Since the weather was not conducive to doing outdoor repair work, I thought that I should tackle refinishing the valve cover acorn nuts. Used a combo of stripping and polishing scotchbrite pads on the electric drill - worked great! Put a nice satin finish on the nuts - it will be great when I can get the rest of the car put back together to check it all out.

HomeDepot has metric stainless acorn nuts.....

...but buying them would deny you an afternoon with the buffer!

Old244,

Like to think I am a master at refinishing automotive components from bolts to plastic pieces; however, I hope the clear coat you used is high temperature/heat resistant...or you'll be right back to crusty before you know it.

Hey Love,
What do we put on stuff like that? And may I ask you for more such tips in the future?
--
Al Hagenberger '84 245 309K, '87 744 171K

Alfixit & Other Bricksters,
There is nothing wrong with removing the factory finish on metal components...anything from alternators, valve covers, to nuts and bolts is fine to paint. I like to use a wire wheel or a scotchbrite pad to do the primary cleaning. But one must clean, prep, and paint the same day to avoid rust or scale. When painting, I like to use a high temp. automotive paint -the type of paint you would use on an engine block- that can be found in just about any good automotive supply store. The colors range from clear coat to everything under the rainbow. Color painted parts first recieve a high temp. primer, then several coats of high temp. color, followed by a high temp. clear coat. Bolts that you want to remain "silver" just recieve a cleaning and several coats of high temp. clear. Plastic is another story... Questions always welcome. Peace & Boogie on, Jon

I tried that, but I musta been to the badd automotive paint store, because my clear-coated hardware attempts are pretty sorry looking after a year in this climate. Now, I'm not talking about aluminum valve covers, tstat housings, and even some larger steel parts like the engine lift brackets, but small hardware like Phillips and hex head bolts looked so much better with the original cad plating than my wire-wheel and clear coat treatment.

Found stainless acorn nuts for valve cover and license plates at McMasterCarr in box-o-twenties.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

more sensible to but the stainless acorns Art...thanks for the tip...'hope all is well...MORE snow in Baltimore yesterday as I was leaving! Dennis

Art,

If you like the "cad plated" look, Eastwood has some stuff that should make you happy. They also have some small plating kits that you can do bolts and nuts, and stuff with.

Justin B.

Eastwood has my address. Unlike IPD they keep sending me catalogs without any return benefit(!) I'm not quite that fussy yet, but I was disappointed when my attempts to "improve" the look of the penny hardware made it look worse in the end. I think the concept of clear coating would be better after the wrench is applied. The plastic doesn't stand up to the tools, so it rusts where the coating is damaged. It is really a lot cheaper to buy replacement hardware, or just remove the grime without abrasives. When I find someone to look in the engine compartment and make comments on the originality of the fasteners, maybe then I'll get that cad plating stuff from Eastwood. Can't say I wasn't tempted by the look-alike paints they offer, but wound up just using the Wal-Mart Duplicolor to paint a brake booster. Looks right to me, but I'm sure a restoration type person would laugh.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Actually, I haven't gone to the clear coat at all (yet). I'm not certain if there is benefit to painting the valve cover with clear, or just leaving it all as it exists. What's your opinion?

Thanks,
Jeff

If you don't put something on the nuts they'll rust. They were probably zinc or cad plated from the factory and if, in your cleanup, you wore through that they are no longer protected.

I've thought about painting my cover "crinkle" black then taking a file to "Volvo"...

Justin B.

Let me recommend to you to mask off the "Volvo" of the valve cover, rather then to "file it" as you say. It is much easier to slap on some good tape, then trim off the excess using a shard razor, than to remove paint.

It takes a lot of "elbow grease" with an electric drill and a sanding wheel, plus you round off the edges of the raised lettering.

Better to polish/buff the silver (unpainted) leterd first, then mask & paint the rest.
--
1989 740Ti 1986 240DL 1984 244GL

I use a large, wide, flat single cut file and it usually makes quick work of it but I'll take your advice under consideration.

Justin,

I thought about the crinkle black but polishing the letters only against the tumbled finish of the rest of the cover looks nice also. I would warn against the file. All you really need is a sanding block with 600 grit and 1000 grit wet sand papers. As far as the masking goes, I think that would be difficult to get the masking just right. Another option would be to coat the letters with vaseline prior to spraying the valve cover. After the paint sets, you should be able to just wipe away the letters.

Jeff

Rubber cement works well for masking off the letters.

--
don hodgdon '89 744ti, '81 242t, '71 D-35

Krinkle paint looks great on the valve cover but I recommend you send the wife to the mall before you put it in the oven to cure. I use sandpaper on a piece of 2X4 as a sanding block.

Skip
'93 850GLT
'89 765T
'83 242TI Flathood