VC Gaskets and VCs Painted (w/ a Question)

Well, I changed my spark plugs a few weeks ago and a few of them where pretty well soaked in oil so I ordered my VC gaskets and replaced them today. While I was at it, I went ahead and painted the valve covers. The blue looks MUCH brighter in these pictures...it's quite a bit darker and maybe a little more grey in person.








Edit: I guess I might as well post this for you Audi geniuses. I accidentally broke into a million pieces the brittle hose going from the EVAP canister to somewhere at the top of the manifold...how urgently do I need to look for a replacement?

Looks pretty good there.

looks good.  Come on... get your hands dirty

quote:

ORIGINAL: cincyTT

looks good. Come on... get your hands dirty

Haha, don't worry, my hands get plenty dirty. I went through like 5 pairs taking the covers off and by the time I was ready to replace the covers, I said screw it and skipped the gloves entirely...so it was all pointless, my hands are sliced up and stained. I'm so rugged .

i try to use gloves and save my hands (lots of cuts), but they only last about 5mins before i had enough of them.  I just hate cleanup afterwords.  Should invest in some lava soap i guess

Get the orange gojo cincy, smells real nice

LOL, will do! 

Mostly it's just getting that crap out from under my nails that makes the gloves worthwhile. I can scrub the rest off pretty easily.

Ok, now youre showing off....

where does the blue come into play in your scheme ?

or did you just like it ?

quote:

ORIGINAL: onepoint8tee

Ok, now youre showing off....

I feel so ashamed now.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lazer Viking

where does the blue come into play in your scheme ?

or did you just like it ?

I just like it. It wasn't exactly the color I was going for, but I like the way it turned out and it looks good with the silver.

me like. 

That looks just like a vacuum hose. You should be able to graft it back together.  Did you have to prep the aluminum with anything special to get the paint to stick?  I like the blue, I'm red/green colorblind so blue is the best.

Only thing you need to do to aluminum (especially on engine parts) is clean it like crazy - degreaser followed by soap/water, and a thorough drying, then scuff it up with fine sandpaper (400-600 grit is good) to allow the paint to stick, and then wipe it down with alcohol right before you paint.  You can also put your spray cans into a bucket of hot water for a bit before using them, as it will help the paint atomize more finely for a smoother finish.

I'd say the results speak for themselves - the covers look great:)

I was under the impression that aluminum had to be chemically etched.

Nope, at least not in my experience.  Chemical etching might've come into play if the aluminum was coated, but in any event sanding should remove that, so don't sweat it at all - just follow those steps and you should be fine when you paint.

quote:

ORIGINAL: manufan

That looks just like a vacuum hose. You should be able to graft it back together. Did you have to prep the aluminum with anything special to get the paint to stick? I like the blue, I'm red/green colorblind so blue is the best.

I used a degreaser, a wire brush, a stiff rubber sanding block, a small screw driver to pick the goo out of the crevices, and dish soap.. Like Jeremy said, I cleaned them really well and then got the surface nice and rough with the sanding block. The paint seems pretty durable and it withstood getting banged around during the reinstallation and didn't bubble or crack when I drove it last night.

Looks good.

Rubber gloves are for brakes lines. Cloth mechanix gloves are where it's at.

For the vacuum lines, just make sure you didn't break the one going to your fuel pressure regulator and you'll be fine. Get them replaced as soon as possible, but no need worry about it exploding.

quote:

ORIGINAL: BaconBait

For the vacuum lines, just make sure you didn't break the one going to your fuel pressure regulator and you'll be fine. Get them replaced as soon as possible, but no need worry about it exploding.

I wouldn't know. I think it's the only one coming out of the top of the EVAP canister. The car drove okay last night, but I'll probably look into it on Monday.

When you're at the dealer, have them sell you a few feet of the fabric covered vacuum line.  Take the piece off on the back of the intake, a couple plugs and a couple vacuum lines and replace all of them.  It's a fun job, like a puzzle. Anywhere the plastic line has broken just make the rubber/fabric one longer to compensate.

quote:

ORIGINAL: manufan

When you're at the dealer, have them sell you a few feet of the fabric covered vacuum line. Take the piece off on the back of the intake, a couple plugs and a couple vacuum lines and replace all of them. It's a fun job, like a puzzle. Anywhere the plastic line has broken just make the rubber/fabric one longer to compensate.

I think I'd rather try to find silicone hoses because then I can color coordinate with the valve covers. That's right, I get to be a girl and decorate under the hood after the dirty work is done .

That's cool I like the silicone. You might find that they'll kink when they're following such tight bends though.

silicone is far better than the crap under the hood.

Its just a vac line.  Its best if you can replace the entire line, if not, you can get a little strait peice that is like a T, but w/o the branch.  Then you can just replace the broken/brittle peice with silicone and then zip/cable tie it to hold the line in place 
 
And if you havent had any problems running it yet, you should be fine to wait a little longer.  But you will probably get a CEL sooner than later.

quote:

ORIGINAL: cincyTT

silicone is far better than the crap under the hood.

Its just a vac line.  Its best if you can replace the entire line, if not, you can get a little strait peice that is like a T, but w/o the branch.  Then you can just replace the broken/brittle peice with silicone and then zip/cable tie it to hold the line in place 

And if you havent had any problems running it yet, you should be fine to wait a little longer.  But you will probably get a CEL sooner than later.

 
Excellent, thanks.  I'll get on that tomorrow.  No wonder everyone falls all over themselves for your advice .