320,400 and then 600 wet(water,washing up liquid and my favourite polishing cream)REMEMBER you have to get the previous grit scratches out or it will result in going back to re-do this.At the 600 once CLEANED i was able to take it to the wheel, as the desired look at this stage was not bad i missed out the black on sisal and went for tripoli on sewn.Remember to RAKE your mops and only use mops you have earmarked for certain metals.CLEAN between compounds.
There are a lot of talk on what cleaning materials to use and what is best for what metals, i have kero,brake fluid,but i bought Isopropanol which is great.
as for what tools in the awkward areas i have 3 dremels and a air tool,getting the right attachments is the pain part,flap wheels were great and shank mounted buffs were good, i used the Cratex buffs but they didn't last long.
if above anything PLEASE, PLEASE Clean between grits and compounds. Do not skip between grits and power tools, stick to a set plan and you will reap the rewards in the end.
type in Valve cover etc in the search bar there are a lot of help on the forum which is where i asked my questions and found the answers.
if you make a mistake,take stock,ask or search,the answers are always there.
regards,
brian

[Tng21]

well here's what i started out with and an after picture for you to get the idea.

i havent read the hole thread but as others say, start sanding.

i start with a 120 grit,but i use greaseless compound. then move up the grits to 600 then polish.

anyway, pics here

Before


and after

[JAP_NDN]

The BMW valve cover looks good. How did you do all the sanding around the BMW lettering without rounding the edges of the letters (what tools did you use)? And how did you sand so closely to the letters in the recessed portions around them? Just curious 'cause I have to do the same thing. Mine looks about like yours did, too. Last thing: how long did it take? Thanks a bunch.

[mpierich]

Originally Posted by JAP_NDN

The BMW valve cover looks good. How did you do all the sanding around the BMW lettering without rounding the edges of the letters (what tools did you use)? And how did you sand so closely to the letters in the recessed portions around them? Just curious 'cause I have to do the same thing. Mine looks about like yours did, too. Last thing: how long did it take? Thanks a bunch.

Yeah, anyway...actually when you need to get a piece done and move on to the next one, so far I've been successful in suggesting to my clients that the logo areas would look great painted, and I do it for them for free. Now if I had to do such an item for myself, the lettering would get done.

I use a homebuilt belt sander for such items, although it looks like I couldn't use it much on this particular cover. Would work great on the tops of the ribs etc. though.

[grommit]

hello tng21, i remember your original post seems ages ago, definately the hardest part is getting in the crevises and lettering,a lot of the guys will grasp the other techniques but it will take trial and error for what tools to use for the gorroves etc. on one of my covers i got that sick i just gave up and done the best i could, the guy was over the moon,but i wasn't happy i could of kicked my self.

i have dremels, 2" air sander, i even used felt bobs with sandpaper secured but they didn't last long, cratex bobs were good but the pointed ones wore down very quickly, i found exreme patiance and stick at is what pays off,and stick to one area at a time no good jumping here and there.
i have sent you a PM mate and hope to get to drive over to meet you and bump our gums about this n that.
take care,
brian

[JAP_NDN]

Hey Grommit, when you say 2" sander are you talking about an air die grinder with sanding pads/scotchbrite pads on it? If not, can you post a pic or link showing it? Thanks a bunch.

[tbreaden]

Hey Grommit looks great how much time did you have in it? Todd

[grommit]

hello guys,
real sorry been a long time since i was on.
i will hunt out pics tonight and PM them to you.
i used my 2 inch air grinder with the velcro attachments, but the best i used was the dremel attachment i got from ebay with sticky backing, these made light work of the Ali, but they flew off easilly so i would get better glue etc to make them stick.
http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ndingdiscs.jpg
on and off it has took me around 8-9 man hours but if you go start to finish you can easilly shed a lot of hours off.
tng 21 has produced some fantastic work, he gives good advice and it just happens he lives a few miles away from me.
greaseless is the way ahead.also the Dremel and felt bobs were great.
regards,
brian