# Check out my cam cover!



## Guest (Sep 8, 2002)

*Check out my valve cover!*


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## Guest (Sep 8, 2002)

*more pics*


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## Guest (Sep 8, 2002)

*Last 2 pics*



















I did this all myself, i went to autozone and bought that mirage paint. The paint that changes colours. It was 19.99 for 3 cans.. not bad, im impressed.!.


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## shane (Jul 10, 2002)

Is that a metal or platic valve cover? It looks pretty slick from what I can see.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2002)

Its metal


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

nice color, it's going to look like Disco Potato in SCC


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Hey,
Tell us (me) how you did it. Such as:

remove cover (how)
wash clean with detergent (brand?)
Use primer coat (how)
Use 'color shift coat' (how)
use final coat (how)
replace
etc.

Seth

P.S. That color shift package works on plastic too right? (For us plastic valve cover people). I was thinking of doing this, but I was concerned about the heat under the hood.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

for the most part, If you ever think of painting your valve cover, your best bet is to get a metal cover from a b13 first.


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Hey,
I did have a metal valve cover. Unfortunately it is a multipiece cover and some of the oil guides inside are made of plastic. So any heat treated coating will melt these guides. So if I am going to paint it anyway, why bother with metal. Plastic I can primer and then the effect is much the same, although smoother than the 'rough' metal.

Seth


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2002)

*I would go with the metal...*

I sanded mine, then primed it , base coated it, then sprayed on the mid coat, then the top coat, it lasts, metal is better..


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## P11GT (Aug 3, 2002)

did your VC have a matt black strone effect paint on it? the euro spec one deos and must be a bugger to remove. I fancied doing mine, but just dont have the energy.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

I think you can seperate the metal and plastic in the valve cover. that way it can be powder coated or whatever. Painting can be done easiest on metal.


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Hey,
You physically cannot remove the plastic guides, they are either hidden behind riveted metal, or attached 'permanently'. By removig them you are busting them out. They will not be replaceable.

Seth


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

hmmm, I could have sworn WES did it.


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Yes,
He did remove the plastic guides. He broke them out, and is running without them. I had no interest in running with any part that is broken, vital or not.

Seth


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2002)

You have a metal valve cover!! ... 
I saw it on ur website.. anywho all u gotta do, is sand it, prime it and then coat it, dont forget the clearcoat.. :-D


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2002)

*anyways...*

I am going to do the whole car... nah j/k even tho it would looks sweet!. 

I am going to redo my car white, with everthing on the outside that is black is soon to be white.. like the car is white, but the mirror's/grill/trim around windows is black, so it dosent blend in.. ill post pics soon


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Hey,
I was just thinking, what stock engine parts can be painted? Theres the throttle body exterior (if you are SUPER careful), the stock airbox, the stock heat shield on the exhaust, the battery tray, the valve cover....what else?

Seth

P.S. Basically I picked up one of those 'anodized imitators' and I was curious about testing it on things. It only cost like $3 or something and I can paint what I want. It would be hysterical if I painted my stock plastic airbox 'anodized blue' to make it look aluminum


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2002)

sethwas said:


> *Hey,
> I was just thinking, what stock engine parts can be painted? Theres the throttle body exterior (if you are SUPER careful), the stock airbox, the stock heat shield on the exhaust, the battery tray, the valve cover....what else?*


The Oil cap, u can paint ur battery, i did, just tape the things sticking out.. the grill, the powersterrin resivor, the coolant resivior.. and alot of things, make sure you get high heat primer..


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

hell, just open up your hood and dump a few buckets of high temp paint in there and see what sticks.  J/K


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

1997 GA16DE said:


> *hell, just open up your hood and dump a few buckets of high temp paint in there and see what sticks.  J/K *


Yeah,
I thought about that, but I've seen paint flake off and bubble in other cars, so I would rather have a stock dingy part than a crappily painted one. THat bottle cover idea is a good one...

Seth


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

So,
Just to test a theory, I got some of that Mirage stuff, 3 cans in the set, base color clear, and the colors are red to blue. I'm painting my PLASTIC VC. So far, laying on the ground and drying it looks gorgeous. 
I'll post pics as soon as I get the roll developed. First I removed the VC. I used over the counter foaming degreaser twice and then used some paper toweles to get into the hard spots. I also lightly sanded (scuffed really) with some 400 grit, and then washed again.
I put '3' base coats, '5' color coats, '4' clear coats. Its an estimate since I didn't coat the entire VC in one sitting. The last (well maybe one more later tonight) clear coat is drying now.
From the front it looks metallic blue. From the back it looks metallic deep red. side to side is nothing.

Seth


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Now,
I installed it and its 'fabulous'. Two questions now. 
1) Does anyone know the size of the screws that hold in the valve cover. Mine are a flat grey that are a little dirty. I would prefer some of the chrome ones that exist for the V8 boys. Now Summit and places like that carry chrome engine screws, just I need to know the size. (Its a machine screw thats about 3 inches long).
2) Did you wax your valve cover? For all intents and purposed this is a body paint. The can says you can wax it. How is that possible? As in what kind of wax shoudl I use. 

Seth

P.S. Now that I have a painted component under the hood, wil standard engine degreasers work, or will those destroy the paint job? Also wil the underhod heat mess with the paint? I mean the cover is plastic, but short of engine paint, do you think the paint will stnad up to 200 degrees?


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## Nostrodomas (Jun 15, 2002)

Well was the paint you used High temp paint? If not then the heat under the hood will probbly cause you some troubles.


