How To Paint Your Valve Cover

I've had this idea for a while, and I figured I might as well get started. I'm going to show you how to paint your valve cover. I'm doing this on a 1989 Honda Prelude 4WS Si and on a 1995 Honda Accord EX VTEC. *NOTE* Please let me know if I missed anything. I'll add it in as soon as I know about it.

Remove these ads by Signing Up

Step 1: Collect your materials!

First off, this isn't going to be a really simple job. If you can't use a spray paint can, a screw driver, or a socket wrench, have someone else do this. If you mess up, it's not going to look good, and will be quite hard to fix.
Here's what all you should need:
Valve Cover
Hi-Temp spray paint ( I used Dupli-Color Engine Enamel)
Aircraft Remover (Yes, that's what it's called. It's paint remover.)
Windex! (Regular Windex)
Flathead Screwdriver
Old Towel (Clean is best!)
Socket Set
Hi-Temp primer (I used Dupli-Color flat gray primer)
A Wire Brush
Two portable clean hard surfaces ( I used an old tub lid, and a water damaged bit of fiberboard)
Daylight! Don't do this at night!
Lots of paper towels.

tinydreamstudio says: Mar 30, 2011. 11:55 PM

Did you need to remove the spark plug prior to doing this?

gtkid2002 (author) in reply to tinydreamstudioMar 31, 2011. 1:49 AM

If it's a Honda like mine, I would leave them in so stuff doesn't fall down there and get lodged or something. It really depends on if you can't remove the valve cover with the spark plugs in, then take them out. Otherwise, I'd just leave them in.

Kibbe17 says: Mar 2, 2010. 11:43 PM

How many cans of each item (remover, primer, paint) Did it take you for all coats??

gtkid2002 (author) in reply to Kibbe17Feb 28, 2011. 11:12 PM

It's been a while, but If I recall, two coats of aircraft remover, three to four coats of primer, and four to six coats of paint. Take your time, do it in on a warm day (60+, seriously) otherwise the paint gets cloudy and ruins all your hard work. Then you have to either paint over it, or start from scratch Same goes with a clearcoat if you use that.

Yerboogieman says: Jul 6, 2009. 11:50 PM

Make it a Ram air intake, put it in the bumper to catch the air as the car moves forward.

NapenE04 in reply to YerboogiemanFeb 28, 2011. 10:31 PM

only if you do actually do this, you will need to keep in mind on rainy days not to run through deep puddles because then you could end up getting water up in there... not so good.

gtkid2002 (author) in reply to NapenE04Feb 28, 2011. 11:10 PM

They'd have to be some fairly deep puddles to plug it if it was on the bumper. Although if you're rocking a cold air intake, watch out for any. I've almost hydrolocked an engine from hitting a five inch deep puddle before.

slavrenz says: Nov 1, 2009. 9:00 PM

You should wack that valve cover with a rubber mallet to remove it instead of using a screwdriver. The screwdriver could gouge the head, and the gasket won't seal that.

NapenE04 in reply to slavrenzFeb 28, 2011. 10:30 PM

lol 'wacking' is not so good.. but giving it a gentle tap is a great idea

the420guru says: Feb 15, 2011. 1:34 PM

did you just bend your airhose so that its pointing straight down?
or did it come like that stock?

soadjoe says: Jul 23, 2009. 7:30 PM

You also need new valve cover gaskets if you are to do the job correctly. At least for most cars. Reusing gaskets are bad.

gtkid2002 (author) in reply to soadjoeJul 24, 2009. 3:12 PM

Yeah, that's recommended. I reuse my gasket on account of the fact that I have no money to buy another. You can get away with this on my car, but probably can't if it's a cardboard gasket or if it breaks. But if it's a cardboard gasket, you can cut yourself a new one if you wanted to. Or if you needed one to get into town to buy a replacement.

crazedchikn says: Jul 10, 2009. 2:06 AM

WOO VTEC. :D

TheWelfareWarrior says: Nov 27, 2008. 5:49 PM

Well, you CAN mess up the firing order and it will run... My dad left his car at a friends house while he was in Mexico, after a week the battery was dead and he had "disabled" his honda civic by unpluging two of the plug leads... I did not know that and push started his car uphill... and it worked... it ran, but barely. Smoked his O2 sensor.

gtkid2002 (author) in reply to TheWelfareWarriorNov 27, 2008. 6:07 PM

Well, that's just on two cylinders. If someone does mix up all of them by some chance, and I bet someone out there has done it, it wont run at all. Might backfire a bit, but wont run. At least on a straight 4. That would be amusing to see on a V8 or bigger. Kind of a waste though.

TheWelfareWarrior in reply to gtkid2002Nov 27, 2008. 7:44 PM

Yeah, my uncle did that on a 350... peeled his muffler apart... sounded like a bomb.