Because the lines on your derby is all f****ed up. You can of course grind it all down so all the lines are round, but why bother when you can get a new cover for cheap...

You cant get powder coat in wrinkled texture, or I havent seen it before. Sand it down till its flat and sanding to bare metal is not necessary. Use a rattle can of VHT wrinkle black and it should be bueno! If you dont like or cant get VHT, Harley dealers do sell the original wrinkle black. I only have experience with VHT. I used it on the rocker box covers. I sandblasted the surface and sprayed it on. It wrinkled after about 10-15 minutes. Air dried over night and baked them with a heat gun. Didnt care to put them in the oven.

FYI derby cover from all twin cam from 99-17 should fit! That means dyna, softail and touring. If im not wrong, I even think derby cover from M8 should also fit...? Easy to find and cheap. Good luck

 

That ****er looks like ****!

 

Wrinkle powder coat definitely exists, my coating shop offers it. It's actually very nice, but it probably won't match the factory wrinkle and may look off if both finishes are right next to each other.

 

They definitely make wrinkle PC. I've had a bunch of motor parts done in that.. The cover looks more textured than wrinkle. IIRC HD uses textured black PC on engine cases and inner primaries.. HD makes a textured black paint that looks exactly like the textured black PC. Used it to cover some hacking on an inner primary and only covered the cut area. 10 years later and you still can't see where the work was done.

 

I think that you are right. It does not look as wrinkled as true wrinkle paint.

 

On my sporty 48 I blacked out the motor (derby, points and rocker covers) with truck bed paint in a rattle can. Lasted 2 years then sold it, but no bubbling while I had it and my guess is still looking good, and matched the motor flawlessly. Cheap easy solution

 

I know this is an old thread, but did you ever repair it? How did it turn out and what did you do?

 

You may want to PM the guy directly to get his attention.

 

I powder coated several parts on my Low Rider, wrinkle black. It came out so close to the factory wrinkle black that I was very satisfied.