Need advice on painting engine cover

Can anyone offer some advice on painting a chromed dyno cover? I want to restore the middle part to black as shown in the picture below. The problem is, I'm not sure how to paint only the inside part and allow the chrome ridges to show through. Sanding won't really work in this case. Any tips?
Thanks

mask everything best you can,wipe down the fins with thinner after painting;)

Chrome. Hmmm. Complicates things.

If you're good enough with 3M pinstripe 1/8" tape mask, it can be done, but it's gonna be at least a 12 pack job, maybe more. :whistle:

The lazy way, if you got a propane torch around and have a steady hand would be to hit a craft store, pick up a couple of pounds or so of wax parrafin wax and melt it in a shallow pan the SO won't mind if she never saw again.

Dip the cover to the depth of the ridges, hold it for a few seconds. Repeat if necessary. It ain't as hard as it sounds.

Mask off the exterior circumference of the cover and shoot.

After the paint's set, lightly warm the cover with a hair dryer and strip off the wax.

I just got one of those touch-up paint pens. Looks brand new and took about a minute. It has also lasted for years.

ooops. forgot the part about the chrome. My bad.

Post edited by: tganek, at: 2007/04/04 23:47

sharpie!

wireman wrote:

sharpie!

All of those ideas sound reasonable. I thought about using pinstriping as masking and wiping with thinner, but the wax one and paint pen are new ideas. I'm a little worried that I couldn't handle the whole wax proess and I'm wondering if the paint pen would hold up to the heat.

Wireman - would I use a rag to wipe the fins and letters? I'm worried that I couldn't be accurate enough.

A sanding block would work great to remove the paint on the fins but I'm sure it would wreck the chrome. I wonder if there's some type of sanding sponge or something like that I could use to remove paint but not hurt chrome??

Maybe I could wrap a rag with some thinner on it around a block of wood and try that just after painting??

Any of 'em 'll do - depends on the look you're shooting for.

If the cover was polished aluminum, it'd be somewhat simpler - but chrome get'cha home.

If you've gor a pic of the specific cover with some detail, it'd be easier to suggest the appropriate idea.

The wax thing ain't all that hard - an old-skool painter taught me that one re-doing an old Chrysler hood ornament.

wrap it around your finger so its easier to control what you are doing with the thinner.i did the points cover on my z1 with a black sharpie as a joke,but it actually held up pretty good and was easy to touch up!

They used to sell this stuff at the hobby store called Liquid Mask (marketed at remote control cars). I never actually TRIED it but it sounded like a good idea. You painted it on with a brush and peeled it off when you were done. I suspect you could also use liquid electrical tape the same way, that stuff sticks real good and you can peel it off of chrome pretty easily I reckon. That's my thought for the day

Ron

I had that exact thought but didn't know the product actually existed (liquid mask). I'll take a look and see if I can find something like that.

The liquid mask idea will work as well, but you still wind up having to reverse(negative)-mask first to prepare for applying the liquid mask - ever try to brush in a *straight line*? That said, reverse-masking may be easier and quicker to do - and any slop will clean off the chrome easier than the painted recess.

The paint pen is good for getting color on the piece, but it's not so hot for applying a "deep" texture to it - the application is thin and uneven.

Any of the masking options allows for a sprayed application that gives even coverage and depth, but requires some variation of detail prep in the setup.

All a matter of how trick you want to get....