best aerosol paint for rocker covers

[PYNEY]

hi all

my next job is to paint the rocker cover's , just wanting to clean them down and remove all the old
loose paint and spray them in a black finish "simple" , don't know whether to do them matt , satin , or gloss at the moment ?

will I have to use a special primer for the cast aluminium ?

what paint options do I have for heat and durability ?

cheers keith

[Andav469]

The best coating for longevity and durability is powder coating.

I would not consider the use of an aerosol for the rocker covers as the heat and oil is not an environment suitable for this type of coating.

[Mr Plow]

I agree that Powder coating would be the longer lasting option. Powder coating is a lot cheaper than I thought it would be when I first looked in to it.

Liam

[SILICONEKID350HP]

I paid £25 for the pair ,powder coated in black .

[Barkychoc]

The hard part is getting them clean - don't bother yourself take them to somewhere that can chemically clean them - powder coaters may be able to advise.

[PYNEY]

ok mr silicone I would like a pair of rocker covers for £25 where from ?

[SILICONEKID350HP]

PYNEY said:

ok mr silicone I would like a pair of rocker covers for £25 where from ?

http://www.totalwheelworks.com/80100/info.php?p=9

[jojackson4]

Rockers ,oil cap ,flame trap, plenum top all done candy purple £50+£7 for the gaskets

[Hedgehopper]

I used Hammerite from an aerosol, no problems with heat degradation. Fins were polished up with wet/dry paper. Powder coating would have been better perhaps but at the time couldn't find anywhere local at a sensible price.

[lestershaw]

Keith
i got some paint from Homebase Stortford for £10 it says the temperature range on it, i will dig out the make if you like.

this pic was taken a year ago, its still the same condition. rubbed it down first with a dremel and a sander, two coats of darker lilac, then a coat of lighter lilac.
personally i would choose either everything silver or everything black if i were to do it again, rather than the bright colours. i have a spare plenum for the sake of originality
Lester

[blitzracing]

If you want to use paint the anything that is aluminium based really needs an etch primer (phosphic acis based) to get decent adhesion for the top coat. You can clean the components using Mr Muscle Oven cleaner before spraying, but it leaves the alloy darkened. I used engine heat proof paint from Frost restoration, but its a slow drying hand paint, and did not spray well when thinned and tended to run, but its tough and glossy, and has not discolloured. Im sure there will be better can spray paints out there however. If you apply top coat paint without etch primer it will chip easily as it cant stick, due to the fact that alloy corrodes very quickly in air and the paint sticks to this corrosion, to the metal itself. The corrosion forms a barrier so it then stops corroding- but this is why its difficult to keep aluminium shiney. I think powercoating would be an easier option if it does not drop off.

[900T-R]

Rocker covers (& sump) on mine were powdercoated red in 2007 in the course of a long-winded rebuild, car has been in service since April '08 and now covered 27K+ miles since rebuild - powdercoating is still as the day I shoved the engine in the back of my old Saab to take it home. Never had anywhere near the durability with spray finished on aluminium parts, no matter what prep or paint.

[PYNEY]

hi all

thanks for all your comments and advice on what to use on my rocker covers

at the moment i'm not going to paint them as the cost of the spray paint and prep time = £££ and its only a paint finish

I am getting quotes to have them shot blasted and powder coated which will cost £50 to £65 which isn't to bad
one company said they also do enamelling which looks very nice and leaves a smooth finish even
if the aluminium has small pit holes in the casting

has anyone used baked enamel ?

cheers keith