I’ve been degreasing, sanding, and flaking away old paint on the engine for a few days now.  The bilge (and my hands!) is filthy, but the motor is about as clean as I can make it without taking it out to sandblast.  I hit it with some brake parts cleaner and started masking off the pieces that I didn’t want to paint.

That was after hitting it 3 times with engine degreaser and countless hours with a wire toothbrush.  The original paint is almost 20 years old and corrosion had started to seep underneath it in a lot of places.  The surface isn’t as smooth in some places as I would have liked, but I guess I’ll be happy if it’s not rusty and gross looking anymore!

Everything sat outside on the ladders baking in the sun for a few hours.  Once I get the required O-rings and gaskets, I can start putting my engine back together!