Hay, how hot does vinyl get before it falls off. I have a customer who wants some stickers to put on the engine valve covers. It's a 427 Ford engine inside of a Ford Fairlane. Not a street car, but a quarter mile racer. Ya think they last,,,,for a least the season?
Posted by Dale Feicke (Member # 767) on :
I wouldn't do it, Alicia......way too hot!!
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
I was lettering a car on a hot day once and when I pulled off the transfer tape, their original pinstripe came off with the transfer paper.
I would think the vinyl would melt on the valve cover.
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Can you make a small mask & paint it on real quick?
Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
Bobbie's got the right idea.
Make a mask and hit it with an aerosol engine color designed for higher temperatures. Be sure to scuff the area before spraying and carefully pull the mask right after. These paints dry pretty quick and the edges can "chatter" if you wait too long.
(well, I call it chattering...when the edges of the paint tear off with the mask. Correct me if it's the wrong term. ) Rapid
Posted by jack wills (Member # 521) on :
On a technical level Ray,I call it gossiping.
Jack
Posted by John D. Heller Sr. (Member # 8712) on :
Finally, something I know about. Bobbie and Ray are absolutely correct. The only thing I would add is to make sure that you clean the cover with mineral spirits or a wax and grease remover BEFORE you scuff it. (Retired Auto Body Man and Painter, 40 Years!)
[ April 21, 2008, 10:53 PM: Message edited by: John D. Heller Sr. ]
Posted by George Perkins (Member # 156) on :
I'll go against the flow here and say they would probably do OK, it's a valve cover. Yea, they get hot but how long is this thing gonna run??? Manufacturers have been putting all kinds of stickers on valve covers for years.
I've worked on a ton of dirt cars over the years and I've never been afraid to pull a valve cover off a car that just came off the track. No hotter than the hood of a black truck sitting out in the sun in August. A drag car gets nowhere the work out a dirt car does.
Posted by Alicia B. Jennings (Member # 1272) on :
Alright George, I'm with you. When the world says no, I say'Gee, let's try it anyway and see what happens!".So I made the stickers. And now I get to see what happens. Soy muy loca!
Posted by Ken Henry (Member # 598) on :
Actually, Gerber does market a label stock material which can be cut like vinyl, and one of it's key features is that it has a special adhesive that's designed for higher heat environments. I believe that it comes in a brushed gold or brushed silver finish.
Posted by Dale Feicke (Member # 767) on :
Keep us posted on the outcome, Alicia
Posted by Don Hulsey (Member # 128) on :
I have a friend that has vinyl on his valve covers and radiator shroud. This is a daily driven street car that I know has done a few 12 hour trips in the 5 years the vinyl has been on it.
I have another friend that is into Barbeque. I letter his smoker when he repaints it at the beginning of each season. The lettering on the firebox does darken a little by the end of the year, but is still fairly easy to remove and clean up for painting.
I told both of them that I was not sure if it would work or not, but if they wanted to try it, OK. I still would not give any kind of guarantee with it, but I would do it again.
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