What is the best/cheapest way to remove the paint from valve covers and plenum? Mine are chipping away in different spots, and just sanding them by hand is not working. I then pulled out the dremel, and that was a little faster, but still taking forever, and burning through buffing wheels like no other.

Before I just send them off to get powder coated from a forum member, but would like to get these installed this weekend, and have the car up and running. I plan to just paint them myself, but need the old paint to come off.

Thanks,

Ken~

OH OH OH OH OH OH. I know this answer
Aircraft stripper and a wire wheel. Took me 20 minutes.

screw aircraft stripper! buy some permatex gasket remover , i recently went thru this and was reading online that gasket remover takes paint and powdercoat off. guess what it does! just make sure its the aerosol remover not the paint on.

1 its cheaper than aircraft remover
2 works faster and better

Get them nice and hot and hit them with some brake parts cleaner? That's what I use to strip paint most of the time.

Sand (or media) blast is probably the quickest and cleanest way. Find a shop (or friend) with a small booth. They are around.

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Jim Martin
White '86 GT
California

If your going to make some of the places shiny, dont media blast them. Use whatever chemical stripper of choice...stripper, brake fluid, or gasket remover. If you media blast the polished areas, its a real PITA to get them back shiny and smooth. If your going to powder coat or paint the entire cover, blasting is the best to make it stick.

Guess I will stop by advance auto on my way home tomorrow and see if they have what I need. Thanks everyone for the tips.

Thanks,

Ken~

I use 87's method, except I use a brown 3M buffer wheel. It took me more than 20 minutes. It doesn't scuff the polished areas, but I think next time I might try the wire brush. After stripping, I wash them with a good degreaser then white vinegar and let them dry. I prime them with Zinc Chromate and let that dry for 24 hours. Then paint them with high temp engine paint. When it is good and dry, I use a single edge razor blade glass scraper and slice off the paint and primer on the polished surfaces.

Then using a pad sander, I polish out the ribbing where I sliced off the paint and primer. Once it's polished out, I put it into a oreheated oven at 200 degrees and bake for a half hour. The first ones I did this way are now over 2 years old and survived an engine fire when the owner left a towel on the motor. They didn't discolor or peel.

Easiest and best is to take them to a local machine shop and ask them to hot tank them. Shouldn't charge you more than $15-$20 and will look like this with 0 effort