How to remove rust on inside of valve cover

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

Recently bought a really nice looking powdercoated valve cover and the previous owner failed to mention that the inside had a good amount of surface rust.. There is rust all over the inside of the cover and I was wondering if cleaning it is possible.

I did some preliminary searches regarding this and found some threads about people using steel wool..

 

[phoenix arsenal]

so after 2 trips to autozone, i went back to work.
**compare with prior posted photos**
I used a lot of this stuff, mildest degreaser i could find that foamed(sorry for the unclear photo):

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

cleaned up okay for only 5 bucks:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

got it decently clean. if you're really motivated, invest in a set of small brushes that can really get in there, and I'm sure the harder stuff will bust right out.

NOTE: if anyone is going to do this, make sure you do it in a WELL ventilated area, let it sit for 15-20 mins, rinse off, start lightly scrubbing (i used shop towels since i could not locate my brass brush), rinse again. After its dry, give it a light coat of wd-40 if you wont be installing it for a while such as myself (thanks to knochgoon24 for the wd-40 tip) .

total work time: 45 mins including waiting for the degreaser to work.