Been quite a whilesince I updated this thread. Stuck at home, working days and off days, I am doing some repairs and minor mods.
Needed to replace leaking valve cover gasket, a spark plug hole casket, and a gasket for the cover's bolts. So, I am checking valve lash and cleaning the lifters a little.
But also, I am modding the cover itself slightly. First I cleaned it thoroughly of dirt, grease, and stains. Then I filed off burrs left from the casting of the aluminum back in 1998. Then I sanded the "Honda" name thoroughly so it will stand out. I'm letting mild stains and the oxidized, darker color of the cover remain the way it is...
The "mod" is going to be a coating of the cover to raise its emisivity to 0.95 if possible. The raw aluminum is probably 0.40 or a little better. Paint is a possibility, but I am leaning toward a thin layer of boiled linseed oil becuase I have the stuff and it is easily reversible. It could be just as effective as even black paint. And it retains the reflectance of the aluminum, which is better than black paint.
This is a tiny cooling gain through thermal radiation. TINY!
What think you? Pretty clean, huh? It was really grimy.
