Polishing Valve Covers

[Synfull]

Sorry- POLISHING a.d.d. kicks in sometimes

I have tried to remove the oxidation from my valve covers with no luck. I used a dremel with a polishing wheel and also tried 500 grit wet sandpaper.
Anyone have a good way to polish these up?

Thanks


4898

[St.Char]

I did what you did, except I used the soft wire brush wheel first, then moved to the polishing wheel kit that has an assortment of wheels. The project came out great, but even after coating them with metal polish and sealer, they still did oxidize some. Here is a link to a thread where the OP used a sanding block and a series of sandpaper. Start with post #124. You can also purchase the polished stainless steel letters for those too. Good Luck!

http://driveviper.com/forums/threads/509-Picked-up-a-gen-3-coupe-**arrest-me-red**/page5

[TowDawg]

The valve covers are magnesium, so no matter how well you get them to shine, they are going to dull really quickly. Best look I've seen is to get them powder coated and powder coat the letters a different color.

[BillyC]

I had my valve covers painted and clear coated.
I bought the stainless stick-on letters, but decided to wait to see if the letters looked OK before applying the stick-on.
They look "different" and as you can see, I'm OK with different, so I left them this way.

4904

[AZTVR]

The valve covers are magnesium, so no matter how well you get them to shine, they are going to dull really quickly. Best look I've seen is to get them powder coated and powder coat the letters a different color.

I read a vendor post that Gen 3 valve covers were aluminum; but, not of an alloy that lent itself well to polishing.

[IndyRon]

I think the older cars had magnesium VC's. I'm pretty sure that the Gen 3/4 cars are aluminum. I had no problem polishing mine, but as St. Char said, they take some work and you really need a dremel.

[Synfull]

Thanks everyone! I will try my hand at the sandpapers and metal polish and see how that goes.
Who sells the stainless stick on letters just in case?

[St.Char]

Thanks everyone! I will try my hand at the sandpapers and metal polish and see how that goes.
Who sells the stainless stick on letters just in case?

http://www.theviperstore.com/Viper3_Products_Exterior_Appearance_Engine_Polishe d_Letters.htm

[Synfull]

http://www.theviperstore.com/Viper3_Products_Exterior_Appearance_Engine_Polishe d_Letters.htm

Thanks!

[TowDawg]

Learn something new everyday. After polishing mine and having them look dull as ever almost immediately, aluminum would not have been my guess.
Going to powder coat mine next winter during down time.

[Mr. Bill]

I polished mine a couple months back.....still looks good.
I taped off around the entire outer edge of the raised letters to protect the painted areas. I didn't worry about the places in between the letters.
Started with 220 dry sandpaper.....next 600 wet......next 1000 wet and finished with 1500 wet.
Put some black fire paint sealant on and it still looks good.

[hawk02]

Hydrodip with different colored letters is another option.496849694970

[hawk02]

I polished mine a couple months back.....still looks good.
I taped off around the entire outer edge of the raised letters to protect the painted areas. I didn't worry about the places in between the letters.
Started with 220 dry sandpaper.....next 600 wet......next 1000 wet and finished with 1500 wet.
Put some black fire paint sealant on and it still looks good.
That looks great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!