Engine Powder Coating Ideas

[kustomizingkid]

So I'm looking into having some stuff powder coated on my engine, valve covers, intake, etc....

Looking to throw around some ideas for colors...

 

[Lux]

Red. I'm doing all my stuff red, red on black = teh sex.

 

[bryantaylor]

black valve covers and red intake runners always looks sick.

 

[Rich88LSC]

I plan on a Cobra intake and I wanted to have it powdercoated black before it goes on the car.

Any ideas how much that stuff costs?

 

[kustomizingkid]

I called a couple of local places and it really isn't that bad... If I sandblast the stuff I got a quote for $20 a valve cover and $30 for the intake!

 

[Rich88LSC]

Thats it!?!

 

[kustomizingkid]

Thats what I said.... they told me that 90% of the cost was sandblasting and prep.... if you put a little work in on your end you can save a lot!

Those were prices for cheaper colors too though... they had some chrome and other specialtiy powders that got a lot more expensive...

 

[BAD97LSC]

i'd be scared of the outcome for that price, the powder alone costs that. i was offering powder coating but no one seemed interested. this is a few of the things i did then said screw it. the chrome intake and valve covers were my personal 98, the red intake and valve covers were for jesse on LOD and the ford blue covers went to another member there, the chrome timing cover went to jeff from from mark VIII's of the state in new york. i tried to get this all rolling and see if it would take off, it took off just like all the florida mark VIII meets we had lol.
all this stuff i did myself with a regula oven and an Eastwood Hotcoat gun.

this was my 98, i did the power steering can bracket, water pump pulley, and alternator bracket chrome too since i had it all apart anyway.

big block chevy intake i did chrome too.

1st gen intake and valve covers

 

[kustomizingkid]

That look awesome Jamie.... How much would you charge to do an intake and valve covers?

 

[BAD97LSC]

well it depends, if you look closely at my intake, i had it on the work bench for about 3 hours with a dye grinder and all different kinds of sanding and polishing bits to smooth the whole thing out, powder caoting the rough casting would look like crap, making the intake smooth first then powder coating was so worth the labor. honestly, i dont think its worth me even doing, what you would think it should cost and what i would charge to make it even worth my time are probably 2 numbers with a big gap between them!! i'm sick of working on things for next to nothing, and i always put way too much labor into jobs because i like them to look perfect, i always screw myself.

 

[kustomizingkid]

I know what that is all about Jamie... I've helped plenty of people on car projects and gotten screwed plenty....

What kind of oven are you using?

 

[The Rev]

Just a regular oven he said. Looks good too!

 

[kustomizingkid]

Hmmmm.... now I have to decide wether to buy the stuff and do this myself or pay to have it done....

 

[BAD97LSC]

dont use the oven you cook in. the powder is toxic and will destory in the inside of your house oven in one shot, i would not suggest you use a good oven, go to a second hand or thrift store and buy a junker.

 

[Roadboss]

I need a new alternator for Whiner so I have a new one coming from PA Performance "Glossy Black" powder coated.

 

[BAD97LSC]

i mean i'll do it for you kid, but i wont do it for free!! and you'll be very happy with the result. but you'll be without the car for awhile if you are gonna yank the intake and valve covers off, unless you can find another set of covers and intake cheap and i can do them, then you can swap it all when you are ready. i can do tons of colors, eastwood has a huge assortment of colors if you want to look on the site and see. my pics are not great, but the chrome they have is really awesome and very reflective, not as brilliant as chrome plating, but for powder its as close as you can get. they also make powders that look like annodized, transluscent colors, pearl powders, all kinds. the gun i have was around 179 when i got it, because it came with some plugs, special fiberglass masking tape and 4 basic colors, you can buy the same gun now by itself for 99 i think, but then you need powder, the special metal prep cleaner, an oven, and a place to do it, the powder gets all over the place when you apply it, so you dont want to do it in your house, or a garage unless you dont care about making a mess. to get valve covers to fit inside the oven without touching the sides i had to beat the oven in a little with a sledge hammer. i still want to try a wheel too, but i will not be able to close the door all the way so i will have to bake one side and rotate the wheel every few minutes, im not sure how that will turn out so i want a junk wheel to practice on! i dont know, if you are serious, pm or email me and i'll get a quote together. but it isnt going to be what they quoted you not if you want it done my way, i even polish the valve covers too to knock down the rough casting.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=847&itemType=CATEGORY&iMainCat=844&iSubCat=847

 

[Icarus]

Jamie, hows that Eastwood stuff stand up to chemicals/cleaners/oil etc? I've been thinkinng of getting a gun next spring to clean up some parts, but was a bit weary about how long it would last/durable it was compared to a ceramic or epoxy paint etc...
Thanks

 

[BAD97LSC]

durability is awesome, tough stuff, oils, mild cleaners ( nothing like acid ) and gas dont bother the stuff its good stuff.

 

[kustomizingkid]

I'm lucky enough to have a complete parts motor that came out of the 97 I parted...

I think I might buy the gun and a cheap oven on clist and give it a shot myself.

I just don't think I could afford to pay you a fair price to do the intake... I know how many hours it take to do that kind of work... I don't have that kind of money.

Gonna have to look for a sandblaster too to clean all the metal parts I want to coat

Clist is the best!

 

[Icarus]

Thanks Jamie.
Great, one more thing to add to my list of tools I want lol...

 

[MarkVIII93]

I like textured matte black valve covers with chrome ford racing cop covers. mmmm

 

[94m5]

Here are the covers in the 94, and the old 95.



There was no buffing or polishing of the gen1 intake to make it smooth. just hit it with the sand blaster to clean it, and shot the powder.

I'm working on the color scheme forthe 94's new motor right now.

Mike

 

[NWINMarkVIII]

This looks AWESOME!

 

[kustomizingkid]

You should see the entire car that last motor is in... Mike's 95 is by far one of the nicest Marks ever built.

 

[RedCellSix]

The work of both Jamie and Mike is indeed stunning. Which brings me to the following point. We are all chasing futility. We attempt to bring our cars as close to when they were brand new as possible. Only our wallets, time, talent and perhaps common sense limit us. But our opponent is indeed a worthy one. Rust, weather, roads, mileage, accidents and again, TIME. Which means, in the end, we are in it for the chase itself. For the pride of restoring to its' former glory. For the very challenge. For some, improving even beyond what Lincoln production lines manufactured. The craftsmanship and talent of many on this board is amazing. Sadly, my Mark is way behind in the chase. But I'm still enjoying the heck out of the race. lol. Gary in Elmira, NY.