I powder coat on the side. The super chromes and all look ok but like others said have no UV protection so if its going to see daylight it'll turn over time. the UV stuff looks like gloss metallic silver. We've been doing some ceramic here recently and that stuff looks much much better than powder.
I had the dual four intake powder coated for my Buick and wish I had spent that money on some thing else. Looks like about the same finish as a rattle can job.
I had a vintage, gutted, Elvis style microphone sort of rough in the finish department. I found a local guy to powder coat it. (I had a customer who wanted to make a unique tail light for his motorcycle.) As I recall, there were at least 3 different silver-ish colors, from titanium-ish (dark) to bright. I agree with the above comments that they didn't look like chrome. But with one eye shut, at 40 miles an hour, on horseback, in the moonlight, they did look like cast and polished alloy. So what's wrong with that? In my personal hierarchy of valve covers, cast 'n' polished beats chrome stamped steel any day. If you are expecting the power coat to look like chrome and have your brain locked down, you will be disappointed. But if you are open to the idea of polished alloy look, you might not be. ............my 2 pesos.
I found a single-stage chrome replica powder a couple years ago that customers love and I'm pretty happy with. It's the closest replica to chrome I've ever seen or used. It does not require the previously-necessary top coat to provide UV stability like its predecessors. It has decent reflective properties and looks even more chromey with a black basecoat (not used on the Weiands shown). This is a quick walk-around of some old Edelbrocks; the powder was still new to my arsenal then but it shows how well it catches the light. I used it on the ribs and as the base for the candy red lettering.
Please; it has it's place; once you realize it's not a replacement, but another alternative surface, it makes a lot of sense..
As shown - chrome powder doesnt compare to chrome. If you use it everywhere( dont put it next to chrome) it is a good coating that comes out "shinish". Powder type and coater experience really come into play. Id chrome the valve covers. $140 is a great price if that includes stripping, their process may not be copper/nickel/chromium. Make sure youre happy with the finish on other stuff they put out.
I used Jethot on several sets of Harley exhaust pipes...tho its not chrome, its pretty close, AND, it never discolors like chrome does...lasted well and cost about $150 for a set of shotgun style exhaust pipes.
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