Honda GCV160 lawn mower engine burning oil (smoking)

After 8 years of cutting the grass on a 6,000 square foot lot the mower started burning oil all of the time. Originally it would only burn oil on startup and a few seconds later stop. I thought, based on the original diagnosis, it was an intake valve seal leaking. After changing the seal it didn’t solve the problem. I always changed the oil twice a year since new. I was confident the internal parts were well lubricated. Since the mower was in excellent condition I decided to take it apart to find out the cause of the blue smoke.( burning oil) I discovered while everything inside looked perfect there was very light vertical scoring on the cylinder wall, and the piston skirt seemed to have matching lines but a little heavier. You could catch your nail but not very deep. I sanded the skirt with 600 grit wet and dry emery cloth. It removed the sharp edges of the scratches. Deeper scratches are still there. Honing the cylinder worked out very well. It looked perfect with cross hatching. I honed it for 30 seconds, checked, then did 30 more. That was enough to remove all defects. Honda piston rings were installed. Valve seats and valves looked perfect. I decided to lap the them anyway. The engine was all apart so why not. The piston rings were much springier than the originals. I’m pretty sure this was part of the oil burning cause. After reassembly the mower ran perfect with no smoke. This Is the first time I’ve ever disassembled a lawn mower engine. It was much easier than I expected. Take your time and do your research. It’s not that hard. The repair cost was less than 10% of replacing it with the same product. Of course no labour. The satisfaction of the repair was worth the time. Good luck with your project. Thanks. Roger.