mstieg Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) I've got the intake and IC pipes off, and have a Mitsu valve cover I'm looking to get cleaned up & coated. I'd like a chrome look, and polishing all this would take a long time, and require more upkeep, so coating would be preferred. What's been your experience? Powdercoating is cheaper, but I'm not sure of the look. A local P-coater claims to have a "Neochrome" coat that looks similar to chrome. Pics of your powdercoat? (I know chrome looks money) Edited July 27, 2011 by mstieg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted July 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4736449212_4c9c8a64be_z.jpg One example of chrome powdercoating (rear) vs. real chrome (front). Pretty big difference! Worth the price for real chrome? hmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted July 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 http://www.coloroyal.com/upload/201002/watermark/1265946169.jpg This also came up listed as chrome powdercoating. Now THIS I like! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiplee Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 In my experience chrome powder coat at its best looks like machined aluminum. It doesn't come remotely close to real chrome. If his "neo" chrome thing is some new technology I would ask to see samples and decide based on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTTY Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 I guess the saying " If it dont go chrome it" is going to fail being your car is putting down some serious power! spend the extra coin and go the chrome route although you can find some polishing doodz out there that can make our valve covers look like chrome due to the high quality aluminum Mitsubishi used .Ive been down the powdercoat road but went chrome later on and wont go back , its a pain to keep clean for shows though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted July 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 In my experience chrome powder coat at its best looks like machined aluminum. It doesn't come remotely close to real chrome. If his "neo" chrome thing is some new technology I would ask to see samples and decide based on that. Right on. I'll def. want to see samples before any powder coating. The previous intake had a silver/light gray powdercoat and while it looked nice, it wasn't my preference. Chrome is clearly pedigree. I guess the saying " If it dont go chrome it" is going to fail being your car is putting down some serious power! spend the extra coin and go the chrome route although you can find some polishing doodz out there that can make our valve covers look like chrome due to the high quality aluminum Mitsubishi used .Ive been down the powdercoat road but went chrome later on and wont go back , its a pain to keep clean for shows though. Interesting to hear. How much did your chroming run? I only have 54" of IC piping total (3-9" bends and a 27" pipe from the turbo). I polished my previous 2.25" *DM pipes and shot with clearcoat years back, which held up for a few years of DD (incl winters). It was okay, but I'd like to do this right the first time now that it's all apart. Can't polish my own due to a torn thumb. Mine's no show car by any means, but I will still enter it future events just for fun due to the Starion's originality while every other retiree down here has a Vette. Price is a factor with this however, as I gotta save up for the rest of the T56 swap before I'll let it rip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntercooledFlatty Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 sanded and polished in this V pic BUT, chrome RULES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 (edited) Is zinc too much bling? That way you are assured the inside will never rust and you can wash it out and not damage it or even powdercoat the outside later. I'd think that's the least expensive also, and maybe the best. Edited July 28, 2011 by Indiana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natallica Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 I've tried to coat using a "reflective chrome" from Eastwood and a "Triple Chrome" from the internet and both look like a metallic silver on my OVCP. They look O.K when removing them from the oven, but after they flow out and you occasionally wipe dust from them they look dull. Hope this helps. I'd go chrome (real chrome) -N8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopDawg_43 Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Matt- From my experience with chrome, if you don't keep it clean, it will pit and flake. And sometimes, even if you do keep it clean, it will still pit and flake. My rims are currently chromed. Within a year of going through the hassle of having them chromed, they started to flake. I'm about to have them p-coated black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted July 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Maybe this will help figure a baseline. The pipes are fairly rough in their current state - welds still showing and not smoothed out much. http://www.26liter.us/gallery/albums/userpics/10168/cleanup_parts.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTTY Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Well Matt dood , to answer your question on $ spent, on triple chrome ive spent more on what most pay for thier car ! but im guessing for what i see in your pics around $600 to $700 , but pays to shop around , i use a dood here in Vegas who normally does semi truck stuff and found his work better and cheaper than most auto "bling" shops, he has polished items on my 88shp that look beyond chrome ! .However i drive this car maybe 4 times a year to shows and back and each time involves a partial tear-down to polish it up again , being as yours is mostly a daily driver it may become a real p.i.t.a . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTTY Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Again looking at your pics Matt , i would have the intake and the valve cover polished , its the way to go ,these items can be highly polished to look like chrome, as for the hardpipes these will get acid dipped and stripped before the plating process so no worries about any imperfections on there just now , they will be gone ! , i suck at internet so cant post pics but somewhere in the "showroom" forum under the "ScottyGibb collection" you can see my and my polishing doodz handywork and it wont hurt to do a little bit of gold anodizing on other items to accent the chrome "bling" under the hood , i restored my 88 last year , it gets many compliments from the outside , i lift the 83 hood and jaws DROP ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted July 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Yeah, I bet. Polishing was my first choice until I was priced out of that option. Knew chrome would be up there also, but dayy-um. Honestly, I got quotes of $125-150 for powdercoating, and while bling is king, I don't have several extra Benjamens to go tossing around for aesthetics currently. I guess I just need to pick a pcoat & color I can live with for a while. Maybe someday I'll do an engine bay teardown and clean/coat everything showstylin', but I'd rather have it driving bulletproof first. Maybe I'll just paint it myself, since that could be undone easily later on with some thinner. It's garage kept and will only see a rainstorm if caught in one at worst, so I'm not worried about any of the options going sour on me. Preferred colors for a faded red car w/ black couplers? Pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiplee Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Maybe I'll just paint it myself, since that could be undone easily later on with some thinner. It's garage kept and will only see a rainstorm if caught in one at worst, so I'm not worried about any of the options going sour on me. Man that's what I would do. Underhood environments are no good for most coatings after a while, and I think matte black is a tough look on pipes and valve covers and such. Easy to do yourself and touch up as needed. To me most DIY gloss paint ends up looking cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 ZINC EM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierquest Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 I would also say not to chrome as it would be a pain to keep clean and polished if drove often. I polished my vc when I did my build but next time everything is getting powdered. Spray it down often and call it good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killtodie Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 I personally hate chrome, although, if you can hard chrome them, do that. But its not much for looks, more for protection. I vote powder coat, you can do that yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87TsiOwner Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 Polish the aluminum and have it coated in something clear like clear p-coat or ceramic that ways it will stay polished and be durable/easy to clean and you wont have to polish it again. On the steel tubing, have it p-coated in something you like, maybe have some contrast and do them the color of you car or black or?? the combinations are limitless almost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 ZINC IT ALL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted August 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 For the valve cover, I plan to hand paint the Mitsubishi & logo in Black, as well as an inlet white/black top edge on the middle stripes. Fun little oil cap otw to match. Cost $150 for the single coat. Turned out pretty well: (sorry for the cell phone pic) http://www.26liter.us/gallery/albums/userpics/10168/poweder_coated_parts.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slydogg Posted August 18, 2011 Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 ummmmmm, chrome. pic looks good also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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