Best Paint for Valve Covers 2024 [Reviews & Guide]

Not everyone knows that they can paint the valve cover of their cars or other types of vehicles. But, to make your engine bay look marvelous, you can paint your valve covers indeed.

By painting the valve cover of your car or any other vehicle, you can improve your engine. Because valve covers are usually car parts that cover the gasket, which contains oil. That’s why your valve cover gets greasy. While painting it, you need to clean it properly. By doing so, you improve your engine.

But, there are so many brands of paints you can find out there.

How’ll you figure out which is the best paint for valve covers?

I’ve got you covered. In this assortment of spray paints, you’ll find all your answers.

3 Best Paint For Valve Covers Reviews in 2024

1.  VHT Wrinkle Plus Coating Red

Not everyone wants a plane look on their painted surface. Even though most paints deliver a smooth texture, some are known for their unique wrinkled texture. The  VHT Wrinkle Plus Coating spray paint gives you such a wrinkled texture.

Bringing strong colors and a unique wrinkled texture together, this product gives you a custom look for any kind of surface.

When it comes to painting a valve cover, you need heat-protective paint. And this product serves you well in that department. It has the ability to bear heat up to 350 degrees F.

This valve cover wrinkle paint, doesn’t fade easily, resists grease, degreasers, and protects against harsh weather. It’s exceptionally resistant to corrosion, cracking, rusting, and chipping.

To cure appropriately and achieve good adhesion, you need to prep carefully before applying this paint. This multi-high performance paint’s coating contains both paint and primer, which dries within 30 minutes. Proper curing can happen after the engine starts heating up.

Special Benefits:

• Instead of a smooth finish, you get to play with the uniqueness of wrinkled texture
• Dries within 30 minutes
• Superior heat and chemical resistance

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2.  Dupli-Color Universal Gold Engine Paint

Why buy expensive stuff when you can get by with something cheaper? That’s what most of us think. But, if you apply this in real life, in all situations, you might regret it later. Sometimes, overpriced do mean quality. In the case of the following product, which is quite expensive, you can’t argue with the quality.

The main quality that sets the Dupli-Color Universal Gold Engine Paint apart from most other cheaper options for painting your valve cover is the range of temperatures that this paint can endure. It can resist up to 500 degrees F of temperatures, which is quite a high-temperature range.

You won’t probably even need this paint to endure such high temperatures. But, in some cases, you might need it. Like when your engine starts to overheat, this paint will protect all your painted surfaces including your valve cover.

This high temp valve cover paint is made of a highly durable ceramic foundation. You’ll get an astounding high gloss. It’s got an EZ touch nozzle as well.

Special Benefits:

• Rotate at any angle to spray paint
• Your engine may burn up, but the paint will stay the same
• Get a high gloss finish with this paint

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3.  Rust-Oleum Automotive High Heat Primer Spray Paint

If you want to paint your valve cover, you need an excellent heat-resistant paint. I bring forth to you the holy grail of heat resistance. Rust-Oleum Automotive High Heat Primer Spray Paint can resist so much heat that it’ll blow your mind. This bad boy can withstand temperatures up to 2000 degrees F, which is completely unheard of.

This flat finish paint saves you money as it’s both a primer and a paint that can be used on all kinds of metal surfaces. Use it on mufflers, engine blocks, head pipes, valve covers, automotive, and more. This oil-based paint is great for trucks, cars, and other vehicles.

Heat isn’t the only thing it can resist, as it’ll resist rust as well. You can paint about 12 sq ft of a surface with this product. Not only does it dry within 30 minutes, but you can also use a top coat within an hour.

Special Benefits:

• Set fire to this paint coat, and nothing will happen to it
• Takes 30 minutes to dry
• Use it for years and years facing no rust

Check Here For Details

Next Read: Paint For Brake Caliper

How to Paint a Valve Cover

Painting a car’s valve cover is an overlooked art. And it’s also good for your vehicle. Most people don’t even think of doing it. But, if you’re up for it, you need to follow some basic instructions. I’ll usher you through this process with 3 easy steps.

Things You’ll Need to Get Started:

• Sandpaper
• Metal brush
• Plastic storage box
• Primer
• Paint
• Decals
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Paint stripper

Step 1: Learn About Your Car’s Valve cover

This step is relatively simple and yet not the same for all cars. Different cars have different valve cover installment processes. It all depends on the vehicle. Gather more knowledge about your vehicle and how to safely remove your car’s valve cover to paint it.

