i used to powdercoat intakes of porsche.
however, they are of such a crappy material that i bought 3 sets,
that i always had soaked in solution to get the gunk out of the magnesium.
then i only used wrinkle powder to hide all imperfections of the material. :(
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo208/bmdoublesyou/blackwrinkle002.jpg
you can see it in the first pic... grrrr. and that was after the material being supercleaned
and even heated to let it 'outgas'
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo208/bmdoublesyou/blackwrinkle027.jpg
needless to say i quickly stopped that service.
(i also made those custom intake runners.:) and polished my rod for ages...)
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo208/bmdoublesyou/blackwrinkle006.jpg
now, i have a extra set of manifolds for the 8series. so i thought i would give it a try and...
it came out awesome. i love it .
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo208/bmdoublesyou/coatedintake001.jpg
so, here i am again. i will offer powdercoating as a service. i was thinking of 150,- plus core.
but i don't know if i would charge a core charge to my fellow members here.
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo208/bmdoublesyou/coatedintake002.jpg
however, i could be out of a manifold and therefore out of a lot of money pretty fast.
what do you guys think? what would be a fair thing to do?
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo208/bmdoublesyou/coatedintake003.jpg
anyways, anyone interrested in coated manifolds or valve covers add to this or PM me
the colors for now are red, black or gray.
writing can be silver or left in the color of the coat.

Powdercoating is NOT recommended for the aluminum intakes. The Powder Coating retains the heat - heated air is not as good as cooler air. If anything the intakes should be painted.

I had my valve covers, oil pan, and powersterring pump pulley powder coated black for a total cost of $50. Everyone I talked to said no to the intakes - not a good idea.

Polished my Intakes, Very low maintenance and looooooooooooooks awesome!

Powdercoating is NOT recommended for the aluminum intakes. The Powder Coating retains the heat - heated air is not as good as cooler air. If anything the intakes should be painted.


I would be willing to bet that powder coating doesn't retain anymore heat then painting. Some of it is depending on color also. Powder coating intakes is done on a lot of different engines for looks but even in performance engines I see it all the time.

I would need to see proof by controlled testing that powder coating or painting would effect the performance of the engine by heat retention.

Does anyone know of any studies that have been done specifically about intake manifolds?

Heck, if you think about it, if the air is drawn in from the outside via a cold air system which we all say the E31 has and is good, the only heat source is from the outside of the intakes so maybe the paint or powder coating would help insulate the localized heat from the intake manifolds.

black is supposed to dissipate heat best.
and yes , i also would like to see a paper on facts on the claim.
i did a search, but i haven't found anything about not to powder coat aluminum intakes.
but i know that even the 'big stables' powdercoat their intakes
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo208/bmdoublesyou/untitled-1.jpg
(steffen is usually right about what he sais, so that why i am doing a lil homework to fink out what's what)
i could heat a coated and a clean intake and see which one keeps a certain temp longer.
that should clear up any doubts

it's been awefully quiet in this thread.
what's up , guys? is noone interested in having the intakes coated?
is the price too high? or are you all afraight of taking your itakes off?
give me an idea of what's going on in your mind.

$400.00 for new gaskets to add color to the manifolds? Another $200.00 there atlease for Shipping and your Labor, I would think it's not too logical at these times, That type of upgrade demands a "Tx, Mission Creep", You could run into brittle vacum hoses, Gaskets, A leak not too far away and it would be crazy not to take a look under the valve covers unless you been there recently, If not? Your gonna find something! Either loose or broken, Painting them on the car would be my route if i needed it, Still good to know a member can do these services. This is just my opinion, You asked!

$400.00 for new gaskets to add color to the manifolds?

does one always have to buy new manifold gaskets? as long as they are not cracked. i have read, that a thin seal of gasketmaker would be adequate.

