When I refinished my own valve cover I picked up an M10 VC that I had sitting around for some time and did the same to it. It was a little more challenging as there were more details on it and the details are not all on the same plane. But it came out great.
I clean the VC completely and remove any oxidation. I actually prefer the casting texture to carry through rather than sanding the large flat sections smooth. I base coat with VHT flat black, while the pant is still soft I hand file the raised sections to a perdy' fresh cut appearance, and then I clear with VHT clear. I also do not get paint on the oil cap or breather hose sealing surface as I have ran into issues with oil seeping through painted sealing surfaces. So if anyone wants it for $60 shipped to the lower 48 I'll let it go (and I'll clean the paint off the gasket surface). If not it will continue to adorn my work wall.
