I feel so ashamed now.

 

I just like it. It wasn't exactly the color I was going for, but I like the way it turned out and it looks good with the silver.

 

me like.

 

That looks just like a vacuum hose. You should be able to graft it back together. Did you have to prep the aluminum with anything special to get the paint to stick? I like the blue, I'm red/green colorblind so blue is the best.

 

Only thing you need to do to aluminum (especially on engine parts) is clean it like crazy - degreaser followed by soap/water, and a thorough drying, then scuff it up with fine sandpaper (400-600 grit is good) to allow the paint to stick, and then wipe it down with alcohol right before you paint. You can also put your spray cans into a bucket of hot water for a bit before using them, as it will help the paint atomize more finely for a smoother finish.

I'd say the results speak for themselves - the covers look great

 

I was under the impression that aluminum had to be chemically etched.

 

Nope, at least not in my experience. Chemical etching might've come into play if the aluminum was coated, but in any event sanding should remove that, so don't sweat it at all - just follow those steps and you should be fine when you paint.

 

I used a degreaser, a wire brush, a stiff rubber sanding block, a small screw driver to pick the goo out of the crevices, and dish soap.. Like Jeremy said, I cleaned them really well and then got the surface nice and rough with the sanding block. The paint seems pretty durable and it withstood getting banged around during the reinstallation and didn't bubble or crack when I drove it last night.

 

Looks good.

Rubber gloves are for brakes lines. Cloth mechanix gloves are where it's at.

For the vacuum lines, just make sure you didn't break the one going to your fuel pressure regulator and you'll be fine. Get them replaced as soon as possible, but no need worry about it exploding.

 

I wouldn't know. I think it's the only one coming out of the top of the EVAP canister. The car drove okay last night, but I'll probably look into it on Monday.