$400.00 for new gaskets to add color to the manifolds? Another $200.00 there atlease for Shipping and your Labor, I would think it's not too logical at these times, That type of upgrade demands a "Tx, Mission Creep", You could run into brittle vacum hoses, Gaskets, A leak not too far away and it would be crazy not to take a look under the valve covers unless you been there recently, If not? Your gonna find something! Either loose or broken, Painting them on the car would be my route if i needed it, Still good to know a member can do these services. This is just my opinion, You asked!


yes, i did ask and i really value your opinion. with feedback like this i am able to get a different point of view, perhaps a better point of view.

i will also offer the coating of the valve covers and if supplied with an exchange cover i think i can iclude the covers in the deal money wise.
however,
i think it is better to find something lose or broken , rather it will find you.
thanks again for your response:)

I would be interested if I have to pull the parts off anyway to replace my head gaskets. But I don't think I will be taking the off just because, I'm too lazy for that!!!

it's not all that bad actually.
i am going to pull off mine to
- clean the injectors
- powder coat the fuelrail in black
- powdercoat the valve covers
and then powdercoat the intakes

I see your listing on the e-bay.

$400.00 for new gaskets to add color to the manifolds? Another $200.00 there atlease for Shipping and your Labor, I would think it's not too logical at these times, That type of upgrade demands a "Tx, Mission Creep", You could run into brittle vacum hoses, Gaskets, A leak not too far away and it would be crazy not to take a look under the valve covers unless you been there recently, If not? Your gonna find something! Either loose or broken, Painting them on the car would be my route if i needed it, Still good to know a member can do these services. This is just my opinion, You asked!

$400,- is not enough according to my info. The stealer in Germany takes about $590 for the complete set. But i doubt that you need to replace them once you have removed the intake manifold and if you do than it is time anyways. Avoids some hidden air leaks causing you headaches some day.

@TxGR8White
In theory this might be true but I highly doubt that you'll see any difference in real life. It is getting so damned hot under the bonnet anyways that painted or powder coated or bare aluminum shouldn't make a noticeable difference. JMHO semi backed up by experience from my E24s.

@carspainc.com (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/member.php?u=36446)
Nothing wrong with a core charge IMO. Just fair business and customers who don't understand that you may not want to serve anyways :)

Cheers
Wolf

...

@TxGR8White
In theory this might be true but I highly doubt that you'll see any difference in real life. It is getting so damned hot under the bonnet anyways that painted or powder coated or bare aluminum shouldn't make a noticeable difference. JMHO semi backed up by experience from my E24s...

Wolf, just going by what the powder coating company told me when I wanted mine powdercoated. The owner races both motorcycles and cars, I thought the info was valid.

does one always have to buy new manifold gaskets? as long as they are not cracked. i have read, that a thin seal of gasketmaker would be adequate.

Absolutly right!

it's not all that bad actually.
i am going to pull off mine to
- clean the injectors
- powder coat the fuelrail in black
- powdercoat the valve covers
and then powdercoat the intakes

I did the same, but not with powder. I took exhaust-paint.

http://www.cafeamwehrgang.de/fbilder/saug1.jpg



CO2-blasted


http://www.cafeamwehrgang.de/fbilder/saug2.jpg

I like the result, and with this "normal" color you can paint DKs too... :)




http://www.cafeamwehrgang.de/fbilder/ansaug.jpg

Wolf, just going by what the powder coating company told me when I wanted mine powdercoated. The owner races both motorcycles and cars, I thought the info was valid.

as I said, in theory it makes sense.
And since you got your's painted you can now race your baby :D

as I said, in theory it makes sense.
And since you got your's painted you can now race your baby :D

HaHa, true, but as I said before, if I want to go fast, I drive my 850 - if I want to go quick, I take out the Z06..

I did the same, but not with powder. I took exhaust-paint.



I always thought that this special exhaust paint needs a certain "burn in" temperature to fully dry which isn't reached in the engine compartment.
TxGR8White may disagree :D

I always thought that this special exhaust paint needs a certain "burn in" temperature to fully dry which isn't reached in the engine compartment.
TxGR8White may disagree :D

:) No probs yet!

I think where the confusion is about powder coating and heat dissipation is as follows:

You probably do not want to powdercoat anything that generates heat inside and must use the outside surface to get rid of the heat. (cylinder head of a bike etc.)

If a part is in a hot environment, and what ever is inside doesn't generate heat, probably doesn't matter.

If what goes thru a part that is in a hot environment, and heat transfer from the outside to the inside isn't a good idea, it is probably better to insulate the outside of that part as much as possible.
That would be an intake system.

Make sense?

I was thinking about doing something with the intake manifolds this winter when the car is in storage. I might hit you up for powder coating service.

