Hey Guys,

Previous owner painted over the red valve cover with black paint. What can I use to safely remove the black but leave the red in good shape?

Any tips would be great.

Brady

 

Unfortunately you'll likely not get the black off without damaging the factory Red

Option 1: Trade yours for someone elses
Option 2: Get a Used Valve Cover
Option 3: Sand and repaint red
Option 4: Powdercoat it

 

That's what I assumed, but I had hoped for better news. The paint job isn't very good. Does aircraft stripper work well on the factory red? I'm sure it'll take that black off easily.

 

There is nothing that you can do unfortunately, my friend. Like was stated above, those are your options. You could also use some aircraft stripper to get it to its original aluminum color.

 

Isn't there clear coat over the factory red? If so you can strip as much black off as possible, then lightly sand the areas that don't easily come up and buff any imperfections. I'm pretty sure it's just painted and cleared. I'd use 1500 then 2000 grit and do it by hand gently. Aircraft stripper will most likely ruin the red I wouldn't try that.

 

Good luck with that approach mad scientist. I do not see the possibility to strip down to a certain point and then sand paper the rest without causing any scratches/scrapes to the original color. Why not just have it power coated?

 

You obviously don't work with paint. If you know what your doing you can sand it down to where you can buff it smooth. If you don't approach it like an animal your not going to ruin the base color.

 

Obviously I do not. Good luck and report back with the results.

 

I agree, it's not a Mona Lisa. Just get rid of all the paint and freshen it up, unless you like spending all that extra time and effort for it to look worse than a new layer of powdercoat.

 

What are some of the average prices to powdercoat the valve cover with just basic colors?

 

The time spent trying to strip and sand down to red would be rediculous... It's not hard to strip it down to the alluminum and just paint/powdercoat to whatever color you want.

As for powdercoat... It can vary HIGHLY from one place to another. It all depends on the color you want, and the type of business they do. and how much prep work they have to do.

The biggest ***** about powdercoating is not the spraying, it's the setup/clean-up and waste in the gun. So the initial cost for one item is high, and the rest is lower.

For example if you wanted it powdercoated a standard black, silver, white (playground/industrial colors), then an industrial powdercoater will throw it in with another load he's already doing for $20.

If you go to a custom powdercoater, and he has the powder in stock AND he's doing other items in that color, then it would only be like $40.

If you are going to a custom powdercoater and only doing that one item in that one color, it can be $75 and up depending upon the powder and how many stages he has to do. For example, if it's a metalic base, you almost always have to do a clear over it. If it's a candy color, you have to do a silver base and spray the candy over top.

Now, to reduce costs, you can strip it yourself... HOWEVER... be aware that residual chemicals left in the metal can stain the powdercoat... while it doesn't look it, cast alluminum is poreous, and that stripper will soak into the metal. when you heat the alluminum, these chemicals expand and out-gas staining the powder... Which is why for high end powdercoat jobs they only beadblast the parts, then they pre-bake them and then rinse them down with an alchohol solution to remove any residual chemicals in the metal... Many custom powdercoaters will want to prep the items themselves to ensure the proper base for their work.

If I were sending my work out to someone, and have access to a blast cabinet, I would glass bead the parts myself to get the majority of the paint off, then let him do his magic the way he wants to with futher prep.

 

I usually get my things done pretty cheap locally.

 

Either way you have to get the old paint off and a smooth surface. It's either bead blast or sand, those are your options.

 

Aircraft stripper is probably what ill do when i paint mine, stuff works awesome. Me and buddy used it on a pair of rims he had and it took it right down to the bare metal with ease.

 

I'll probably hit mine with aircraft stripper and then have it powdercoated. I just like the original color and was hoping to save it. Upon further examination, it's missing some of that, too.

Thanks for the advice.