I bought Motion Raceworks LT valve covers. I originally tried a self-etching primer and then paint (over the existing black), but that didn't work well. I could tell the letters would peel off over time. I had to sand off the black adonized finish and repaint the entire valve covers.
Valve covers can get warm (200F+), so you'll need to use high temp paint. I went with VHT. It's the same paint I used on my transmission.
https://www.vhtpaint.comI first sprayed them black. 2 light coats + 1 medium coat...15 min between coats. You have to paint each layer within 1 hour or wait 7 days. Because I was applying a stencil, I had to wait the 7 days after applying the 3rd/last coat.
I used my wife's Cricut to create a stencil. It's very easy.
First install the fonts on your computer:
- Ultima font: Rockwell (Bold Italic)
- RS font: Brush Script MT Italic
I printed them on "Cricut Premium Vinyl Removable White". This was strong enough, didn't bleed paint and removed easily. You'll also need "Clear Vinyl Transfer Paper" to apply the template to the valve covers.
Next I sprayed the gray and orange. This is a bit tricky as you need to create a barrier between "Ultima" and "RS". I used aluminum sheets as it was easy to tape down and shape. I would also cover one side as I painted the other side...and wait 2 min for the paint to settle from the spray...and then paint the other side. Same as black: 2 light coats + 1 medium coat...15 min between coats.
After spraying the last coat of gray and orange, wait 1-2 min and then quickly remove the vinyl. The results are much better if the paint "wet". If you wait too long, the paint becomes tacky and "pulls/webs" as you remove the vinyl. Be sure to roll/peel the vinyl away and not pull it...it'll be much cleaner.
You'll need to start the clearcoat 15-60 min from the last coat of gray/orange. Removing the vinyl takes 5-10 min so it'll probably be time to clearcoat when you're done. I did touch up the lettering very little where i saw imperfections. A small pick or toothpick is good for this. For the clearcoat, same as before: 2 light coats + 1 medium coat...15 min between coats. You'll notice the first 2 layers are rough/textured. Professionals would wet sand these coats, but I wasn't confident about doing that. Instead, for the last coat of clearcoat, I first sprayed the sides/perimeter a medium amount, and then spray a good amount to the top/face where the logo is. With the right lighting, you can see when the coat goes from rough/textured to glossy. But be careful...too much will cause pooling. I didn't touch them for 3 days and then installed them even though they're safe to touch within 3 hours.
- Installation is super easy. On each valve cover, there is 1 bolt on each side that is very difficult to access. I had a compact 10mm joint socket that helped a ton. I highly recommend getting one as you'll need to torque the bolts properly.
- I did need to build new AN-10 connections to my catch can as the new valve covers only had 1 breather each and the location of the breather changed too. Super easy though.