well I want to paint my valve cover but want to change my valve cover gasket, my question is what brand is better Felpro, or apex? Second I found out my 00 civic has headers the 4-2-1 set but it has the stock heat shield and wanted to know if it would affect the temp in the engine bay, if I toke of the heat shield? Thanks, fellaz.

 

I recommend getting a Honda OEM gasket set part# is
12030-P2A-000 GASKET SET, HEAD COVER $28.34 for an EX (D16Y8) #1 in the parts pic
12030-PR3-000 GASKET SET, HEAD COVER $42.51 for an Si (B16A2) #16 in the parts pic


these gasket sets include the sparkplug tube seals and the washer grommets.
With a freshly painted valve cover I would also get new nuts/bolts too for the ones that show.
90013-P2A-000 BOLT A, HEAD COVER $2.42 #12 (EX) 3 req'd
90014-P2A-000 BOLT B, HEAD COVER $3.09 #13 (EX) 2 req'd
90213-PH3-000 NUT, CAP (6MM) $2.38 #26 (Si) 8 req'd (4 for the VCover and 4 for the plug wire cover)

And for the paint I recommend using High-temp brake caliper/drum/rotor paint, or engine paint.
And for the heatshield on the exhaust manifold, you can remove it if you want to (underhood temp will be higher though) but you might want to take off the manifold and paint it since it will be rusty colored.

 

ya for the valve cover gasket just go with new oem one.

and the 421 header is also stock header. its just ugly and doesnt flow so well... a nice 421 header will have seperate tubes and not a single cast iron header like stock.
heat shield doesnt matter to much. if its not rattling i wouldnt touch it.

 

Well I got the gaskets and have a quick question, for the valve screws were does the gasket go inside the valve cover or under the cover?

 

it does inside the cover....when you pull the cover and the old gasket out you can see exactly how it goes.

only thing i would suggest is a touch of silicone on the cam shaft raised lobe corners. that is the notorious spot for leaking oil. it might not be needed BUT its cheap insurance that you wont have a oil leak.