Cleaning varnish off of engine covers?

[Ga Dawg]

does anyone know of a easy way to get that varnish/clearcoat off of these aluminum engine covers? Mine is half off and not consistant. I have tried mineral spirits to no avail . When i get them cleaned and polished is there some material that can go back on them to keep them sharp? Please advise.

thanks!

scott

[SilvrT]

I did mine 2 years ago... I think I used paint stripper but can't really recall for sure. I polished the covers using a product called SolvAll Autosol. It's an aluminum polishing compound. Mostly I used a good buffing wheel on a drill plus a lot of "hand work" for the nooks and crannys. I didn't put anything on afterwards and they still look good. Takes a bit of practise with the buffing wheel and it does take a lot of work to get them buffed up to be "like chrome" but it's well worth the effort.

[Thom]

spray can paint striper from the az works pretty good , my polish job only last about a mo. so the next time i buff them i am going to clear coat them .

Thom

[Moakster]

Paint stripper and be careful of the splatter it does get on the painted surfaces if your not careful. Use the gel type stripper if you can find it. Then cover the new finish with a corrision protector like S-100.

[Rottdoglover]

Acetone will eat right through clear coat. (and anything else it contacts)There is an aluminum protector called Zoops. Works great but kinda pricey.

[Ga Dawg]

Yep, that paint remover worked. Now I will get out the buffer and buff with aluminum cleaner. May need a better pair of shades when im done.lol

 

Thanks!!!

[RSV Angel]

Then you can ride it over here to Calhoun so I can see how purty it is!

[Dragonslayer]

does anyone know of a easy way to get that varnish/clearcoat off of these aluminum engine covers? Mine is half off and not consistant. I have tried mineral spirits to no avail . When i get them cleaned and polished is there some material that can go back on them to keep them sharp? Please advise.

 

thanks!

 

scott

The best way I found was to take it to a chromer/polishing company and have it acid dipped then profesionally polished. It comes out looking like chrome. Check out my earlier post on "Poor Man's tips and fixes" Thread named "Making engine show ready" dated last spring.