Does anyone know what the correct colors for an 80 L82 for: engine (there seems to be 3 different blues), valve cover (black - glossy? or satin?). Also is there any special tricks to get the valve covers to come out good. I was going to B blast the paint off, clean, paint, sand fins?

I don't know what shade of blue is correct for the engine...someone else may have the answer for that. For the valve covers, they're made of magnesium so make sure the paint you use will stick to that. Bead blasting them should work OK. I would sand the edges of the fins so they're nice and smooth.

When it comes to putting a finish on the covers, first wipe a coat of petroleum jelly or chrome polish on the edge of the fins. Shoot the entire cover with the appropriate paint and when dry, you can just wipe the paint off the fins and they will be nice and shiney and the rest of the covers will be nice and black. I have an NOS L82 valve cover and it looks like gloss black paint to me on it.

Thanks for the reply. I will try that trick on the fins. My guess for the black covers was also gloss, but still not sure on the blue color for the heads.