[jedibarnes]

I am going to polish my vavle cover soon with my dremel. I'm going to have to take it off and i have never done that. Is there anything i should know before doing it or is it simply unbolt it...polish it...then bolt it back on? Thanks everyone. Just want some reassurance before i do that. Also do i need to do anything to it after i polish the cover? thanks again.

 

[mizhele]

nothing to it just unbolt it should have 8 bolts..on my 240z it does..might want to get a new gasket and check to be sure cams are oiling ok..and maybe even check the valve clearance too...you need to torque the bolts to specs on your car...and make sure the new gasket is on nice and even...if you get a cork gasket (i hate those but most aftermarket sells them maybe put two on because they get real slim fast..i use two on my 240z works fine..good luck michele

 

[Madeline Michele]

I would first degrease it after removal, lots of oil on the inside and some grime on the out.
Then get a couple of boxes of brillo and start cleaning and shinning.
Then after all the brillo is gone continue with steel wool from medium to fine and ultra fine.
Go to Home depot and get two big ars 8 or 12-inch buffing wheels and some White Diamond (big brick) or Jewelers Rouge (it looks like a road flair but with polish inside).
The first buffing wheel used gets the polish. This first red all over the place buffing is for adding the shine to the head.
When you do this you may notice some of the polish building up on the head, this is natural. Just buff till your drill burns up. Now the second buffing wheel is for a final finish and to remove any polish. If during your polishing you see imperfections you will need to sand, brillo, and steel wool it more on that spot. If you look at the final buffing wheel you will notice it has circular stitching on the sides. Free up about an inch around the wheel to make it a big floppy buffer. Now buff and buff till you burn up your second drill. As for dremel, this would not be the tool for the job. You may want to temporally bolt it to some large piece of plywood so you can really get down to business.
Use a new gasket when returning it to the motor.
If you run into any snags e mail me or just ask here.

Madeline
South Florida

 

[Madeline Michele]

Hmmmmm
After the polish.
You have many options and maybe someone could help us on that part of his question.


Madeline
South Florida

Hay Michele notice we posted 3 min apart?
And he didn't say "Hay Guys I need some help"
Nice guy.

 

[george71z]

Eastwood sells a clearcoat for aluminum, but I've never used it and don't know if it stands up to engine heat. I just keep mine clean and use Nevr-dull on it, every so often. You can get that at any auto-parts store. (Eagle - One now makes it). I also found it was easier to order the polished cover from MSA. I got mine back when the total cost (after core was sent back) was only $45. How much is your time worth?

 

[DylanZ]

I found that my valve cover was full of waves and almost like wrinkles. I started with 320 and wet sanded the imprefections out, then steped down the grit to 600, then went to the buffing wheels. I found that the lettering posed a big problem - can't polish between them, so I scuffed it in the recessed areas, masked the ridges and letters (this took a while and some 1/4"tape. and painted it bright red. It looks great with the polished Nissan logo and bright red highlight. The only thing is that it took forever. I spent hours and hours on this thing, but it is completely uniqe and looks wild. Like the other guy said, it may not be worth it to you.