Paint remover

[Robroy]

Somebody has done a bad job repainting my valve covers, they got thick layers of paint that has cracked here and there .
So I intend to repaint them and was thinking about if there’s any chemical way of getting the old paint of?

Any ideas…

[gr_speedy]

There is automotive paint stripper. Put it on let it work and the paint peels almost by itself. Warning: that stuff smells like a herd of cows took a dump. Otherwise sanding or if you have access, sandblast them, you can use regular bird sand since you'll have to apply the coat thick.

[Robroy]

I was at a huge store yesterday that carries all kind of tools and parts for working with cars. The closest I got to a product like this was rust remover which just might do the job if I get all loose paint off first.
Was thinking if brake fluid would work? They use to say that to spill the stuff on the paint would make it lift, but that was in the late 70’s and the brake fluid might be a bit more environment friendly now days ….
Anyway, I was just curious if you other guys had an ace up your sleeve in this subject..

And yes, I have sandblasting equipment, was just hopping for a more convenient method in this case…

[gr_speedy]

I have done the paint stripper thing and honestly i preffer the sand blasting part if its for small individual parts and not whole body panels. BTW if you still want...... the same company that makes POR 15 also offers paint stripper.

[73 Centurion]

Do NOT use brake fluid to strip paint. It can absorb into the metal and unless it's removed it will ruin any future coatings of paint.

If you intend to use any chemical paint remover make sure it's completely removed from the gasket surface or it might react with the gasket.

Valve covers are fairly small and flat. 80 grit sandpaper should remove any existing paint quickly. Once the paint is gone go over the surface with 180 grit, clean thoroughly and paint.

John.

[Robroy]

I hear what you guys say and I think I stick to good ol sandpaper...

Thanks for sharing your experience on the subject

[The German]

Per, I recommend to use a hot air blower. You can buy such a blower for 10-15 Euro in a normal super market or in a building parts superstore. The hot air stream weakens the paint and you can scratch it away easily. This method works without chemicals and is much faster than other methods also ! Perhaps one of your friends or neighbours has such a blower because its often needed to get away old paint on wood too, so it wouldn´t be necessary to invest money.

[Robroy]

Per, I recommend to use a hot air blower. You can buy such a blower for 10-15 Euro in a normal super market or in a building parts superstore. The hot air stream weakens the paint and you can scratch it away easily. This method works without chemicals and is much faster than other methods also ! Perhaps one of your friends or neighbours has such a blower because its often needed to get away old paint on wood too, so it wouldn´t be necessary to invest money.

That might just work too…
I’ll see if I can lend or buy one to test

Thanks Rolf!

[Sweepspear]

A wire wheel on a bench top grinder will work also.

[Robroy]

With the Eastern holiday coming up (four days off… ) I hope to get some work done out in the garage in at least one of them, hopefully two…
Plan to power wash the engine if the weather is good, do an oil change and then move on to repainting the valve covers among other things on the list

[Robroy]

With the Eastern holiday coming up (four days off… ) I hope to get some work done out in the garage in at least one of them, hopefully two…
Plan to power wash the engine if the weather is good, do an oil change and then move on to repainting the valve covers among other things on the list

uhrg… the winter we were suppose to have some months ago decided to show up to the Easter holiday .
With salty roads and snowing the plan to power wash that filthy 455 of mine falls flat.. darn

[Robroy]

Here I am one year later but this time the Easter weather is sunny and warm, so I decided to make a move on those ugly looking valve covers.

After sanding/wet sanding good enough to start painting (passenger side one), I feel very open for alternative methods .

Gone try a paint stripper on a limited area for the drivers side one to see if it works .

[Robroy]

Gone try a paint stripper on a limited area for the drivers side one to see if it works .

The result was surprisingly good after it had been on almost two hours, nearly all paint came off .
Will try it on the rest of the valve cover tomorrow

[Gum,beest]

Looks good Per
I think it is a good and easy alternative for sanding it al the way
I did mine as follows
I degreased them with industrial degreaser (Nebol)
Then media blasted them (with plastic particals)
Applied etching primer
Normal primer and finally the color

I did do that on my workplace at a aerospace company
so it is maybe not a good example for the average DIY'er


Note: it is my intention to restor to a state where you can still see its age so i dont make it look perfect and better then new ,but leave some signs that show the age like a litte corrosion pitting underneath the paint

[Robroy]

Thanks Erik,
Yours look great as the rest of your engine bay (thinking on those picts recently posted in another thread here). Seems like we have used the same red color except for the oil lid which looks good in silver btw.
I have sandblasting equipment but it is a mess to use since you get sand everywhere. I’ve been thinking on building my own sandblasting cabinet which would be very useful to have, but as always time is the problem.

Think I will use the paint stripper on the top of the remaining valve cover where it’s a bit harder to sand with the laths and then sand the rest.

I like the color on your car Erik, is it a stock color and if so what is it called?

[Gum,beest]

Thanks Per
The color on my car is "Burnt Coral Paint with a Sandalwood convertible top"
and according to Bob Alberini

Erik,
Do you realize what a rare Centurion you have? Burnt Coral was a Riviera only color that was a special color option on the other Buick models. Of the
5,739 73 Centurion convertibles built, only 36 were finished in Burnt Coral so you have a very rare one indeed and it is a great color.

But when i start my body work and rust repair that might change
I'm not decided on the color yet but i have at least a year maybe two to think about that
Or did you mean the red from the valve covers
That i do not know
i just chosen the one i liked the most of the heat resistant colors ,that do not work on some spots on the intake manifold by the way

[Robroy]

Thanks Per
The color on my car is "Burnt Coral Paint with a Sandalwood convertible top"

But when i start my body work and rust repair that might change
I'm not decided on the color yet but i have at least a year maybe two to think about that

Yes I remember now when you were discussing the color with Bob.
If it was my car I would stick to the original color since I really like it and it makes the car unique, but you should of course go for whatever you feel comfortable with.

[Gum,beest]

I think i will try to stick with the color but with a twist
I really like the depth of the transparent colors like for example Candy Apple Red
With a gold metallic base and on the lower body half some gold flakes to accentuate the body lines
But like i sayed i'v got some time to think about it

[Payton]

The result was surprisingly good after it had been on almost two hours, nearly all paint came off .
Will try it on the rest of the valve cover tomorrow

I will try it