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Well, Dave, I went the way you suggested - aluminum paint and a fine brush. But, I didn't wait a few days. Only a few minutes as I wasn't worried about what would happen to the paint "on top", meaning that outside the pits. (There was paint outside the pit as even the end of the extremely small brush was bigger than the pit in many cases.) Then I repainted, waited, repainted, etc. That got enough aluminum paint down in the pits to cover most, if not all, of the blue.
Now the covers are in the oven at 200 baking all of the paint, meaning blue as well as aluminum. I plan to bake them for an hour at 200 and then an hour at 300. That should cure the paint enough that there won't be any outgassing when I bake the clear powder. Then, when they've cooled after the 300 hour, I'll sand them to ensure I have all the extra paint off. At that point they can be clear-coated.
Valve covers dusted with the satin clear powder and ready to bake:
Here is one still in the oven, after baking. (Yes, I rotated it - it isn't standing straight out on a wire. )
And, here they are after cooling down. Note that I used satin clear, so the Ford Dark Blue is a satin blue, not gloss. But, I didn't want the brushed aluminum to be gloss, so.....
Last edited by Gary Lewis; Jul 23, 2016 at 07:47 PM.
Reason: Wrong button - wasn't ready!
Thanks, David. My brother, who was around the truck more than I when Dad had it, was down yesterday so I showed him the valve covers. I was worried what he would think of the satin on the blue - and told him that. He said he LOVES it. In fact, he liked it so well he described the valve covers to his wife - who really didn't care.
I planned to finish them up yesterday by installing the baffles below the PCV valve and breather holes, but discovered there were only 7 screws in the baggie marked "Valve Covers". So, I found another screw that will work and started to install the baffles - only to find the remains of one screw broken off in the casting. Now I have some machine work to do in order to drill that one out. Wish I'd have done that before doing all of the finish work.
To close off this thread (yes, I actually do that from time to time ), here are the valve covers in final guise. I'm missing a PCV valve grommet, and have to turn down the stainless washers slightly as the paint and powder made the top holes a bit smaller. But, I'm calling the valve covers and, therefore, this thread DONE!
Yes. Anything that conducts electricity can be PC'd, although it probably ought to be able to stand up to 400 degrees or so or it'll be a lump coming out of the oven.
And, non-conductive things, like glass, can be PC'd. I just have to heat them to about 200 degrees in the oven and then the powder will stick to them.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
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