Who offers the best paint - for use on Hemi valve covers?

Have them powder coated in black wrinkle, you'll be glad you did

Powder coating is a valid option if they are perfect, however every flaw in the metal will show if they have any. If repairs have been made and any kind of filler has been used powder coating is a bad idea. Also, powder coating looks nice/even but does not look O.E. correct so if that matters in your case I'd advise against it. Paint brand is less important than prep and application of the paint
Start with CLEAN bare metal, no primer, and warm the covers in an oven or sunlight (not hot, just warm, 100-120F or so is plenty). Shake cans for several minutes (have at least 3-4 cans handy for a pair) apply first coat evenly and fairly heavy, its a tightrope as its easy to get runs and sags so go easy (I'd buy a spare can to practice on a junk cover first). Wait 10 full minutes and add a second coat, wait another 10 minutes and add a 3rd coat, all as even and as heavy as you dare short of runs or sags (sags can take a while to show so you really need to be careful). Once coated let them dry for several days before handling as the paint stays gummy longer than you might think and can mark easily so dont let them rest against anything. Originals usually has some small runs and sags so dont worry if you get a few small ones. If they sag or run a bunch, more paint wont fix the issue, you'll need to strip them and start over. .02

Thanks for the info, the covers are currently painted Race Hemi Orange and are in perfect condition - metal wise. No repairs, dents, etc.

Thats good, now you have choices.

The VHT High Temp Wrinkle Paint & some heat lamps & a hair dryer worked great on my covers. The second picture is about the best picture I have of them close up. These used to be chrome like polished covers before I painted them.

👍👍. Very nice

I used VHT wrinkle paint on my 71 Cuda 340 air cleaner and followed their directions from the website. My recollection is that it is more or less in line with the procedure Scott Smith outlined above with one notable difference, I put them in an oven after painting to accelerate the wrinkle effect. In my opinion this is how I got it to look so uniform. I have done other pieces in the past using a heat gun to kick or just letting sit and you end up with runs or unevenness, as Scott stated this is how the parts looked from the factory.

If you have access to an oven where you are not going to anger anyone with the fumes, I highly recommend baking after painting. Just plan out you strategy in advance as you may not be able to close the door all the way.

Mike Afflerbach

Air cleaner came out looking great

Awesome finish on the lid. What temperature did you use with the oven, same temps Scott uses?

I think I would use my BBQ outside - my wife is still ticked about opening the dishwasher quite a while back to see my 6bbl intake inside.

The directions on the website say to do 200 F at 20 minutes. I'm pretty sure that is the temperature I set the oven at, obviously since the door had to be cracked it was not all that uniform. I watched until the first half was pretty wrinkled and rotated. Not sure how much total time, I looked more at the texture.

Prep was bead blast and clean, no primer. I did preheat for a couple minutes in the oven, surface temperature was probably in the neighborhood of 100 F.

I put all the paint on prior to baking, probably 4-5 coats taking care not to run. I think there is about 1/2-3/4 of a can on the top and bottom of this air cleaner.

I was lucky and it came out like this on first shot, I had used wrinkle paint in past so I had a feel of what was needed.

Mike Afflerbach

Thanks for the info.

About 150 degrees. Then paint with wrinkle a thin coat. Back in oven for 10 min. Then a couple more coats. The light coats will give extremely even wrinkle. Finally bake at 350 for 45min to 1 hour.

Very durable. Way more durable than any spray can paint at room temperature. I'd say 60% to 75% as durable between regular spray can and powder coating.

The run in and buildup on the valve cover was because I put too much paint on it to start and higher heat. The air cleaner lid was with the light coat method with less heat. The air cleaner was 100% better.

Heat is very very important, so it the 10 minutes between coats. If you are painting outside in MI you may want to wait till summer. 50 degree day is a sure fail even with the oven. Paint one cover at a time, they are large and you will run out of time for the next coat, 11 minutes doesn't work.

I did my painting outside on a 95 degree day, it came out great. I prepped my work and used DP90LF as a basecoat over the bodywork and it worked just fine. Quality product that has dried for 2 days not rattle can junk.

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I think I would use my BBQ outside - my wife is still ticked about opening the dishwasher quite a while back to see my 6bbl intake inside. [/quote]

Good point.


I have a powder coat guy near me - his building is like 90 degrees all the time - maybe I can do it over there.

A buddy of mine was doing his air cleaner. As meticulous as he was, he was not getting consistant results with the available rattle can stuff. He was at the Harley dealer getting some parts and was talking to the counterman who recommended the HD black wrinkle paint that they use on engine cases/heads. It was more expensive, but the whole breather came out perfect on the first try. He is hooked on it.

Good tip on the HD paint.

I've had good luck with the HD paint also.

That reminds me I did the oven thing when I was 17 years old my mom was mad as hell.
I did some manifolds with high heat VHT while my wif e was not home then baked some cookies to make sure it smelled ok before she got home. I did learn from my mistakes.