Hi all,

I would like to make my engine looks better and I am thinking of repainting my valve covers myself. I have never done something like this before and don't want to mess it up.

Do you guys have any advice?

What is the exact blue color I need to use to keep it original? What kind of finish should I use? Is it a sandpaper->finish->paint process?

Thanks a lot!

Here is a picture before I start any work:

 

you should get a new set of valve covers and air cleaner, that will make it look a lot better

 

if you really want to keep the old ones i would powder coat them.

 

Beadblasting would be the fastest way. Automotive paint stripper or sandpaper to get the loose paint off.Then use warm soapy water and lacquer thinner to clean the oil off. You can buy Ford blue paint at autoparts stores. Don't try to cover in one coat and air temp is a factor too! Or like he said, buy some nice chrome valve covers and breather. I would replace the valve cover gaskets before you put them back on. Need to repaint the bolts too!

 

Yes you can re-condition the Old Valve covers to look new again, and even update them a bit while at it, here is an example from what I did to the 289 going inthe '66, although the engine is painted up to match the color of what the car will be, you can use Blue as well and Highlite the letters in another color,

 

Unless yoiu want to keep everything original I would spend the BIG $39.00 and get a re pop of the original. It will save you time and money it they will look better then your first attempt at doing it.
But hey we all need to learn and get mad and swear a little so go for it!

 

Mine were bad enough it took a wire wheel to get some of the rust off. I also cleaned the accumulated gunk out of the inside. After that I sanded to remove the marks the wheel left (they will show when you paint). You can get heat resistantprimer and original Ford blue from a number of places - retail or the web. Cover your exposed rockers while the covers are are off. I used a couple of clean shop towels. If you repaint, the hardest part may be scraping off all of the old gasket. You have to get it all off. When you reinstall you don't need to use gasket sealer but you may want to anyway, otherwise it is hard to keep the gaskets lined up. Just use a little sealer to keep them in place.
I can't tell from the photo but if the engine is open emissions it will be harder to get the passenger side cover off. On an open emissions engine (like mine) there is a tube coming up out of the top of the passenger side cover which runs down under the car. That tube is bolted at the back of the engine and down by the transmission. Getting mine off was not too bad. Getting it back on took a while.
If you try painting and don't like the results you can always buy replacements. I am staying original, otherwise I would have just replaced them.

 

Replacing head gaskets 4.6 L