[Cloud9...68]

I've found a place that does bead blasting for a reasonable price, so I'm planning to have them bead blast my grungy valve cover, after which I'll put some clear coat on it. But is it a good idea to also bead blast an intake manifold? I love the look that it give the valve cover gasket, and it would be convenient to go ahead and do both. Also, a few related questions:



1. How long can I wait between the blasting and the application of the clear coat?

2. Any specific recommendation as to type of clear coat paint?

3. If I bead blast the intake manifold, do I have to take off all the hoses, or can they be masked off?



Thanks.

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[DaveN]

Take some good pictures of the blasting, I would love to see the effect up close and from a distance.

I would think after blasting you would just wash the surface with a solvent and paint immediately, no?

I have had good success with Wurth Clear Lacquer in my car. Be aware if you have any oil seepage whatsoever the heat from the engine will tend to leave an amber hue at that junction. I believe powder coating is the only way to avoid that - or chroming <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/blink.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

I would remove the hoses as you are going to have to mask off the ports anyway but my impression of blasting is that the small particles just bounce off anything rubber and don't do any harm.

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[Cloud9...68]

I didn't realize the manifold is painted - or at least it looks that way. Something that looked like flecks of paint was flaking off as I was cleaning it prior to taking it to the place to do the bead blasting. Hopefully bead blasting followed by clear coat will be a good look. Again, I'm not shooting for concours here - I just want to get everything clean and shiny to make it easier to identify leaks, missing parts, etc., in the future, and to show it off after passing that GT3 or Z06 on the track <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[DaveN]

I don't think the mani is painted. It's looked to me like a plating process that eventually corrodes off and starts to look real ratty. I didn't strip mine as it didn't come off with chemicals. I just cleaned and primed it, all good.

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[Cloud9...68]

When you say "primed," what exactly do you mean? Like my valve cover, my mani has deep stains that won't come out with cleaning (at least not with my level of patience - I could never do body work, and have nothing but the deepest admiration and respect for people with that sort of patience, not to mention skill), so I'm thinking bead blasting followed by a clear coat for both the valve cover and the mani should do the trick.

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[DaveN]

I think I primed it with something (can't remember what) then hit it with Wurth Silver and Wurth clear.

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[flash]

powdercoating is so cheap and easy, and so much more durable than spray paint, that i can't imagine doing anything else. you can get most any color too.

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[link517]

+1 to powdercoating. My wheels still look like they were powder coated yesterday and its been almost 2 years.

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[Cloud9...68]

Hmmm. OK, maybe I'll go the powdercoating route. So should I not bother bead blasting the intake manifold if I choose to powder coat it? I love the results Scott C. got with bead blasting and clear coating his valve cover, so I figured it would be a good way to do for the intake manifold as well, but I'm open to all suggestions, keeping in mind that I have no intention of doing anything resembling an all-out detailing of my engine compartment. After fixing all the leaks, I just want to keep things neat, clean, and efficient under there.

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[flash]

they will blast it for you. just make sure you mask off what you want masked off, or be clear when you tell them.



you can just powdercoat clear if you want too

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[DaveN]

Yea, I pulled my valve cover yesterday as there are a few things that need attention this winter: plug wires, hall sensor connector, pinched valve cover gasket, oil stain soak. As I started to clean off the the RTV on the mating surfaces I kept looking over at the intake mani and wondering, shoud I remove that again and have it all powered coated? Cold weather, boredom, Scotch and time will only tell.

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[Cloud9...68]

I'm still a little torn on this. I love the look Scott Collins got on his valve cover from bead blasting, followed by clear coating. Powder coating of the intake manifold sounds nice, but how would this compare in terms of appearance, longevity, and cost, vs. having someone bead blast the manifold along with the valve cover, followed by my spraying both with a protective clear coat? I remember reading people who have had their calipers powder coated that it was extremely expensive, and I'd rather put that kind of money into stuff that will make the car go faster. Thanks.

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[flash]

with powder coating, there is a very real economy of scale. it's really the cost of the first part. the following parts are nearly free.



it should be about $150 tops to do both parts in whatever color your want, including clear, and including blasting and cleaning.

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[Tomikaze]

Thinking of doing some engine bay cleanup. Can anyone post some finished results of painting/powder coating/bead blasting the valve cover and intake manifold?

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[flash]

   

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[banditsc]

   

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[Rap]

Boy those sure look good. My red engine is so dingie looking and cleaners and solvents haven't had much effect.

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[94'968]

I am in the middle of a rebuild on my motor and actually just got all my parts back from being cleaned up and bead blasted. here is how it all came out. The plan is to powder coat the parts, thinking black for the cam cover to match the head, probably silver on the intake manifold.

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[mbardeen]

If you do this, be extra careful to get all the media beads and powdercoatinging glass beads out, and/or mask all possible inlets. The last thing you want is a glass bead running around your combustion chamber. The 928 folk have had some really bad experiences because of this.

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[flash]

getting it all out of there is especially difficult, given the dual resonant nature of the manifold. crap just loves to get stuck in the internal crevasses.

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