1LE

I have a pair of L-82 Valve covers that I want to restore. My question is: How can I tell if they are aluminum or magnesium? If they are the magnesium covers, what is the correct way to strip them and repaint them?

gliot1

I restored mine by:

-Stripped old paint with aerosol paint stripper.
-Washed in dish washer.
-Painted with high temp black paint.
-Sanded fins with 150 grit sand paper to remove paint.
-Replaced logo with new on.

I did this two seasons ago and the valve covers look like new still.

comp

not sure on metal, good question... i think mag. is darker gray when oxidized
I DO KNOW mag. burns HOTTTTTT ! :mad

2TONE82

Ah, someone who uses the dish washer...worked great on my headlight buckets...and this time my wife didn't catch me. :D

NHvette

Dishwasher worked great on my rear bearing assembly parts, too.
My wife was out for the day.

:seeya

gliot1

I almost kept my old dishwasher for in garage use. some day I may just buy the cheapest new one I can find and install it in the garage. Works great on hockey and football equipment too!

Solid LT1

Mag covers are painted black and on 79-82 era Vettes. Many people have painted aluminum covers but, mag will be quite a bit grayer than aluminum on the bottom side and won't polish up as bright (silver in color) as aluminum covers. Mag will also quickly corrode and have a white phosphorus look in the areas it is corroding. Part numbers on the underside can help determine your VC's but, there was a set of aluminum cover released with a 14XXXXX part number so this is not always accurate. The presence of a 39XXXXX number should guarantee that they are aluminum.

Ron Major

My '79 L82 has aluminum valve covers. They did not have black paint on the raised edges, and there are round emblems on each cover. Good luck with the restoration. I will send pictures of my stock set if you would like.

Ron