Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

[Guest]

Hello everyone, I have been searching the site and I have yet to find a definitive way for masking off polished letters for valve covers/calipers/ or other raised script.
Personally I have tried
1.Blue painters tape then remove after flow,
2. No masking and just remove the new coating post cure then polish.
3. Polyester Tape and then remove after cure
4. Spray part and use tape to try to remove powder pre baking...

All these ways have their downsides though and I just want to get people's opinion on what method is most beneficial or commonly used. Also has anyone tried using a composite such as chapstick /oil to keep the powder from sticking? I used this method in painting before, but I think it would spread and contaminate the other powder...

[Guest]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

2. No masking and just remove the new coating post cure then polish.

That's what I do, unless I'm doing two colors instead of polished letters, then it's a little bit more involved.

[89efdusty]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

[quote=[SM]Juan]

That's what I do, unless I'm doing two colors instead of polished letters, then it's a little bit more involved.

I do this quite often but I run into problems when I slip and hit the coated area below. Any advice other than be careful :P...
PS sometimes I mask the surrounding area but the girt still gets through and ruins the texture.

[Guest]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

[quote=89efdusty]

Juan]

That's what I do, unless I'm doing two colors instead of polished letters, then it's a little bit more involved.

I do this quite often but I run into problems when I slip and hit the coated area below. Any advice other than be careful :P...
PS sometimes I mask the surrounding area but the girt still gets through and ruins the texture.

Ah yes indeed, I know what you're talking about.

Start with 100 grit on your DA. Use A LOT of masking tape. 3-4 layers and keep adding a layer every time you start to see the grit each into the first couple of them. Then when you switch to something smoother like 220, remove all the masking tape and do another 3-4 layers of new masking tape.

Give yourself A LOT of room, so in case you slip you won't ruin any other the valve cover, so cover up at least 5-6 inches around the letters.

If you're interested in masking in between the letters without cutting a bunch of small masking pieces just let me know and I'll show you how to do that as well

[89efdusty]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

Juan]

If you're interested in masking in between the letters without cutting a bunch of small masking pieces just let me know and I'll show you how to do that as well

Awesome, thanks for all the advice, and I would definitely like to know how. That was the part that made me mad yesterday so I just left the whole cover coated. :P

[Guest]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

Juan]

If you're interested in masking in between the letters without cutting a bunch of small masking pieces just let me know and I'll show you how to do that as well

Awesome, thanks for all the advice, and I would definitely like to know how. That was the part that made me mad yesterday so I just left the whole cover coated. :P

Cover up the area around the letters like I described in my previous post. Then depending on the size of the letters, grab a piece of 2" wide masking tape and slap it on the letters. Now grab your 100 grit DA, and start sanding over the letters at a low-medium speed just as if you were trying to polish the letters. Stop every few seconds and press down on the tape. 1 piece of 100 grit paper should be enough to get you through the tape. You will now have a perfect cutout of the letters that will slide down between them. Push it down between the letters and switch your DA paper. Now go to town

[89efdusty]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

awesome...I will try this tonight and post up pictures...planning on polishing the mazda vc script

[wiseguyz]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

Whether I clean the lettering off before curing, or sand / polish the letters after cure, I will clear the lettering to prevent corrosion or tarnishing unless the customer just wants them left uncoated. Clearing the lettering before applying the color also makes it easier to clean the powder off before curing.

[89efdusty]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

LOL I started working tonight and realized my lowest grit # paper was 220 so it took forever...this is where I stand. The mazda logo is done with up to 2000 grit and polished, the rest is still being worked on and is only @ 220 right now.

Thanks for all the help guys, PS are most people on here powder coating for a business? I personally just do accountanting and this as a side job right now, but everyone else I see on here works for a shop. :P

[Guest]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

Looks great man! Glad to see it coming along. 220 grit is actually not a bad starting point depending on MIL thickness of the coat. You can actually get through a couple of MIL with 220 grit at a high speed and then work your way up.

To answer your question, no I don't do this full-time, although sometimes I wish I did and sometimes it actually feels like I do (easily 40 hours a week or more depending on work load).

I'm a Software Developer for a government agency and Snail Motorsports is my side business.

[89efdusty]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

Awesome to hear...I will post up finished pictures hopefully today/ tomorrow. Also is there anything a person can do if you slightly hit the coated area and it took away some gloss, other than redoing the valve cover? Thanks

[Guest]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

It has been my experience that there is very little that can be done with scratches in high gloss finishes. You can try to buff it out and depending on the area it might actually look OK. Other than that, at least to me... it's usually not worth the effort if I can fix it with a light coat. Just think of it this way, you get to practice second coats :P Good luck.

[Guest]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

You can see if you can wet sand and buff the scratches as long as their not all the way through. And might consider using an angle die grinder with scotch brite pads(3m roloc dics pads) or sand paper. Smaller and easier to control. It's only an inch and a quarter diameter disc versus four or six inch disc.
Some of the guys and I'm going to try is remove the powder after spraying it with a damp sponge brush.

Harley

[89efdusty]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

Thanks for the help guys.

Also I think I can get my hands on a big stainless refrigerator...I am thinking of just swapping over the equipment from the oven. I am confused about proper sealing though, I have read about people utilizing cement board and high temp but would that be sufficient?

[89efdusty]

Re: Your Opinion on masking issues for valve cover letters

Forgot to post pictures, using 100 dry grit is great to start...personally I had bad experience with wet sanding it due to it pulling up the tape. But I used 1000-1500-2000 all in the end with wet sanding and it worked great. Thanks guys