Paul and list,
On your valve cover, I recommend buffing rather than painting. It's
kind of like hiding nice wood grain under white paint. buffed aluminum
looks great! why hide that under paint. however, buffing it out is
either money or lots of time. don't know how much it would cost, but
there are plenty of metal finishing places around. check with a harley
shop.They should know of a place to buff your cover.
As far as doing it yourself it is lots of elbow grease. Putting a
polish on anything, metal,wood,lacquer, etc. Is a process of removing
irregularities on the surface by sanding and other abrasives. you are
removing the scratches and other blemishes by sanding with finer and
finer abrasives untill the scratches are no longer visible to the naked
eye.
What gives anything its shine is a smooth surface that will reflect
light evenly . If you look at an orange, no matter how much you polish
it, will never shine as much as an apple. hence the term orange peel.
so, if you want to do it be prepared to sand , A Lot .
I have about 4 hours into a 1600 valve cover and I have the tools,
experience, and a big buffer. I'm still not done. I enjoy it, but if
you just want it done take it to someone, can't cost too much. But
please, don't paint what could be buffed aluminum.
Hope that answers your question.
Roman Rist , guitar builder (have buffed hundreds of finishes) and
roadster lunatic
66 1600, 67.5 1600, 68 2000, 70 1600
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