Paul,
I went to the extreme side but only because of my valve covers. My aluminum manifold was the standard frosted finish prone to collecting grease and oil as time goes on. There was a metal polisher near my engine shop. They ground off all the raised lettering and polished it out. The best part is it's so easy to clean and keep the finish up. Here's photos of before & after.
Nick Tiberio
FuryUs63
While I've got my engine dismantled one thing I'd like to do is come up with a better finish for my aluminum intake. Any suggestions for a finish I can apply myself to keep it nice and bright. I would probably need to have it bead blasted first to get the dull finish off of it.
Paul L.