Achieving the mill finish on 4.9L valve covers? | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Achieving the mill finish on 4.9L valve covers?

Discussion in 'Maserati' started by 71Satisfaction, Feb 15, 2014.

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  1. richjar

    richjar Formula Junior

    Oct 20, 2009
    250
    I was asking what the Alodine process is as I was unsure, having Googled it, Alocrom and Alodine are the two trade names for the same product. One is the US and the other is the European.
    Do you think that they were not protected at all when made in the day by the OEM? I'm not sure when Alocrom/Alodine became available from.
     
  2. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    Mar 13, 2005
    91,367
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    Bob
    Oh they did have a finish of some kind, at least the later ones late 1960s' through 1970's.

    Yes Alodine is just a Henkle brand proprietary name for a conversion - controlled corrosion process.

    If you're careful doing it it can turn out great. If you're sloppy then it ends up splotchy looking. It's not hard to do at all.
     
  3. 71Satisfaction

    71Satisfaction Formula 3

    Jul 15, 2012
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    New York and Norway
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    Art
    Hi Rich,
    Think of it as a VW Beetle with wings. Google Images for "1946 Ercoupe". A unique design, basic, rugged, two seat, all aluminum, 70-90hp, 95mph airspeed. Good old fashioned aviation fun, navigate by sight, easy to get in and out of airfields or grass strips anywhere from Martinsburg, West Virginia to Stonington, Maine. I must edit my profile as I sold "The Bad Hare".
     
  4. richjar

    richjar Formula Junior

    Oct 20, 2009
    250
    That's nice.
     
  5. Quattroporte3

    Quattroporte3 Formula 3

    Nov 13, 2010
    1,060
    #30 Quattroporte3, Jun 17, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    With the car in the shop I asked them to pull all the cam covers so that I can get them painted.

    What I received was 4 cam covers, plus two mystery parts (to the right of the upper most cam cover in the photo). As far as I can tell (I didn't remove them myself) these parts fit inside the cam cover and the "hooks" wrap around on top of the exhaust cover (see photo of engine, as it looked when I bought the car).

    I'm not sure if this is QP3 specific, or US model specific, or what it does/why it's there.

    Nor am I sure that it should be painted with wrinkle paint, as much of it has flaked off, and if it's underneath the cover I would think all that paint would get into the engine and oil, which can't be a good thing.

    I deliver the lot to soda blasting later today and they'll apply and bake the paint as well. Do I ask them to paint the mystery parts, or only the covers?

    Thanks!
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  6. Quattroporte3

    Quattroporte3 Formula 3

    Nov 13, 2010
    1,060
    Figured it out - they're heat shields.

    Should they be painted/were they painted from the factory?
     
  7. mamamia

    mamamia Karting

    Dec 14, 2010
    214
    England
    Full Name:
    Henry Jameson
    I refurbished the intake manifold on my old Biturbo 425 the same way.

    But I must confess that my wife's Sunday roast that week had a most distict flavouring !!!

    She was not a happy bunny !!!
     
  8. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    #33 staatsof, Jun 18, 2015
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2015
    Those shield look like they have the typical (crummy) Maserati heat shield paint on them. Just flat black paint. I would go with non wrinkle and high temp.

    With respect to the valve covers. Remember that these are actually critical mechanical parts.

    You mentioned soda blasting, some people have them bead blasted. Either way it's really critical to have the shop NOT get any of the blast media inside of the covers. That can cause havoc with your oil and bearings. With glass bead and other hard media blasting it can leave media embedded in the aluminum. :eek: Not a good idea for the insides. Paint/powder coating places don't typically know or give a crap about that. I had one shop return a set of cover to me (red wrinkle powder) that looked superb but when I turned them over the inside were still oily and coated with glass media!

    For regular wrinkle paint it's very important to get the covers very clean as any oil will mean flaking off paint not too far down the road.

    The powder coated wrinkle is really tough stuff but those vendors typically insist on hard media blasting of the parts to assure a good bond.

    Caveat emptor.

    While we're at it ... :D

    Have you check that the cover lay flat on a true surface? If they've been over torqued unevenly they might need some shaving to get them true again.

    Once the paint is on them you can remove it from the highlight area yourself unless the shop does that.
    You'll also want to remove it from inside those circles where the washer/seals fit and make that a flat/true/smooth surface as well.
    No proper Maserati engine should leak any oil ... ever :rolleyes: :)
     
  9. 71Satisfaction

    71Satisfaction Formula 3

    Jul 15, 2012
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    New York and Norway
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    Art
    Good day all,
    I'm repeating the wrinkle finish process ..on the Khamsin this time...

    Looking for recommendations -
    Have you all used any gasket dress, or gasket sealants you can recommend when reinstalling the cam covers/radiator header tank?

    I'm looking at several products .. Some are non-hardening, non-silicone, sealants, others are more silicone-y and adhere more.. I don't want or need anything "permanent" t. some just meant to seal.

    My Bora got reinstalled "dry" and they weep a bit of oil.
    - Art
     
  10. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    Bob
    Mine always have as well. Stay away from the RTV. You could try some of the Loctite anaerobic gasket eliminators.

    Type 515. Look for the others in that series as Loctite's specifications describes what each of the various formulations are best for. You can call them on their tech hotline not the consumer one and describe what your situation is. At least you used to be able to? The graphite impregnated valve cover gaskets is something they might know about. That stuff is used internally in the Biturbo engines to seal the block halves and I use it to seal my camboxes to the the tops of the heads WO any gaskets at all. Any excess that drips off in to the engine doesn't harden like silicone will. I've never tried it on the old Maserati V8 cam gaskets. You'll probably have to use a primer on one side of the sealant (never both), that makes the stuff set up but ask them ... perhaps not at all?
     
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