Hand sand or media blast these valve covers?
 

I have 3 sets of Valve Covers that I am going to repaint. (2 sell and one keeper).

I soaked them in degreaser so the business side is very clean.
I have access to a Media Blaster (glass beads) and I will seal them up so no debris will get inside (1/4 inch plywood cut to fit the opening with a gasket).

Or should I break out the sandpaper and elbow grease?

Dave

I usually hit them with a wire wheel, peels the paint right off.

Your going to need to do some minor body work on those where the rust was once you remove it all by whatever means.

Be sure to use a selfetching primer first and then a sandable primer to get it all leveled before you color coat it.

DO NOT blast them. any type of blasting material get get stuck in the oil dripper assembly and not be able to be removed easily. The grit WILL come loose when the engine is running, without doubt...

Oven cleaner for the grease residue. It will loosen some old paint also. But oven cleaner is wimpier than it used to be.

I did the same on mine. I taped the back completely so no media could get inside and also taped the breather hole on top. I epoxy primed, and then used build primer,and glaze. Sanded and sealed and them painted with 2K paint. They look excellent and were not a mess to clean. Self etch primer base and build primer over is also good. I do not have a separate picture so here is the top of the engine.

Soda blasting is a far less aggressive method of media blasting parts. The plus side is it dissolved on water, unlike glass beads. Soak in a cleaning solution like oven cleaner then soda blast them.

If you're confident in your ability to seal them up so no beads get inside, that's the easy button. Otherwise it would be simple enough to strip them with a wire wheel and sandpaper.

This^ . Do not blast them under any circumstance.

Ok. Thanks for the feedback.

Sounds like I should avoid media blasting and I will try a wire wheel.

Followed by cleaning ...self etching primer.....then a topcoat.

valve covers
 

those covers look good but I can't tell if they are Blue or Silver?

I have had four sets of covers soda blasted at my machinists shop. I have run these covers on different engines and I have never had a problem

Gotta get the yellow can Heavy Duty stuff....it's the only one that has really good strength any more IMO. Best grease and grime cleaner around.

https://www.zoro.com/static/cms/prod..._J33vfo5oz.JPG

Is this safe on aluminum covers - like the M/Ts?

I vote, do not blast! I've done all the above. Brush on paint remover,and a pressure wash works also . Whatever u do, as mentioned, etch prime, high build sandable prime, then paint.

Nope. It reacts with aluminum—pretty much eats it. Try an experiment by spraying it on piece of aluminum foil.

It'll mess up aluminum.... charcoal colored splotches and nothing I know of will remove it. Ask me how I know.
Thanks for the reminder...I'd hate for someone to try that. If you do get it on aluminum, get it off right away and you'll be ok.
MOTHERS Mag and Aluminum Polish is the best I've used for aluminum.

I do this as a hobby myself on occasion. I just use a wire wheel as previously noted. So soak it in parts cleaner and brush it, then wire wheel. Then I knock out any big dings.

High temp primer, ceramic paint, and ceramic clear. I don't even bother with the small dings. I advertise them as driver quality and put in the ad "Any small dings they earned in their life they get to keep"

The high temp clear makes a big difference over just painting them btw.

I have to say this is a pretty good thread and a good example of how to do things in the car hobby. One thing to remember that there are about 10 different ways to do this and 7 are not wrong!

Wrong:
Paint over chipping paint and oil
media blast and make a mess inside the covers
Just reinstall and leave rusty (not really wrong and much better than media blast inside)
Make sure to check rails are straight before painting or reinstalling at bolt holes

Me: I over did mine and am very happy with the results. But I epoxy primed, high build primed a few different times, spot putty on spot welds and small imperfections, and painted with Acrylic Enamel I also used Carb studs instead of bolts to retain and for myself I really like the look. If you look at the picture on post above I also used a needle scaler on the face on my aluminum heads and painted them to look more stock with factory valve covers. I did a lot of different things to update my car and still have a factory look to it.

Make sure what ever you do it is using the tools and skills you have to do your best, but do not do it wrong!

Paul