I went searching the board recently for the best procedure to restore/repaint finned valve covers. I didn’t find much, so figured this thread might be helpful for someone in the future. I found a set of Edelbrock finned valve covers on an old 430 laying around during spring Carlisle in 2017. The motor had a Mallory ignition, Edelbrock B4B, and these covers. I probably should have bought the entire motor, but only had time to grab the covers and B4B. As you can see in the pics, they had years of dirt and grime built up and faded paint that looked more orange than red. In 2017, I wet sanded them with a 600 grit, followed by 800, 1000, and 1500 before polishing them with a cheap metal compound. Last week, I researched the best way to tape the fins and Edelbrock logo. An old HAMB post revealed most guys prefer to tape the outer fins, then using chapstick to coat the center fins. This worked perfectly. All I had to do was wipe the excess chapstick off and then scratch a little overspray off with my finger nail. You can see in the “all red” picture a small area on a fin I cleaned up before doing the whole cover. I then bought a good polish and ran the unfinished metal across a buffing wheel to reveal the end result. I know a lot of guys choose to have their covers sent off and done professionally. I have 3 hours in these and $35. While they aren’t perfect, they are great for my driver day 2 build. looking forward to hearing how others have done it as well, I will be doing a set for my buddy’s SBC soon.
Nice work! I usually do all the prep and polish, then degrease and paint. After I use a rag, my finger and acetone to clean the fins. Takes longer than the Chapstick method, but I have a chapstick handy for next time.
Nice work, Louie! Not sure if you realize it or not but with that Q-Jet, you may wanna install a choke thermostat. Ask me how I know.....
Thanks Brett- the plan is to run a choke thermostat, I need to figure out what we did with my 70 with an Edelbrock intake
