Removing powdercoating

rockford33

rockford33

New member
Earlier this year I had my valve covers powdercoated so they were back to the way the factory had painted them (wrinkle red). Well, the powdercoater (in Tx, I'm in MD) just sprayed the entire top. The front valve cover has raised lettering that used to be plain steel (no color). I am looking for a way to remove the powdercoating on the lettering without compromising the integrity of the rest of the powdercoating (chipping at the edges of the letters, etc.). Anyone know of a good way to do this? I was thinking of taking some 1500 or 2000 grit sand paper with a sanding block and slowly working it back down to bare metal. I figure this will be gentle enough to slowly wear down the powdercoating without compromising the edges. Any thougts or suggestions?

Thanks,
Neil
 
A razor blade is quite effective, custom shops use them to fix any problems they have. Just be careful to not cut yourself, razor cuts with open blades can be nasty.
 
May sound funny, but have you tried to contact the powercoater and ask him?
Maybe even a local coater would have a suggestion :dunno

"J"
 
Poweder coating is some real tough stuff. The only way I can think of getting rid of it is by sanding. I don't know what grit you'll have to use but I'm sure it's going to have to be abrasive. You really don't have to be concerned with wrecking the metal underneath too bad, because you could take some metal polish or some steel wool to shine it back up. Maybe using the razor blade to get most of it off, then sand it carefully? good luck
 
If what you want to do is anything like honda guys do with their valve covers you just take a flat razor and start about halfway through pushing firmly (not aggressively) to cut through the powder coat. Once you've gotten most of it you should follow up with some 1000 grit or so sandpaper (anything higher won't do anything noticeable, it's designed solely for paint which is much softer than metal. I would at least put some flat finish clear coat on the exposed metal, one thing I've learned from a few bad experiences is that you DO NOT want bare metal anywhere, coat everything with something.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I am going to give it a try once I get back into restoration mode in the winter while the car sits in the garage. I'll try and remember to shoot before and after pics.

-Neil
 
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