mydatsunroadster.com

This morning I spent some time stripping the paint off the intake heat shield. Both the heat shield and the intake manifold are covered in an off-white paint that I want to remove to give those pieces a more original appearance.

Paint stripper is toxic, so I set up a table covered in a garbage bag so I could dispose of the left-over stripper and the stripped paint easily. I cut the bottom and one edge of a large garbage bag and then just draped them over the plywood surface I had placed across two sawhorses. I wore safety glasses and gloves at all times when handling paint stripper. I bought a gallon of "aircraft stripper" by KleenStrip at Walmart for under $14.

I applied the stripper using a cheap 2" paintbrush. It is best to apply the paste liberally but to apply it only in one direction rather than going over it more than once. That way the stripper seals to the paint and can go to work. Almost immediately the paint began to shrivel off the metal heat shield.

I allowed the stripper to work for 30 minutes and then returned to remove the paint using a plastic scraper. The paint came of very easily--this KleenStrip is good stuff. I also used a small brush with brass bristles to get into some of the crevices.

I'd like to get the heat shield plated in yellow zinc so it looks original again.