Sounds very good. Certainly a method to file for future use.

 

XK Valve covers: I would try Renaissance Wax (Micro-Crystalline). It's really tough stuff and recall a thread with "Hot Roders" using it on their exhaust pipe tips. Poth Hille list a bunch of Micro-Crystalline waxes, but what their properties are is unclear.

 

Ok thanks again!

 

Interesting for sure. Especially given the suggestions on this thread. I'm impressed with the knowledge YOU ALL have here.

Lucky for me the last owner of this particular car ceramicoated the exhaust manifolds, so I'll be all set on that front.

I will update this thread in the coming months as the seasons offer different conditions as I try different products suggested.
Plenty of humidity/moisture in the air along with somewhat vast temperature changes here for a good test environment.

Dave

 

any kind of clear valve-cover/engine paint should work. probably something like this:

 

This thread makes me think of people who used to come in to our custom furniture store and ask for a product that preserves wood from the outdoor elements _ there is no such product.
People would end up using Marine Cetol, but in the end after about 3 to 4 years, the whole house would have to be scraped and done again _ depending on the prep job and where on the planet the house was.

Aluminum is no different, it's soft and oxidizes quickly in the harsh conditions of an engine bay, even more so in a MK II with very little ventilation.

Polishing on a buffing wheel helps to close the pores of the metal and makes it easier to keep up the maintenance, and that's what it is, a lot maintenance.
These products here my help a bit, but in the end, it is what it is.

I keep my car in a heated garage all year round to prevent condensation forming on the aluminum, after it's driven I open the hood to let the heat escape.
I use 3M Finesse-It with a damp cotton rag by hand to keep it looking as best as possible.

Huey, I think that product will break down pretty quick when things get hot. Probably start to turn yellow and peel.

My experience with aluminum; brass and copper are the same.

 

When we lived in the Netherlands, the builder finished our new and incredibly expensive mahogany type wood front door with Cetol. I told him it wouldn't work, but he insisted that the Dutch know how to make varnish. It was as Jeff described, a total disaster. Don't believe the publicity. For outdoor wood that's not primed and painted, I stick to linseed oil (or similar) and possibly some wax. In fact, I use boiled linseed oil on wood that's deteriorated after the paint has flaked and leave it a few days to soak in before filling and repainting.

For paint, even the best quality primer, to stick to metal long term, the metal surface has to be rough enough that it's not in any sense polished looking or shiny - you don't use finer than 120 grit wet and dry on bare steel before spraying a car body, never mind metal polish. If you want to paint the aluminium cam covers, first make the surface clean and rough, then go through the stages of a primer suitable for aluminium at 70+C and the paints to follow and finish it with the colour of your choice. But then, what's the point of the aluminium? They may as well be standard pressed steel that most manufacturers use.

 

Right, boiled linseed oil is boss. I slather that stuff on many areas just like you said, @Peter3442 . brush on over flaked areas or items outside that have been stained. Great for weathered wood and deepens the wood's natural brown and or reddish-brown hues. It's like hide food for leather. It actually strengthens the wood as well as preserves.

I won't be painted my cam covers. Right, it can be hard to get paint to stick to aluminum as you have to thoroughly prep every square inch by scuffing as well as etching primer is recommended.

 

I use Balau or Teak for outdoor furniture. I let the Balau grey & then spirit stain it Mahogany. The teak I leave natural. I then oil both from time to time with Woodoc which contains some micro fine wax in the oil. Looks good & will last forever in our conditions. Always looks smart & new.

 

When we built my workshop, we coated the feather edge cladding with a product called Osmo, a tinted UV protection oil. It worked very well. I had to go against the instructions and mix it with white spirit to thin it for it to adhere. However, the result was excellent and the wood has kept very well. More recently, I bought some more for re-coating a few areas and it's the usual story that the price has increased significantly while the formulation seems to have changed to something not quite as good.

 

The jury is in. I have to say this Quicksilver Anti Corrosion spray works very well. (I did end up buying some on a whim despite my spite for aerosols)

I use the car only about once a month at this point, but do live in a fairly humid area - New England, US of A. The past Summer & Fall was the WORST! (Ever, I think!)

I've only applied it ONE TIME, and zero corrosion thus far.

 

Thanks for letting us know. Then we all learn.