Ansen valve covers

[big gear head]

I'm trying to make an old set of Ansen valve covers look good again, but it just isn't working out. After a lot of cleaning, sanding, brushing and polishing they still look bad. I'm thinking of sand blasting them and running them that way. I had a set of these many years ago on my '67 Chevelle SS and I blasted and painted them flat black. They looked pretty good for a kid that didn't have any money. What do you thing about the satin aluminum look for these valve covers? The tunnel ram in this picture was also polished and I had it blasted.