re-chrome valve covers

BoulderGT3 · Dec 3, 2019

Fiammetta42 said: ↑

I have gold valve covers on 2876 circa 2003 .They are pitted .Initially I painted them with a shiny gold but a couple of seasons later .....heat soak the gold paint lost its shine and dulled down to amber .We removed them and used a stripper to take the paint off ......I just accept the rustic patina of them now .
Interestingly when doing the valves earlier this year the inside is gold and immaculate as new .Its just the exterior surface open to the engine room air ....presume enough obvious salt concentration that pits .

I noted the gasket is a combined metal and rubber thing that sits precisely in a grove on the underside.When fitted sealed from the ambient atmosphere.
My concern “ sending them away “ for plating / professional finishing etc would be that gasket grove gets done ......so when returned the OEM gaskets don’t quite seal as did before .
So I,am just living with my pitied / slightly scabby gold valve covers .
Click to expand...

There is a tape the sand blasters use that HAS to cover the back and gasket surface. Also, if the cover gets too hot during blasting or they don’t cover the back the gold on the inside will start to flake. The cover is ruined at that point.
This is one of those things that sounds easy but it took me 3 powder coasters and some testing to figure out.

Fiammetta42 · Dec 3, 2019

Yes I could forward see the potential issues , hence sticking with “ au naturel “

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re-chrome valve covers

BoulderGT3 Senior Member

Fiammetta42 Member