Hi All I need to strip and repaint the wrinkle paint on my valve covers. Do the fins come off easily (or at all)? I can't seem to see how they can be removed. I can work around them stripping and mask them off to paint, but removing them would make it much easier. Also has anyone used paint stripper on their valve covers? Would it hurt the finish on the fins? Or would sandblasting be better? Thanks

They are held on with glue. Carefully, you should be able to pry them off. Do your wrinkle paint restore, and then reglue them back on with wetherstrip cement. Mine have stayed for on 2 years(so far). Try cutting underneath them with one of those extendable blade knives ...not a "Stanley" knife...those ones with the break-off blades (I dont know their tech. name). Just keep going back and forth and eventually they pop off.

If they are hard to pry, try putting them in the oven for a while. I've had good luck melting old hardened glue with this technique. Make sure your wife won't be home during this procedure. Something about this tends to make wives whiny. Trust me, I know. Another thing.........don't use her oven mitts!

The oven wont budge that that glue. I just sanded around mine, masked them off, repainted and baked them in the oven. Be sure the underside of the covers are clean of old oil before baking. BTW- Welding mitts make better oven mitts anyways. :)

I wouldn't bother taking the fins off - just mask, strip, remask, and paint. A lot less work for the same result. I've done this to a couple of sets of 273 Commando valve covers. Blue tape is cheap; nobody is re-producing those fins.