If you decide to paint it to match your body or whatever, it is really not that big of a process. You just use tons of wax and grease remover on several different rags, to get all the oil and dirt off, then you can grind whatever smoothness you desire into the block with an air angle grinder. Some guys just knock off the casting flash, and some make the engine look like a bar of soap. Then you dewax some more, shoot several light-medium coats of epoxy primer on, and then topcoat it with a few more coats of your favorite color.

I did the engine in my '27 17 years ago, and the engine was still presentable when I tore it down for it's rebuild 7 years ago. The paint held up really well.

Don