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Finally have some pics to compare. Tried to get pics in different lighting conditions like natural light vs fluorescent light vs low light to get a good comparison. First pic is oem color before powder.
Hell yeah, I like that. Looks pretty close. Certainly has more depth to it than most of the clapped original valve covers still rolling around. Would love to see it side by side with OE but hey i'd still probably choose that one above other if I was trying to color match OE right now.
I painted a bumper on a Ford Explorer once- the customer brought me a quart of paint. I noticed it is exactly the same as my evo 9 valve cover factory paint.
If anyone needs paint, I have something very close. It's not spraycan paint... its real-deal dupont paint in a can. Same thing you would use at a collision shop.
Hell yeah, I like that. Looks pretty close. Certainly has more depth to it than most of the clapped original valve covers still rolling around. Would love to see it side by side with OE but hey i'd still probably choose that one above other if I was trying to color match OE right now.
My used cover is not the best comparison since the more red tones are faded and dull making it look much more maroon-ish like the pic I posted. In person, the sample color matched about 95% with direct sun light shining through the dullness. Brand new covers have brighter red tones in direct light and have more depth, they match even better to what I coated mine with. I still think the oem PRH paint would be a perfect match.
Update - Almost 2 years and 3,953 miles later. The orange hue is more pronounced than ever especially under the bright LEDs in the garage, and the paint has actually started to bubble and flake. You have to look closely but i'm sure it's going to continue to degrade and eventually look terrible. I'll be looking into powdercoating using some of the posts above for color guidance (thank you) in an attempt to achieve that factory look.
Because I'm not really modding this car much these days and mostly just trying to enjoy driving it, little projects like this are a great outlet. I have another, spare valve cover that I'm going to run the next experiment on.... Something more wild this time.
Update - Almost 2 years and 3,953 miles later. The orange hue is more pronounced than ever especially under the bright LEDs in the garage, and the paint has actually started to bubble and flake. You have to look closely but i'm sure it's going to continue to degrade and eventually look terrible. I'll be looking into powdercoating using some of the posts above for color guidance (thank you) in an attempt to achieve that factory look.
Because I'm not really modding this car much these days and mostly just trying to enjoy driving it, little projects like this are a great outlet. I have another, spare valve cover that I'm going to run the next experiment on.... Something more wild this time.
I know that you are looking at recreating the stock color and that's great but if you want to do something more wild, I had mine hydrodipped about 10k miles ago. We used a high temp primer under and a high temp clear on top and it looks exactly the same 10k miles later.
I was worried that the hydrodip paint would bubble off the primer but it is holding up really well.
Here is a picture right after it was done but it looks identical today.
I know that you are looking at recreating the stock color and that's great but if you want to do something more wild, I had mine hydrodipped about 10k miles ago. We used a high temp primer under and a high temp clear on top and it looks exactly the same 10k miles later.
I was worried that the hydrodip paint would bubble off the primer but it is holding up really well.
Here is a picture right after it was done but it looks identical today.
That looks rad! Never seen something like that before.
That Ford/Mazda red paint code looks closest to factory. I just had my vc powdercoated some two stage ruby color by Bonehead Performance. I'll grab some pics.
I know that you are looking at recreating the stock color and that's great but if you want to do something more wild, I had mine hydrodipped about 10k miles ago. We used a high temp primer under and a high temp clear on top and it looks exactly the same 10k miles later.
I was worried that the hydrodip paint would bubble off the primer but it is holding up really well.
Here is a picture right after it was done but it looks identical today.
Yup that's wild. Ive seen some hydrodip stuff- but thats insane. Glad to hear its holding up.
That looks rad! Never seen something like that before.
That Ford/Mazda red paint code looks closest to factory. I just had my vc powdercoated some two stage ruby color by Bonehead Performance. I'll grab some pics.
Originally Posted by Apex Hunter
Yup that's wild. Ive seen some hydrodip stuff- but thats insane. Glad to hear its holding up.
Thanks! It turned out really good. I even did the dash trim piece that runs the length of the dash to match as well.