Step 2: Remove Your Valve Cover

If your car’s valve cover has spark plug holes, then put labels on each of the spark plug wires before pulling them out of your valve cover, or else you’ll forget which one goes where. Then simply remove the valve cover of your vehicle.

Step 3: Preparations

To get any rusting, old paint off your car’s valve cover, you can use a paint stripper, sandpaper, or both. Don’t forget to remove any plastic if there’s any.

Spray on paint stripper and wait for a few minutes before using a metal wire brush to take off the bubbled up paint. If there’s still paint left, use sandpaper to take the rest off. Clean with soapy water and let it dry. Attach decals now and use masking tape to cover places where you don’t want paint on.

Step 4: Clean Your Valve

You need to clean all the grease and oil from the valve cover entirely, or the paint won’t stick to the surface. Use isopropyl alcohol to clean thoroughly.

Step 5: Use Primer

Spray primer on the clean surface and wait a few minutes before the next coat. Do two more coats. Use a plastic storage box to cover your valve cover after spraying each coat so that no dust can ruin the coats.

Step 6: Paint the Valve Cover

This is the part for which you’ve been waiting. Doing the paint job! It’s the easiest yet the trickiest part. You don’t need to be a professional to do a good paint job. But, you do need a particular set of skills that you can acquire through practice.

Spray painting isn’t as easy as it sounds. You don’t just press on the nozzle and get paint all over your valve cover. I recommend that you do a little practice on other useless surfaces before moving on to actually painting your valve cover.

Always use high temperature-resistant paint. Start with spraying off the valve cover, moving across to the end. Keep overlapping the color. Spray onto the whole valve cover from the same height, or you won’t get the same effect on the entire surface.

Don’t spray too slow or even too fast. If you spray too fast, you’ll get very light coverage. And, if you spray too slowly, you’ll get too much paint on. Find the sweet spot and stick to it.

Spray light coats from all angles to get the best result. Do 3 coats, and don’t forget to use the storage box to cover the valve cover between each coat. Let each coat dry for 10 minutes before moving on to the next one.

When you’re done with the final coat, wait 10 minutes and start taking off your decals.

Step 7: Use Top Coat

After the paint dries completely, finish off with another 3 light clear coats with 10 minutes of drying time in between. Make the last coat thicker. And you’re done.

FAQs on Paint for Valve Covers

1. Can you paint plastic valve covers?

Yes, you can actually paint plastic valve covers. But, it’s going to be very tricky because plastic doesn’t have a porous surface, which means paint won’t easily stick on plastic.

Unlike most vehicles, some host plastic valve covers. If you want to paint them, you’ll need to do a lot of research. There are some primers out there that can help paint to stick on plastic. Find and use those primers, and paint on your plastic valve cover.

2. What kind of paint to use on valve cover?

You can use regular spray paint on your valve cover, but it’ll wear off very easily because of the heat produced by your engine. That’s why spraying on engine enamel is the best option, as it contains ingredients that protect against high temperatures. You can also powder coat it.

Take off the old paint by using a paint stripper, and then apply a few coats of primer on your valve cover so that the engine enamel can stick well to the surface of the valve cover. Then use a few coats of this high temperature-resistant engine enamel to deposit color on your valve cover.

3. Can I use engine enamel paint on my valve covers?

Yes, absolutely!

Engine enamel is explicitly made for the parts under your car’s hood. As we all know, engines can get really hot.

Engine enamels are highly heat-resistant. If you plan on painting a valve cover that will keep getting hot every time you use your car, you need paint that will protect the paint itself from wearing off because of heat.

Final Words

Colorful visuals are soothing to our eyes. When you buy a car, you want the color of it to be perfect. But, you probably only find the outer parts of your vehicle to be colored. What about what’s under the hood? It looks so bland! Most people don’t like that and opt to paint the valve cover of the car.

The valve cover is a cover for the gaskets of a car that helps to keep the oil inside. That’s why it’ll get oily and greasy. But, if you paint it with the right product, it’ll look great and help keep some grease off.

If you’re convinced about painting your valve cover, and you’re in search of the best paint for valve covers, you’ve come to the right place.

I think you already agree with my list of products. Don’t waste any more of your time and get on with buying the right paint for you.