Hot Rods M/T valve cover finish

I'm almost to the point of a restoration of a pair of Mickey Thompson valve covers. They aren't a matched pair......one is bare aluminum, the other is the original black finish. Therein is my dilemma/question. It's definitely not a wrinkle finish, more like a semi gloss black paint that had some type of "grit".......sand or? sprayed on while the paint was still wet. Anyone have any ideas what the original finish is? Where to obtain an aerosol (preferably) of it? The original black one needed some cracks repaired (done) and needs the touch up. The all bare aluminum one had the same issues. It now needs the color treatment. Not wrinkle, I don't think it's the "camera body" finish either. What say ye.

 

I know you can buy the wrinkle finish witch is what I would use. I'd sandblast the valve covers and redo the finish on both so they would match.

 

I have no idea what the original finish is, but I recently used some brush on bed liner from WalMart that sounds very close to the look you are describing.

 

I don't believe I've seen that texture before, only wrinkle paint and plain aluminum, it does sound like the paint on these though.

 

I've had a few sets of MTs and though I haven't seen a finish you're describing, I've had NOS sets with the OE finish from fine to course wrinkle. If it's that important to you, try a few test panels and vary the air/ material temperatures. Mid to higher temps tend to give a coarser finish and cooler (not cold) gives a finer finish similar to what you're looking for.

 

Yes,,,I’ve had some that the paint was really rough to the touch,,,and others that were like normal wrinkle.
Who knows what all happened back then in production,,,different paint suppliers,,,different vendors,,,different engineers trying new things.
Companies are always trying to do cost savings,,,,that is business.
I even had a couple of sets that after I had then for a while,,,the paint near the machined edges would flake off,,,almost not like paint,,,but like a hard plastic .
Like the man said,,,get some test pieces,,,and try different types of paint.
Then you will know after they dry how you like it.

Tommy