I am thinking about painting my coils and valve covers and was wondering how well the paint holds up over time. I have seen lots of photos of painted coils and valve covers, but all look like they were taken the day it was painted. I don't think I am going to do it if it has to be redone every 6-12 months. Oh yeah, I DD mine so it will see a lot of use. Does anyone have any pics of their painted coils and valve covers a few years after they were painted?

 

I did not paint my coils, but painted the covers satin black.

They hold up very well unless you are too rough taking coils off and scratch them. They also hide the dirt/oil/etc better than being bare aluminum so they look nicer than stock even when they're dirty.

A trip to the car wash and hit them with some pressure and they clean right off and look great again.

I used regular Krylon spray paint with no primer, just cleaned them with brake parts cleaner and then painted them.

 

The biggest thing I seen is it all depends if it the part gets clear coated. Seemingly you have some people who paint everything, like cyl heads, block, basically all bare metal but seems like they clear coated it as well and when you do that. Durability increases dramatically.

SHould be plenty out there in google world but considering how much corrosion I got on my aluminum, thats a future project for me.

Un coated paint can get crappy and would require to be re done if your concerned on looks. To me I would hate to re do work if its not needed.

 

I painted mine a while back and they still look just fine.

 

Just use a high temp clear and you will be fine, easy worthwhile mod

 

I painted mine gloss black (no clear) and they have held up fine for years.

 

The last time I clear coated something in the engine bay, the clear turned yellow.

Nearly everything in my engine bay has been painted with Krylon satin black and it all holds up fine unless brake fluid or brake parts cleaner gets on it. Sometimes stuff gets scratched but that's the great thing about the satin black is that you can touch up the damaged area and it will blend perfectly with the rest.

 

I was also wonder if I need to use a high temp primer and some sort of high temp adhesion promoter?

 

I did my valve covers and intake 3 years ago, and other than me chipping the valve covers taking them off everything has help up fine, I used high temp engine paint and clear.

 

I hit mine with regular old satin black, and its held up for quite a while so far.

 

Never painted the coils, but painted the valve covers black and the brackets red. Did that in 2008. Used high temp rattle can paint with high temp clear. Even with handling, they've held up very well.
I also painted the intake. That has started to flake in several spots. I'll probably redo that this summer. Btw, pics in sig.

 

I've had 4 LS1 cars and I've painted the valve covers & coils in every one of them, and they've held up just fine on each one. Do yourself a favor and clear coat everything, it'll give it a little more strength and make them easier to wipe clean.

 

One last question.
Coils - adhesion promoter>primer>base coat>clear coat
Valve Covers - Primer>base coat>clear coat

How many coats of each should I use?

 

What brand and type of paint are you guys using that holds up so well? I know it's mostly in the prep, but I'd still like to know.