Well, my side covers soaked overnight and the vinegar solution worked unbelievably well. I think I might have just found the worlds cheapest non toxic paint stripper. About $2.50 per gallon and I used two of them. Have a look,
I just went to check on them this morning to see if it was doing anything and I applied a plastic scraper to it, and it just started peeling off. If you let it dry, it starts to harden up again, but as long as it’s wet, the paint starts feeling stretchy and pliable like vinyl.
I peeled a whole bunch of it off just using my fingers.
Now let’s talk about the condition of the tins.
The left side has some rust damage to the top edge of it. Probably from battery acid. I’m just going to file it down , maybe sand it with my Dremel a bit and leave it ( a small portion of the edge will be missing but it really won’t show ) that edge needs a little straightening also.
Both panels need some bodywork.
So I had been considering different options regarding painting or powder coating, but I think I have hit on the best option yet. We have right here on our forum, a man who does beautiful work, our very own Jim. I’ve been talking to him today and have decided to send them to him to be painted. They are all boxed up and will be shipped to him in the morning. In case you missed it, you can read about Jim’s painting here,
http://www.xs650.com/threads/painting-tins.54484/
I am really looking forward to having some of Jim’s work on my bike ( that’ll be two for two ) and it surely will be better quality than I could’ve done myself.