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Bead blast aluminum valve covers??

waterboy1976

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2003
Messages
510
Location
Cleveland,Ohio
Corvette
1973 4-speed Coupe FOR SALE/ SOLD!!!!
I just got my "new" stock aluminum valve covers and they need work, I have heard from a couple of sources that they bead blasted theirs and they came out phenomenal. I have seen the pics after they were bead blasted and they do look great. I can get mine blasted for $30 a pair and am highly thinking about doing it. Is there any draw backs to this process compared to sanding them and polishing????? Thanks guys.....:upthumbs
 
Hi Rob,
I've done that before to clean up old alum covers and then put a coat of clear on them to seal all the nooks and crainies. It gives you a clean natural alum finish. It will not make the surface smooth nor will it make them look polished. So it all depends on what look your after. Just my experience.
Gary :)
 
that sounds great.....I dont want a HIGH polished look....a nicew smooth finish will be nice.......thanks...

what kind of clear....??? Does it discolor after time??? heat???
 
Beadblast media tends to stick into the tiniest nooks & crannies ... of special concern is the internal baffling ... make sure you get every bit of media out of there. Even if you don't blast, closely check & clean those areas.

The COLOR of the the aluminum will be brightened and evened out ... but it will have NO gloss and will be dull. Go look at the alternator on any BRAND NEW car ... that's about what the VCs will look like just after blasting. After blasting, it's difficult to RE-polish the edges of fins without getting the polish-scmutz down into the pores of the adjunct grooves.

Polyurethane clear in a spray bomb ... and yes, with NORMAL use, EVENTUALLY it will discolor.

Conversely, a good polish job requires alotta elbow grease ... but IMHO I think it looks better than anything else.
JACK:gap
 

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