BMW

Hello, i have a 1990 bmw 525i.i would like to paint the valve cover where the bmw was written between a set of lines.i think i require a heat resitant paint for doing this.can anyone advice the brand which will be best suited for this job. is it advisable to chrome plate the valve cover.? with regards, nataraj bahrain the finished portion shud look like the last pics in this link http://www.geocities.com/e36rulz/enginepaint.html

The bmw valve covers are made of aluminum. you can repaint these valve covers using hardware store spray paints without any problem from high temperatures. the valve cover should be removed and degreased with something like gunk.the spray paints will not adhere to any parts with oil or grease contamination. the acorn retaining nuts should also be painted the same aluminum color. you should take the acorn nuts off their studs and insert them onto a piece of cardboard where you can overspray two or three coats of aluminum paint. chromed acorn nuts do not look nice with aluminum color valve covers. do not attempt any underhood painting with spray paint unless eextremelything within 4 feet is carefully masked off. be extremely careful with spray painting things like thermostat housings, coolant hoses, and spark plug wires looms. you can buy 4 mm chrome plated flat washers from many hardware stores for about 5 cents apiece. i think you will need about 30 flat washers for the 2.5 litre engine. nice luck.you can try the engine paints if you like, but they are much more expensive and not any better looking. if you wanted to paint your exhaust manifold, i would suggest the high temperature paints designed for 1000 deg. c. temperatures. some hot rodders use enamal coatings on the exhaust manifolds. bmw exhaust manifolds are extremely hard to see from under hood viewing as they should have asbestos heat shields to protect spark plugs, gaskets, and plug wires from excessive heat.