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## Guest (Sep 19, 2002)

Nostrodomas said:


> *Well was the paint you used High temp paint? If not then the heat under the hood will probbly cause you some troubles. *


Nope its not, so what i did was...

prime it, then use ENGINE spraypaint, 2, 3 coats of that let it dry for 2 days

then i sprayed on the mirage kit, which included the special primer(special as in wont show up with out the primer a.k.a. base coat)

next i sprayed on the mid-coat a.k.a. the colour, let that become takcy then put 2,3 coats.

then i used the topcoat, a.k.a. clear coat. It looks great, havent tested it yet, engine is KIA cuz the tranny/starter is being replaced. i should know tomorrow!!


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

So,
I put in the VC like I said, and I bought this metalcast stuff by duplicolor. It needs a bare metal surface or its special primer. Since the special primer can't be found anywhere, I used 'chrome' spray paint. I used this as a primer for the caps for random fluids. Also I took off the stock airbox, plugged any holes and taped any connectors, sprayed the chrome, and sprayed the blue metalcast. The caps look good, and the airbox is still wet, but at night its doesn't look half bad. Is it 'anodized looking'? Well, I'll tell you tomorrow when I plug it all back in.

Seth


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

any pics yet?


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2002)

as soon as i get my car back from the shop ill take some


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Hey,
Mine are being developed. Soon, don't worry.

Seth


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## clayk16 (May 3, 2002)

why cant i see the pics


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2002)

clayk16 said:


> *why cant i see the pics *


Cuz they got deleted.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

Burnedout92se said:


> *
> 
> Cuz they got deleted. *


try using printroom.com. 200 MB free space, free image storage and hosting. just about all the board members use it. You don't pay one cent unless you want to upgrade to 400 MB.

(200MB is enough to store about 1000 jpegs).


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Hey,
As promised:


















Seth


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

looks NIZE...

now clean up that engine bay.......


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

BTW, seth. R U goin to HIN or the meet beforehand?


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Hey,
I know, i'm dying to 'spruce' up the engine bay. Just I'm at a debate where to start and how. My first order of business is that heat shield. But then, I'm not sure...
Which HIN do you mean? Miami, boston or Montreal?

Seth


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

HIN in orlando this 19th.


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Hey,
No sorry, I can't go this time. I'm in Canada. Trying to 'bond' with the Nissan club, npclub.com, here. They are having a meet on Monday. But tell me what you reccomend about cleaning up the bay. 
I have the tactile cleanliness in the bag, you could eat off the engine. Just it looks dirty. There are not that many hoses to replace. Also plug wires, but I figure why waste the money, just get silicone hose and cover the existing wires. Paint assorted plastic parts (there aren't that many either). Now I'm left with metal engine parts which can't be removed short of major surgery to color up.
This is a question for everyone, not just '97de.

Seth

P.S. With the engine bay pic above, use paintshop to circle parts that you are discussing.


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## Equivocal (Sep 6, 2002)

Hey I wanna see this 'anodized blue' color. is that that aluminum blue type of color? my friend's walkman is this color. I would love to get some of it.


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2002)

hey seth.. did it stick? or is it peeling... 

i did my exhaust heat sheild as well, it looks NICE...


nice washer led's wires.. HEH!


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

> nice washer led's wires.. HEH!


Hah!
I knew someone would say something. Well, they only blink with my turn signalls, otherwise they are invisible.
So far no peeling. I haven't driven cross country yet so I don't know how it will handle high heat for a long period, but as far as everyday traffic is converned it holds up fine.

Seth


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## Teknokid (Jun 1, 2002)

What is that nipple next to the oil cap supposed to do?? I have a B14 and it doesnt have that. I cant see where the hose goes to in the picture.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

Teknokid said:


> *What is that nipple next to the oil cap supposed to do?? I have a B14 and it doesnt have that. I cant see where the hose goes to in the picture. *


You mean the PCV valve? It should go to the intake manifold.


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## 95 SentraB13 (Jun 14, 2002)

If you're wondering what or how to clean up the engine bay, I started with the hoses. I removed the air intake and scrubbed the outside and inside with a tire brush, scouring spong and Simple Green and a warm bucket of water. I also removed any other hoses, non-vitial(gas or coolant), since they have pressure clamps so it made removal easy. I scrubbed them with the scouring/kitchen spong and simple green; you wouldn't belive how much dirt was on them. Basically, I cleaned the hoses to what it looks like under the clamps.
Afterward I shined all the plastic with Turtle Wax vinyl and plastic protector. Meguiars vinyl and plastic protect is also good, perhaps better, as it is thicker. I recommend against using baby oil on plastic parts. I heard this tip and tried it but it just leaves a slubby, uneven finish. Castrol Super Cleaner is perfect for oil/grease removal although you might want to wear gloves since it is corrosive on skin. I'd be warry to use it on the engine bay paint as well.

I haven't painted my GA16DE or valve cover but when I take the engine out I will, then perhaps paint the car and engine bay while I'm at it.


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## PrOxLaMuS© (Aug 11, 2002)

Gotta Valve cover, from a 96 Sentra, that perfectly fits from a '91 to 96' I think.

But I know it fits my '91

So I do have a SPARE one, anyone interested, it would be cleaned, sanded and primed, so all you have to do is paint it.

Or I can just clean it for you.... the original color is black.

[email protected]


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## De La Rocha (Apr 4, 2003)

Yeah, the nipple is the positive crankcase ventilation valve. It does what it sounds like it does, vents the crankcase.

(i think)

-Matt


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

Wooo, 14 months old!!! Big bump (bottoms out)


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