Aluminum valve covers

[Bjv69ss]

Anyone try to get a dull tired looking set of aluminum valve covers back to life?  My car has the engine dressup.  I'd like to reuse the original covers but everything I've tried so far will polish the aluminum...sort of, but there is no brightness to them and no shine.  What did they look like originally?  Joe

[JohnZ]

They looked like this (on a Z/28 only) - they weren't polished or shiny. Jerry MacNeish can re-skin them for you, as he did these on my Z.

[Bjv69ss]

More info please!!!!  What does he do glass bead and powder coat?  Nice engine compartment!

[JohnZ]

More info please!!!!  What does he do glass bead and powder coat?  Nice engine compartment!

"Re-skinning" is a proprietary process you can't do at home - makes anything aluminum look like new; Jerry did my intake too, and restored my brake booster.

[Bjv69ss]

I found Jerry's web site and sent an email last week.  No answer yet.  Does he answer email or is it better to call.

[RamAirDave]

Earlier this evening I posted some pics on TC of some Ive done myself.

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=120865

I'm not trying to compare mine to JM's, as he does very nice work.  I would think theyre pretty close to the original appearance, though.

[JohnZ]

I found Jerry's web site and sent an email last week.  No answer yet.  Does he answer email or is it better to call.

Better to call - he may be on the road.

[Bjv69ss]

I'll see if I can give him a call tomorrow

[jeff68]

Earlier this evening I posted some pics on TC of some Ive done myself.

What process did you use?

[Bjv69ss]

If you go to http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=120865 at Team Camaro you can read his process.  I might try it but want to talk with Jerry first.

[RamAirDave]

If you go to http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=120865 at Team Camaro you can read his process.  I might try it but want to talk with Jerry first.

The processes that are described in that thread are for full-polish, not for the original dull finish.

[Bjv69ss]

Your right I forgot to mention that.

[jeff68]

The processes that are described in that thread are for full-polish, not for the original dull finish.

OK, so what process did you use to achieve the original dull finish?

[69Z28X33]

RamAirDave please respond, I to would like to know. Because my pockets aren't very deep, I need to save wherever possible. But you know, I really enjoy doing as much of the restoration as I can. It seams to me that I should be able to learn the process to achive the "dull" finish here on crg or tc.
Thanks
Larry

[RamAirDave]

Its something I learned a few years back when I decided to restore a set of old torq-thrust wheels.  Wasnt necessarily trying to, but found that I could achieve a nice satin finish to the aluminum and it translated well to the valve covers.

Light bead blast, 20-30 psi in a siphon cabinet.  That will give you a nice, clean base to work from without harming the surface of the aluminum (i.e. pitting).

Then I work my way slowly back up.  Grey scotch-brite followed with a fine steel wool will smooth it out pretty well.  Then an application of Mother's mag polish by hand to even out the surface and give some sheen, but it wont be much.  I finish with an aluminum/mag wheel sealer.

I cant guarantee it will work perfectly for you.  Its something Ive been doing for several years, so I have gotten a feel for it.

The last set I did (the last two pics in the TC thread) were abused previously by someone who shouldnt have been trying to clean them up.  They didnt respond as I expected, and were more work than usual.  Took more time and varying methods that I have used in the past on other things to get them where I wanted them.

Give it a try if you want.  You wont ruin them, and if you get frustrated and give up you can always send them to JM.