Magnesium-sticking powder coat to it and the cleaning proces

[fst951]

Dear Experts and Hobbyists,

I have a number of magnesium intakes and valve covers that I wanted to coat. They initially had epoxy paint from the late 1980's on them. It is very hard to remove even with aircraft stripper. I was told that preheating the parts to about 350 degrees F would help to crack the paint. Then I was told to use aircraft stripper.

Any recommendation on removing the paint? Remember that cast raw magnesium is pretty darn soft and doesn't like media blasting.

How best should I prepare the magnesium to get the powder coating to hold for a number of years. Is out gassing a needed process and how long and at what temp do you outgass?

Also what type of oven should I get for my small shop to do the powder coating of intake and valve covers? Is a traditional gas or electric oven a good choice for small parts?

I know how to paint quite well, but know little about powder coating. I would appreciate all and any advice on equipment and supplies. Sorry for all the questions, but I am a newbie to powder coating.

You can email me directly at motorsport@exolo.com

Thanks a lot,

Garrity

put them in the basting cab .... caswell got vht stripper that is good to ,,,

[Noob2PC]

I just replaced my play sand with Aluminum Oxide!( Ihear the sigh's of relief ) and will be testing it tomorrow to see if it works. I am doing some Cadillac 4.9l Valve covers which are Mag. Aircraft stripper worked well but for some reason will not get the factor grey primer off! Will let you know how well this works.

[fst951]

I am surprised that there are no chemicals that can remove this epoxy paint and not disolve the magnesium. The problem with blasting the covers is that it gouges the soft metal. Does the VHT stripper work better than the aircraft brand stripper?

Thanks,

Garrity

[Fireblade]

I blast magnesium with no problems, it does leave a texture, which you want. But nothing more so then blasting aluminum. It blasts to the same color and texture as aluminum usually. Epoxy is usually very resistant to chemicals, but paint stripper, a harsh enough one, will eat through it. Everything has a limit.

[fst951]

I was told to try zipstrip. They said leave the part emmersed for a few hours to a whole day... I will give this a try. I have had a number of problems with bead blasting magnesium, but never aluminium. I would also like some recommendations on more strippers.

Thanks,


Garrity