For some reason I would feel odd about coating it red... it aint exactly a high performance ferrari engine :D Heck, it isn't even the 'M' version....

But black or grey are so dull.....decisions decisions.

If the sealing surfaces are masked, is sandblasting an okay thing to do to these things? I have access to a booth at work.

If the sealing surfaces are masked, is sandblasting an okay thing to do to these things? I have access to a booth at work.

It is STRONGLY recommended that any blasting use a media that is not glass or sand, soda or walnut shells is the best. I know of at least 3 V-12 that were destroyed buy sand or bead blasting the intakes, badly scored cylinder walls were the result.

soda blasting is the way to go! environmentally friendly too...

I think where the confusion is about powder coating and heat dissipation is as follows:

You probably do not want to powdercoat anything that generates heat inside and must use the outside surface to get rid of the heat. (cylinder head of a bike etc.)

If a part is in a hot environment, and what ever is inside doesn't generate heat, probably doesn't matter.

If what goes thru a part that is in a hot environment, and heat transfer from the outside to the inside isn't a good idea, it is probably better to insulate the outside of that part as much as possible.
That would be an intake system.

Make sense?

Makes sense to me.
So triple powder coat the intake manifolds in shiny silver, right? :)

It is STRONGLY recommended that any blasting use a media that is not glass or sand, soda or walnut shells is the best. I know of at least 3 V-12 that were destroyed buy sand or bead blasting the intakes, badly scored cylinder walls were the result.

Yes, blasting intakes with glass or sand is like running the Baja-California or Dakkar-Rallye witout air intake filter! Piston seizure!

It is STRONGLY recommended that any blasting use a media that is not glass or sand, soda or walnut shells is the best. I know of at least 3 V-12 that were destroyed buy sand or bead blasting the intakes, badly scored cylinder walls were the result.

Very interesting. I told my co-worker who sits next to me and he hands me a piston he keeps on his desk which happened to be the end result of sandblasting an intake on a motorbike :)

what I recommend is to clean the intake manifolds from all the gunk that has settled inside over the years. I've soaked my set in Diesel fuel for a few days and then washed them out with Diesel afterwards and finally flushed them with loads and loads of water. They looked like brand new inside after that treatment. A nice side effect is, that no blasting material can get stuck inside anymore.

I had my original intakes glass-beaded, and man were they shiney!!
I do have to add that they are honed out (that was a pain in the ass to do), and flushed with high pressure water for 15 minutes - cleaner than the plates in my cupboard.

i use degreaser and soda for my intakes.

this is what it will look like
before
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo208/bmdoublesyou/newpicsmommiesday001.jpg
after
http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo208/bmdoublesyou/valvecover020.jpg
next intakes i will do in black

*.....next intakes i will do in black..*

Boring, Michael........ there's this guy down in Florida that did a great David Hockney-esque car...... :stickoutt


pssst..what about BMW blue

hahaha randy you just made my day, hehe

waita second i just had a great idea ...
'what about BMW blue'?

:eek:No mention of Chrome yet?:)

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/6955/copyofengineintakespolifk0.th.png (http://img392.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copyofengineintakespolifk0.png)http://img392.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)The heat will cause the chrome to flake in short time, Too much heat, Fully polished and then ad some paint is the ultimate look, IMO!

...next intakes i will do in black

...not these, because one of the biggest disadvantage of powdercoating is that it´s very hard to remove!

BTW - engine runs fine?

Kinda partial to stock appearing intakes with powdercoated valve covers and tasteful accents myself. In this case (my #1 car) the red accents (other than the valve covers) are painted with ordinary paint - not hi temp stuff. Contrary to what we all believe, it doesnt get that hot under the hood to affect "normal" paint. FWIW...
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u305/Wuffer44/R1engine1.jpg

Nice, What color did you powdercoat the valve covers?

Nice, What color did you powdercoat the valve covers?

i coated the valve covers in black
and the car runs just the way she did before, thank you for asking
(WUFFER's valve covers are red, i believe) btw it looks super-neat there, wuffer
i've never seen that kind of cover before, wuffer. where is that from?

Valve covers are red and the accoustic cover is from an M73 V12.

Tom, #1 is smokin' hot lookin' under that hood! My engine bay looks like the workhorse that it is. Perhaps one day...

