Re: Repainting the cover!
Repair all nicks and gouges with filler then rough sand with about 100 grit. prime with a good sandable primer and after it dries, fill and small imperfections that show with spot filler. Sand with about 200 and re-prime. It will start looking pretty god now, but the color coat will make any imperfections look like mountains. SO: sand with about 400 wet or dry and spray the first coat. Let dry and spot fill imperfections. Now it is time to mask and apply contrasting color coats and accents. Sand with 600 wet and put on a couple more coats. NOW you have the option of spraying on a clear coat (not factory) or you can spray a light coat of straight solvent/thinner to glaze the surface.
Depending upon how serious you are, I believe Dove White (I forget, either Krylon or Dupli-Color) would closely match the base while you may be able to come close to the gold with Dupli-Color rattle cans.
If you are real serious, bring the cover into an auto paint store before doing any work and try to match any least faded paint.
