1lowc5

This is my attempt/experiment at smoothing my fuel rail covers or coil covers.... what ever you want to call them.....I am by no means an expert...this is my amateur attempt at doing something myself and having the satisfaction of doing it myself....and of course this might not be everyone's cup of tea...if you have any experience or suggestions please let me know...

this is how they started..


this is the back side...you can see the void or emboss of the lines..


this shows a bit of sanding of the grooves on the backside


this is the cleaner/prep spray i used after sanding....i also used alcohol as a cleaner..


this is what i used to back fill the embossed lines/grooves...I got this stuff from my local body shop supply store..


this is how it looked after i mixed part A and part B.....did this a few times to fill the voids


Taping around the lines/grooves. I used a dremel style tool to remove the embossed lines/5.7. I used tape so that if I slipped with the dremel tool that I wouldnt mess up/ or dig into the surface of the cover. Tape help make a barrier/protection. I used a dremel style tool to remove as much as possible of the lines/5.7,...but not to go to far as to create unnecessary divits or deep spots


How it looked after I used the dremel style tool and then also used a D/A sander to help smooth it out....


just a comparison between the original and the one with no lines


this picture shows some more sanding and using the dremel to remove the paint from the corvette area. I used a little bit of bondo filler to help me see the areas that needed more sanding. I also beveled the edges of the Corvette logo to help with smoothness of the epoxy and sanding.


This shows me using the epoxy a few times.....filling as needed...sanding....filling as needed...sanding.....and so on...you get the idea...


this is after a bit of sanding and filling


this is a some primer applied...


at this point I've primered and sanded a few times to get everything smooth.


here is some color applied, I ended up using Victory Red to match the calipers....this shows a couple coats of color....


here is a few coats of clear coat applied


after the clear coats dried I thought it looked good but I didnt like the orange peel look so I wet sanded it using 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000 grit sand paper.


These images show the before and after of wet sanding and buffing, you can see the orange peel is gone and the covers look much smoother.



Ready to be installed


And the long awaited .....on the car

Mr.Bill

Good job, I tried to do a set once and I found after I was done that I needed a lot of reinforcement on the underside, Mine just ended up cracking and I ended up just putting them in the trash.
Mr.Bill

jrose7004

Looks like you're doing a good job.

oldschoolvette

It is encouraging to see people take the leap and take on a project.

just go slow and be carefull what choices you make for paint. use several light coats

so far so good post pics when you are done

Vetteman Jack

Great job so far. Hopefully you'll post up more pics as you now go into the final parts of your DIY project.

DevilDog II

Wow! They look awesome. That's a lot of work. Can't wait to see the finished product.

DeeHutch

Nice work! What are your finished plans?

chasboy

What did you replace them with? I painted mine and now the one on the dr. side near the manifold is bubbling. I like those ovalized metal covers I've seen but I hate the cost. Wonder how they are mounted.

1lowc5

Thanks for the compliments everyone.........hoping to have these things done this week.....i'll keep snapping pics as I go..


I'm not 100% sure yet.....I was thinking probably paint them red since my car is speedway white...I also considered painting them speedway white but not sold on that yet. I don't want to much of the same color, at least that's what my mind is telling me.

I also considered hydro dipping them but I would have to pay someone else to do that, which is why I will probably just paint them for now and maybe in the future I can hydro dip them if I want.

WKMCD

Nice work!

I relocated my coil covers....I just can't remember where I relocated them to...

chasboy

I NEED HELP!! I just looked at mine, and the bubbling is worse than ever, and on the other cover the lettering is bubbling, but nothing else. I don't know where to start! The original surface is now sanded for the paint so I know I HAVE to repaint, but with what?

oldschoolvette

Engine enamel

chasboy

Makes sense

1lowc5

badass

1lowc5

my only suggestion from past endeavors is to make sure you completely remove the bad paint otherwise it will show back up eventually. As far as paint goes everyone always suggest to use the same brand of paint the whole process....I've always had good luck with Duplicolor paint from Orielly's and that's what I will use when its time to paint mine.

As far and the suggestion to use Engine Enamel...my question is this...you use engine enamel because it handles the heat better which makes sense, but if you use clear coat are you defeating the purpose? does the clear coat handle the heat the same as engine enamel or does it handle the heat as regular paint would?

SuperDave02

Did mine a while back. Engine primer sealer, then Red Engine enamel with two coats of clear. The logos were made by local tint shop.

oldschoolvette

thats a cool look

olbear1962

Thanks for sharing the process great DIY

DevilDog II

I had to replace my stock covers years ago when I did my supercharger. I'm getting kind of tired of them and would love to to go with just custom valve covers, but I've been told the bolt pattern is different on '98 heads than later years and they're hard to find.

chasboy

Dave, what brand of paint did you use? Did you allow for a lot of drying time between coats? Is the clear engine enamel too?