Cheers

Too much time on my hands....Too much time indeed - this is the engine bay in my 258K km daily driver winter beater.
I need a hobby! Wait! This is my hobby!

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u305/Wuffer44/R2engine.jpg

Looks new, Which one has Kmac's? Tia!

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/6955/copyofengineintakespolifk0.th.png (http://img392.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copyofengineintakespolifk0.png)http://img392.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)The heat will cause the chrome to flake in short time, Too much heat, Fully polished and then ad some paint is the ultimate look, IMO!

I like that. How much work was it? I take it you used a die grinder with a polishing wheel?

What did you paint? I don't see it.

one good thing apart from finding the 'sleeping hulk'
is that my mileage has gone up by two and a half miles a gallon

Tom,

That really looks great. Please share with use what all you did to the intake to get the nice color. While I have my engine apart for the head gaskets I would sure like to do something to get the cosmoline off and then spruce up the aluminum from such a rough dull look but not necessarily polished on the out side.

Did you polish the inside of the tubes?

Okey dokey - you asked! 8-) First, no, I did not polish the inside of the Intales - minimal gain for a lot of work.
To remove the cosmoline, the absolute best product I have found is something called Tal-Strip IV Urethane Parts Paint Remover by Mar-Hyde (Bondo). http://www.3m.com/us/auto_marine_aero/bondo/catalog_item2889.html?itemNbr=623
Then had the intakes hot washed. Once dry I sprayed them with Goodsons ALB-1 Aluminium Last Blast http://www.discount-auto-center.com/ChemicalsFluids-15718791-B0009RDJF2-ALB_1_Aluminum_Gray_Last_Blast.html
Also comes in Cast Iron colour. I have used this Goodson stuff on many parts to make them look new again. Covers very well, dries very fast and is pretty durable. Have even used it on brake calipers and the paint is not damaged by brake fluid. It also is unaffected by engine heat.
Go nuts!

I still reckon you need a nice red anodised oil filler cap on there!

Gerry.

You reckon wrong old friend.... those were old pics. Following were taken today... 8-)

FrankenBimmer
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u305/Wuffer44/Engines003.jpg

WinterBimmer/Beater
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u305/Wuffer44/Engines005.jpg

The cap is upside down, I know, It's your car!---)

The cap is upside down, I know, It's your car!---)

:) Nice idea W!

Looks Beautiful Tom, What type of finish is on the Dk's? Tia!

Cap is NOT upside down - its not an "M" Car its a "W" (Wuffer)car! 8-)
DK finish on FrankenBimmer is the same paint as on the intakes (Goodson ALB-1). On the Winterbeater they are just lightly polished with a brass wire wheel in my drill.

///W Awesome! Thanks...

Tom,

Would mind also sharing your technique for the accent painting of the intakes. How did you paint the red in and leave the "BMW" and the stripes still aluminum? Yours looks so nice I am thinking about cleaning and polishing my manifolds up, not to a high polish, and also doing the highlight paint but in black since that's what my car is.

Sorry for high jacking the thread carspainc.

Trade secret... if I tell you I have to kill you.....
8-)
Pretty simple actually. I used simple model paint and an artists brush. Painted between the ribs and around the BMW, let dry. Repainted 2nd coat to insure no missed or thin spots. Used a dryall sponge sanding block (like this: http://www.thehardwarecity.com/?sku=6258388) on the raised (unpainted) surface to remove what I slopped and as a side benefit, polish the raised area. No, it doesnt get hot enuff to peel the paint. Pretty sure I used Tamiya Acrylic Gloss. Now I ocassionally use the sponge sanding block to renew the polished effect.

Trade secret... if I tell you I have to kill you.....
8-)
Pretty simple actually. I used simple model paint and an artists brush. Painted between the ribs and around the BMW, let dry. Repainted 2nd coat to insure no missed or thin spots. Used a dryall sponge sanding block (like this: http://www.thehardwarecity.com/?sku=6258388) on the raised (unpainted) surface to remove what I slopped and as a side benefit, polish the raised area. No, it doesnt get hot enuff to peel the paint. Pretty sure I used Tamiya Acrylic Gloss. Now I ocassionally use the sponge sanding block to renew the polished effect.

i really wish, i could afford to be wuffer :)