The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Stripping engine paint-the best way

I'm about ready to put the engine back in my 55 project truck. The frame is painted and looks spiffy..I bought some black engine paint but need to strip the old paint. The engine was painted with some rattle can engine paint.

I bought some "orange" based stripper and unfortunately it just softens the paint making it a gooey mess. I may have to resort to using a sovent and a ton of paper towels to get it off. I'm used to having the paint wrinkle up and lifting when I use a stripper which makes the job eazy. Anyone got a product or technique they like fo stripping an engine. It's assembled and running so media blasting or hot tanking is out.

Thanks,

Keith

Seal any openings,apply stripper and hit it with a power washer.

a black engine???

i had to use a spatule, i had no hi pressure hose nozzle @ the time
i sealed all openings w/ tape so i didn't think the tape would hold up under that condition

I like "Aircraft Stripper" from AutoZone.....available in pints, gallons and aerosol cans for the smaller jobs. It's not what I would call Eco-friendly but it will raise the layers of paint so you can hose them off with water.

A word of caution....make sure you're outside in a well vented area, no place close to anything you don't want to get splattered with stripper and I wear rubber gloves and a respirator when applying it with a brush.

It may/may not take a couple applications but it gets the job done and rinses off clean with with water.

Dave

lol..yes a black engine..tired of the chevy orange..
it will be black with some cast "Wayne" components..

Keith

I painted the SBC in my '62 black. All the aluminum and chrome parts like the valve covers, pulleys, intake, brakets, I had sand blasted to make them look a dull silver color. Looks great to me and is something a little different than the polished chrome and aluminum you usually see.

That's what I'm thinkin Tim..I thought some cast
aluminum would contrast nice against the black..
Also thought about gold powder coat on black for a
while

Thanks for the ideas guys.

Keith

I use a wire knot wheel on an angle grinder to strip it off the cast iron, it gets the rust off at the same time and is faster than the chemical stuff for small areas. Followed by gunk, and a hot water rinse. (I tap a hose off the hot water heater for rinsing off the gunk).

Stripper and a pressure washer work pretty well with a little touch up with the angle grinder and wire brush. An old or cheap HF cup gun also work really well for spraying the stripper on.