painting rocker cover

santoitaliano · 16-01-2005, 01:53 PM

whats the best way to paint the rocker cover?

what do i need to do to prep it and then what paint do i use?

thanks,

santo

neb · 16-01-2005, 03:46 PM

what i would do is... strip the old paint off of the rocker cover with paint stripper, then once all the paint is off.. give it a good sanding with fine sand paper, then degrease it all and wash it and let it dry. then give it a few coats with vht high temp paint (buy it from supercheap auto and places like that in a spray can). should come up good.

spope · 16-01-2005, 03:59 PM

Hehe! I'm about to do this to an EF one I have... I was gonna do exactly that but without the paint stripper, just some fairly rough sandpaper to start, probably down to about 180-grit before washing and painting.
I just can't work out wether to use 400 degree paint or 1500 degree paint... I'd prefer not to have any discolouration at all. Any suggestions?

santoitaliano · 16-01-2005, 05:11 PM

the only thing i workin out... my car is white and all the trim is black.. what colour should i do the rocker cover? if i do it white it would look good but i think it would get dirty very quickly?

ideaS?

neb · 16-01-2005, 06:20 PM

i think white would look good.. since it matches the car. yeah it would get dirty quick... so you would just have to make sure its clean before you show anyone lol. otherwise maybe you could do it red.. tickford xr colour. i wouldn't do it black.. black is fairly boring on a rocker cover.

klawsterfobik · 16-01-2005, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spope

I just can't work out wether to use 400 degree paint or 1500 degree paint... I'd prefer not to have any discolouration at all. Any suggestions?

400deg would be enough.

As for the color question, arent most rocker covers black anyway... try something like a dark silver / grey, or yellow! yellow adds 10hp, just ask anyone who drives a lancer or civic or alike.

santoitaliano · 16-01-2005, 06:28 PM

i'm starting to like the white idea alot... just i cant get lazy with the washing lol...

i'll do it soon, when i change the lifters... i picked up a set on ebay for 160$.. thats not bad?

thanks

EFFalcon · 17-01-2005, 09:10 AM

all i did was clean it with degreaser..
then sprayed it.
has worked pretty good so far...
only rubbed off coz the accel cable rubs against it.

Thanatos · 17-01-2005, 09:57 AM

Be careful with white. Alex (The Goodz) painted his rocker cover in a cowprint pattern, but it ended up looking crappy because he couldn't clean the white part properly.

TIKFD6 · 17-01-2005, 12:17 PM

Why not get it sandblasted then powder coated?
Ive seen a white powder coated one, and it stayed clean pretty well.

TURBO_GHIA · 17-01-2005, 01:15 PM

just strip it and prep it and take it to the panel shop and it will turn out like this

:-)

**Polyal** · 17-01-2005, 01:25 PM

jesus that one looks good.

I did mine and all I did was:
1. Degrease it then wash
2. Get some course sandpaper and scrub. then again with some finer stuff.
3. Degrease again (dont have to but it cant hurt)
4. Primer (two coats)
5. Colour (I did about 6 coats I think..might aswell use the whole can :/)
5. 3 coats of clear cover

And thats it...I wish I had pics..grr

niko · 17-01-2005, 01:27 PM

what they spray it with looks really good,

i wanna see a white powder coated one they look nuts

**Polyal** · 17-01-2005, 01:41 PM

oh and a little bit of advice..

Make sure you have good ventalation where you are doing it! I did it in a ****y little shed about 3x2m and I ended up getting a bit in my mouth...blue teeth and tongue isn't a good look.

And headspins aren't pleasent either.

santoitaliano · 17-01-2005, 03:41 PM

that panel shop one looks great.. actually... the guy i bought my car off is a spray painter at a panel shop near my house.. hmm they start back there on the 23rd.. looks like ill be making a visit..

neb · 17-01-2005, 05:01 PM

edmonty's rocker cover looks awesome.... this is mine at the moment... paintless.. kinda like an ea rocker cover lol :-p

pepsimax · 17-01-2005, 05:05 PM

yeah don't need head spin,,i'm wanna do this to but i'm going to get a 2nd hand one from a wreckers and paint that,,another thing i do is use a hair drier to slightly warm the metal first,,the paint clings better and the warm metal starts the drying off period really well..

klawsterfobik · 17-01-2005, 07:22 PM

Why dont you do it the same color as the car actually, and highlight the stipes on top with another color, say white or red? Depending on what color your car is though. I reckon that would look good.

For instance neb's car would look aweome IMO with a color coded rocker cover and then white stripes on top.

TIKFD6 · 17-01-2005, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klawsterfobik

Why dont you do it the same color as the car actually, and highlight the stipes on top with another color, say white or red? Depending on what color your car is though. I reckon that would look good.

For instance neb's car would look aweome IMO with a color coded rocker cover and then white stripes on top.

A bit like this one?
I had mine powder coated Red, and polished the Ribs.
http://www.fordforums.com.au/photos/...sort=1&cat=500

18-01-2005, 08:50 AM

anyone seen hotdbz's rocker cover? He got it painted chrome, looks unbeleivable!

18-01-2005, 08:55 AM

Here it is, looks good hey?

Thanatos · 18-01-2005, 09:28 AM

I've seen that engine bay before and it looks SO bloody nice! I LOVE it!

neb · 18-01-2005, 11:20 AM

i was considering a chrome rocker cover... and i think that just made up my mind

Fordfutura123 · 18-01-2005, 05:21 PM

hey guys whats the cost of a can of the VHT?

TURBO_GHIA · 18-01-2005, 05:23 PM

prob about $15

klawsterfobik · 18-01-2005, 08:04 PM

I prefer the painted actually... even though mine is chrome (on the 2v)

TIKFD6 · 18-01-2005, 09:04 PM

There is a bloke up here at the wrecker who Polish's them, They come up awsome.

Fordfutura123 · 27-01-2005, 09:56 PM

hey has anyone used the VHT to recolour trim I.E cloth door inserts

Thanatos · 27-01-2005, 11:40 PM

I've seen it used before...

It seems to work quite well, although it seems to kinda "tint" it more than anything else...

To fully change the colur, you need to do quite a few coats

spope · 28-01-2005, 09:41 AM

I painted my EF one on Wednesday... degreased the hell out of it, cleaned it with prepsol, and painted.
I used 550 F VHT paint, which I got from Supercheap for the grand price of $6! We just went in to see what crap they were selling, and they were clearing out the VHT paint. Walked out with 5 cans of it.
It came up pretty darn well, spray on enamel is so easy to use. And the beauty of vht paint is that the heat in the engine bay cures it.