freshly painted valve cover. bake it?

[NJs13_1993]

im not sure if this is the right place to post this but i just painted my ka valve cover. i want to bake it to make sure the paint stays good nd doesnt chip or flake. i was wondering if anyone knows what temp would be good since its aluminum i figure not too high nd how long?

[SR Skid_Kid]

you dont bake paint... only powdercoating

[ze12o]

Don't need to bake it as long as your prep work was good it should be fine. Just let it cure for a couple days next to a heater or something or out in the sun.

[NJs13_1993]

ok thanks guys

[EDacIouSX]

you dont bake paint... only powdercoating

that's not quite accurate.... I believe sometimes cars are "baked" inside a paint booth to help cure the paint.

[240sxKouki]

Baked is a loose term to use.. The car is "heated" after it is painted, therefore, allowing the paint to cure, due to the higher temps caused by heating the paint booth... I have worked in several collision shops before, and they "heat" the car in the booth. I am not a painter however, I do beleive they heat it to 160'-180'.. I dont remember the booth being too hot(like 300-350') after we opened it to get the car out, but this was years ago and my memory is not that good... If I am off on the temps, please correct me, but not, you do not need to "bake" your valve cover. Just let it set, like the guy said in the sun, or somewhere warm so it can cure.

[NJs13_1993]

its been sitting in my garage for a couple days

[blueshark123]

use a torch on it.

[tuktuk23]

that's not quite accurate.... I believe sometimes cars are "baked" inside a paint booth to help cure the paint.

i work at a bodyshop...90% of our painted work gets baked at ~140 degress.

you can leave the paint to cure by itself with no heat (slower process/better product)

heating forces the solvents to evap quicker thus resulting in paint drying quicker....too hot of a cure/bake cycle can cause solvent pop (pinhole lookin nasty shit!)

my :2c:

[240sxKouki]

i work at a bodyshop...90% of our painted work gets baked at ~140 degress.

you can leave the paint to cure by itself with no heat (slower process/better product)

heating forces the solvents to evap quicker thus resulting in paint drying quicker....too hot of a cure/bake cycle can cause solvent pop (pinhole lookin nasty shit!)

my :2c:

Thats what I thought. I knew it wasnt too hot.

[tuktuk23]

Thats what I thought. I knew it wasnt too hot.

i dunno how hot your valve cover is gonna get but it may crack the paint if you go too high. try to find out temp constraints on the particular brand/series of paint you used.