after spray painting my valve cover with the first two coats of duplicolor gloss black, the paint just looks like dust particles...not even glossy.

This is after I sanded it, cleaned it, use grease/wax remover, wiped it, and primer'd it. What could I be doing wrong?

 

If it looks kinda of bumpy and dry, which Ive experienced before, I think its because the paint was not shaken enough, and there was too much distance between your can and the valve cover. When doing a valve cover, I just strip it down, clean it, prime it, a shot of flat black (thin), a shot of gloss black (thin) -let dry, wet sand imperfections, once dry I do a nice medium wet coat of gloss, wetsand one more time with 2000 grit, clean with a damp rag, and do like 3 medium coats of clear with a long wait time inbetween each coat. (Not sure I would use Duplicolor clear though, it seems to be really thin, but if you already have it, use it.)

 

I'm trying to paint my valve cover also....what type of spray paint should i use?

 

thanks for the helpful info. I think I'm just spraying too far.