The stock Ford valve cover (or Cam Covers) are unfinished and look very ugly only to tarnish and look uglier with age. I removed the covers and was going to get them powder coated but for some reason this is very expensive. While others on the forums were getting theirs painted for about $100, in NY it costs over $200 to get them powder coated.
As an option, I decided to paint them for now. If the paint flakes off or does not last, I will order a set from Ford racing.
The toughest part of this job was deciding what color to paint them. I decided to go with a Gold to match the valve covers from the Mustangs of the late 60s. I cleaned the valve covers using Mother's aluminum polish and then primed it with Etching Engine primer. This was followed by 4 coats of gold paint. I attached Ford Racing decals and then gave it 3 coats of Engine clear enamel.
Click here for instructions on how to do this mod
Paint - $24
Ford Racing Decals - $11.60 including shipping
Ordered 12/27/06, installed 1/7/07