[grommit]

Hello m3the01,alot of good advice there off loads of the guys, and it can be confusing.have a look at my latest post 'Valve cover polishing-time and effort' to give yourself some motivation.
to put things in perspective this is how i tackle Valve covers, there are loads of user tips that others use or may comment,so if i leave them out its because i am trying to not make this a 6,000 word novel
first you will hear CLEAN,CLEAN and MORE CLEAN,if you miss this inbetween grit or compounds you will regret it,
as advised pick your choice of grit and what tools you have available.My first decision was to use my 2" air sander with velcro pads to do as much of the valve cover as possible, some people spend time mixing between sand paper then power tools then back again,if you can use the power tools to get where you want without using the paper its less time using 'elbow grease'.
once CLEANED-pick your first grit and using sanding block start the tedious task of sanding.as i am in the UK my start choice was 320,400 and then 600 wet(water,washing up liquid and my favourite polishing cream)REMEMBER you have to get the previous grit scratches out or it will result in going back to re-do this.At the 600 once CLEANED i was able to take it to the wheel, as the desired look at this stage was not bad i missed out the black on sisal and went for tripoli on sewn.Remember to RAKE your mops and only use mops you have earmarked for certain metals.CLEAN between compounds.
There are a lot of talk on what cleaning materials to use and what is best for what metals, i have kero,brake fluid,but i bought Isopropanol which is great.
as for what tools in the awkward areas i have 3 dremels and a air tool,getting the right attachments is the pain part,flap wheels were great and shank mounted buffs were good, i used the Cratex buffs but they didn't last long.
if above anything PLEASE, PLEASE Clean between grits and compounds. Do not skip between grits and power tools, stick to a set plan and you will reap the rewards in the end.
type in Valve cover etc in the search bar there are a lot of help on the forum which is where i asked my questions and found the answers.
if you make a mistake,take stock,ask or search,the answers are always there.
regards,
brian