Mopar Performance Rocker Covers Paint Finish

[RRChris]

Looking at refinishing my alloy Mopar Performance rocker covers. Are they finished in wrinkle black, or is it simply matt black?

 

[Wietse]

Mine seem to have a sort of wrinkle coating, not too much structure though.
Thing with them is that it seems the coating is getting loose at the edges of the unpainted top parts.
Maybe something to consider if you are redoing them is to paint them completely and add another colour on the ribs and logo.

 

[Kern Dog]

Mine are a rough finish, not quite wrinkled but textured, the air cleaner lid is the same.

 

[RRChris]

Yeah, I agree the finish seems to have a texture but I wouldn’t call it wrinkle finish. I was wondering if what we are seeing is the casting finish / texture through the paint?
Good idea regarding painting over the logo etc a different colour.
My finish is wearing off on the curves.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

If you want to make them look similar to wrinkle, VHT wrinkle black looks great. Just be careful and clean them well before laying the paint to them.
Here are some chrome edelbrocks I did with VHT wrinkle.

 

[Fran Blacker]

What about @CudaChick1968 ?

 

[slepr1]

Another alternative is to see if your local powder coating shop can powder coat them in whatever finish you'd like or match what you have. I had a rusty top lid from a chrome air cleaner powder coated black wrinkle and it came out perfect and cost me $20.

You can later sand off the the raised parts of the MP covers if you want to expose the raw metal.

 

[beanhead]

Textured black BBQ paint from your local hardware store. I would think if you don't grind off the original texture, you could just clean/prep and use a matte black. I know when I painted my dash, the Herb's rattle can covered but still let the texture show through, since I was painting over the original finish. Just don't go with a bunch of heavy coats..

 

[CudaChick1968]

The factory black is an excessively thick paint used to cover dozens of defects in the castings. (Even heavy duty commercial chemical stripper doesn't remove it all.) Big block versions are markedly worse castings than the small block covers.

Spend the extra bucks for a polished set, especially if you plan to customize them. You'll save yourself hours of deburring and metal cleanup.

If you need ideas check out my website. Custom valve covers are one of my main specialties.

If you do them yourself with sanding of the rib tops and logos, keep in mind that now-bare aluminum is going to oxidize over time if it isn't protected with something.

 

[RRChris]

Thanks for people’s responses. Some really good ideas here. I like the above colour schemes and thinking a black texture (not wrinkle - my air cleaner lid is black wrinkle and I think it would be too much on the valve covers) or black semigloss with the ribs / logo highlighted in Hemi orange would really suit.
Again, appreciate all the ideas.

 

[CudaChick1968]

This might help you visualize your idea ...