Hey have you guys seen the Polished IDI Covers from RKSport from back in the day (dunno if they still have em)
Has anyone done at DIY project?
what did you guys use?
Look in the engine classifieds some guy is selling them for the ecotec dont know what kind of engine you have
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, February 03, 2010 12:36 AM
2003 2.2 ecotec turbo 250 whp 247tq
chris olivas wrote:Look in the engine classifieds some guy is selling them for the ecotec dont know what kind of engine you have
well considering he said IDI cover and not VALVE cover the dead give away. hes talking about the 2.4 LD9
azncav wrote:chris olivas wrote:Look in the engine classifieds some guy is selling them for the ecotec dont know what kind of engine you have
well considering he said IDI cover and not VALVE cover the dead give away. hes talking about the 2.4 LD9
I just remember seeing this post with IDI cover for the ecotec not VALVE cover and after i posted i looked at his profile and realized it was the 2.4 but here is the listing
http://www.j-body.org/classifieds/engine/55484/
I am making custom IDI covers for the ecotec motor to get rid of the cheap plastic factory one. If you are interested and want to see some more pics send a pm to boostedeco here on the org. They are made out of 6061-T6 aluminum. The price is $105 and you polish the cover yourself or $135 and i will polish the comver for you(takes me roughly a hour to do by hand). Also those prices are with the covers saying either TURBOCHARGED, SUPERCHARGED or ECOTEC 2.2 and i use the Arial black italic font (Like on notepad). If you want a custom text of your choice (name, screen name, nick name etc.) add $15, price includes shipping and add $5 for paypal or you can send me a money order. SOrry no personal checks! Also these are made to order so if you want to pay by money order your cover will not be made until i receive payment. Thanks
Edited 2 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, February 03, 2010 2:14 AM
2003 2.2 ecotec turbo 250 whp 247tq
ive got two of them...
first one i got i paid full price from rk sport. the second one i got for free as a package deal with my venom intake manifold. ($170 plus shipping of mine to them was rk sport's cost). all they do is polish your's and send it back. in the end it'd be easier to just take it somewhere locally. probably be cheaper too.
they do an excellent job though, ill give them that.
pics:
second one i let my friend barrow:
i was really asking the guys are on here who have done it uh kinda like a DIY how-to.
I have plenty of spares i just wasnt sure what kind of tools to use and if i needed like abrasive polishes or not...
1. Clean with an engine degreaser.
2. Sit down with a bucket of water and alot of high grit sandpaper. Wet-sand till it get's shiny. I don't remember what i started with but i think it was like a 600, too low a grit and you'll scratch it and really be pissed off. Work up from that in steps to about a 2,000 grit.
3. Use an aluminum polish after you've cleaned the cover off from the wet-sanding. I used mother's own if i remember correctly.
4. Enjoy your shiny new valve cover.
not near as clean and nice looking as the rksport one's but it get's the job done for DIY
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Monday, February 08, 2010 1:41 PM
thank thank thank so much blue cavy
i never really polished mine like the RKSport one is, but it could have easily been nice if i hadn't painted it.
(its from a '95, but its the same thing)
started spraying it down with brakleen to clean it up, noticed it was peeling off the factory coating, so i ran with it.
hit it with a wire brush, and some emory cloth but it wasn't doing it fast enough for me, so i took a medium duty scotch brite disc mounted on an air powered straight or 90* angle die grinder. made doing in between the fins really easy, and cut the time in half lol. polished it up with a light duty disc to this:
biggest pain in the ass was the inside of the small letters, but sandpaper took care of that.
at this point had i taken metal polish to it, and actually gave a crap, it would've looked damn nice. but i went with this:
sprayed it over in flat black, then hit the letters and fins with a light duty scotch brite disc on an air powered 90* angle die grinder. it polished up pretty nice, until i accidently dropped more brakleen on it and the paint melted away lol. repainted it with chassis black- gloss black paint, still need to polish the letters and fins.
ill let the detail guys say which polish would be better. i use meguiars stuff for almost all my detailing needs, but i'm sure someone has seen better results with something else.
andy kupres wrote:thank thank thank so much blue cavy
no problem man, remember you can never use enough water when wet-sanding.
when I polished mine I started with 300 or 400 and worked my way up to 2000 and polished it with aluminum polish. still have to polish it from time to time to keep it from oxidizing. what are some of you guys using to keep from having to polish over and over?
after polishing it could you use a spray can of clear coat so that it would oxidize???
Just polish with a quality polish and you'll be fine.
M62, 42's, ZZP 3", ZZP S3 H/E
214whp 190wtq
for the amount of work it takes im glad i sent mine off to rk sport. not only could they get it shinier than i ever could personally, id just much rather give some one the money to deal with it.
polishing aluminum is ok as long as it is an nice, gradual surface. if the idi cover didnt have any lettering it wouldnt be so bad.
i attempted polishing one years ago, i got like 20+ hours into it and said F it, way too much work involved.
Brad, the one on your car looks chrome dipped to me. Looks good.
"Oil Leak ? What oil Leak ? Oh, Thats Just The Sweat From All The HorsePower!!"
