Removing Powder Coating

[BoredDSM]

I recently purchased a valve cover to replace a cracked one but it was powder coated poorly with lots of spots with no coating on it at all. With that being said it was also coated on the back of the valve cover where the baffles are and area's behind the baffle where I cannot reach. I figured it might be O.K. if I just made sure to blow it out with some air and wipe it down. As soon as I started hitting it with my compressor the paint on the baffle started chipping away at the corners and leaves spots all over the place.

Does anyone have any good experience with stripping powder completely off without damaging the part? I read the best way to completely get it off was to burn it off but I would not want to risk warping the valve cover. I just wanna get all the powder coat off so I could possibly have it re-coated later on or just leave it so it does not contaminate the oil. What would be the best way?

 

[babyviper]

Seriously i would get another one, i help my bud get some powder coating off some Icp and it was a mother!!! with a bench grinder with a wire wheel.

 

[hubz91talontsi]

Best way is to media blast or sand blast it... I have quite a few hours on the coater. I usually sandblast it then hot deck.

 

[300dollarGSX]

Xylene eats through most powders. It's nasty stuff. I've used it a few times on larger parts that were coated before I got them. Smaller parts I put into a blasting cabinet, but powder that has adhered well doesn't come off very easily.

 

[BoredDSM]

Best way is to media blast or sand blast it... I have quite a few hours on the coater. I usually sandblast it then hot deck.

The thing with sand blasting or any kind of media blasting though is the actual media sometimes gets stuck in the baffles and you wouldn't be able to get it out. That has a risk of contaminating the oil.

Xylene eats through most powders. It's nasty stuff. I've used it a few times on larger parts that were coated before I got them.

With Xylene should I just buy a container of it and pour some on and try to wipe it off? Is there something I can stick the valve cover in to soak it over night possibly and then wash every thing off the next day?

 

[AndrewD5418]

Xylene eats through most powders. It's nasty stuff. I've used it a few times on larger parts that were coated before I got them. Smaller parts I put into a blasting cabinet, but powder that has adhered well doesn't come off very easily.

This can easily be avoided if you take the time to mask off every possible way for the media to enter the baffles/inside the valve cover.

 

[300dollarGSX]

It works pretty fast, like using a chemical paint stripper. You could put it into a container of some sort to soak for a few minutes if you want, but I just brush it on with an acid brush and wipe it off with a rag. It may take a few applications depending on how thick the coating is and how many coatings there are. I actually found this out by accident when trying to clean some lowering leaf springs I bought from Summit. I thought it was acetone and was going to wipe them down and just put a coat over the top of the other powder, but was surprised to see it cut right through. Another option would be something labeled as chemical paint stripper (aircraft remover, but I still don't know why it's called that) if Xylene is too hard to find. As a warning, the Xylene did not cut through the coating on the engine stand, so it doesn't cut through all powders.

Edit: Morpherex, I'm guessing you quoted the wrong person?

 

[BoredDSM]

This can easily be avoided if you take the time to mask off every possible way for the media to enter the baffles/inside the valve cover.

Cant Exactly mask it because they painted behind the baffles too and the baffles itself.

 

[turboglenn]

Well, I'm not sure on powdercoating but we use to use "eazy-off" oven cleaner to remove anodize colorings from aluminum partsbefore welding or just to take them to a metalic fnish.. Not sure how it works on powder coat but if you call a powder coating shop i bet they would have the bst answer.

I'm not sure what oo you want to remove, so it's hard t tell what your total goal is

 

[kmoore]

This stuff:

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[AndrewD5418]

It works pretty fast, like using a chemical paint stripper. You could put it into a container of some sort to soak for a few minutes if you want, but I just brush it on with an acid brush and wipe it off with a rag. It may take a few applications depending on how thick the coating is and how many coatings there are. I actually found this out by accident when trying to clean some lowering leaf springs I bought from Summit. I thought it was acetone and was going to wipe them down and just put a coat over the top of the other powder, but was surprised to see it cut right through. Another option would be something labeled as chemical paint stripper (aircraft remover, but I still don't know why it's called that) if Xylene is too hard to find. As a warning, the Xylene did not cut through the coating on the engine stand, so it doesn't cut through all powders.

Edit: Morpherex, I'm guessing you quoted the wrong person?

Yup. Sorry about that.

Aircraft stripper worked for me as well on powder coatings. I had to apply it more than once though.

If media blasting aluminum you should use glass beads and not sand.

 

[Defiant]

Cant Exactly mask it because they painted behind the baffles too and the baffles itself.

So, it's powdercoated on the inside?

Replace it.

 

[greengoblin]

Cant Exactly mask it because they painted behind the baffles too and the baffles itself.

If there is powder under the baffles then replace the vc. I would not be surprised if you found media under the baffles too. It sound like the coater did not know what they where doing.


Kevin

 

[BoredDSM]

Hmm I'm not sure how I would approach this then. I bought it from a somewhat reputable shop. Thanks for the info guys looks like I will have to figure something else out.

 

[Bender]

Media/sandblasting hardly removes powdercoating. The stuff that I found works best is aircraft stripper from autozone. Just put it on the part, and let it sit for a half hour. After that, just use a rag, and it wipes right off. You may need to use two coats depending on the application.

 

[snowborder714]

I bought a powdercoated valve cover from a reputable shop and it had a bit (not a lot) of powder on the underside of the valve cover, mostly around the spark plug wells. I'm not sure how they go about coating, but when I coated one, I didn't get any on the underside. I just washed mine thoroughly in a bath tub to get all the powder/media out that I could.

Could you throw up a picture of the valve cover BoredDSM, so we can see how bad it is?

 

[Stanley Dist]

We use a product called "B17" from benco. It will strip pretty much any powder off in minutes ,when this stuff is fresh it will strip 3-4 layers of powder off no problem in minutes. It's pretty nasty so you have to use protective gear so I wouldn't recomend it for the average DIY.

Eastwood, powder buy the pound, columbia coatings, all sell "friendly" powder stripping chemicals. You can usually get them in small containers too.

If the unit has powder coating all over the back of it, it may also have media trapped deep down in the baffles. At this point, I would probably just get another valve cover, as we go through a pretty in depth process to keep sand out of the baffles when we powder coat valve covers here. If you really want to tackle it, grind the tabs that are keeping the baffles in the valve cover off and then take it apart and clean both then have them welded back in by some on.

 

[snowborder714]

How reuseable is the B17? The only size I'd consider purchasing is the 5 gallon pail, but depending on how well it works after multiple uses, might sway my mind to try it one way or the other.

 

[Stanley Dist]

It's very reusable. I bought one of the 30 gallon containers about six months ago and we use it every day to strip stuff. Eventually it gets so clogged with old paint & powder that you have to pour in more, but it's 100x better than air craft stripper.

It is nasty though. So nasty we have to buy new chemical gloves every so often because it eats through them. You have to wear a respirator, goggles, ect. I have a sneaking suspicion that it has some of the same ingredients as the old berrymans carb cleaner or Chemtool carb clean which I'm pretty sure are both off the market now.

 

[92awdgsx]

I burn it off with a torch. Thats how a lot of powder coating shops do it.

 

[Patrick Harmon]

Ya you could burn the powder off or try chemical stripper or a sandblaster. Each has its ups and downs. This guide covers each more.

 

[greengoblin]

I am a zombie.......

 

[Vegas Smith]

I am a zombie.......

Don't treat yourself like that.

 

[greengoblin]

Being dead is better than this old ass thread.....