The cladding required a good scrubbing with Laquer Thinner to remove all the shining products...
But I just used a Rustoleum Metalic spray (Aluminum)... and used many coats of clear gloss lacquer (for protection). Being that it is relatively cold (58 deg), I had to use a portable heater (radar dish type) to cook the paint between coats. I used a self-drilling polished-looking set of screws for the top. I tried my best to mimic the design of the VX02 look that many have...
I figured.. well, what good does $300 of fiberglass and paint do against a rock?... not much.
So, why not spend $10 on paints and put my art major to work, have the look I wanted, and save some bucks!
The nice thing is, if I want the real thing later, I can just mount it over the paint.

I'm thinking about doing the rear skid plate next! LOL!