I am restoring a 1988 Cigarette Bullet. The boat is all original and never been apart...until now. I have the K planes off the boat and I want to freshen them up. They have a very thick paint on them that I assume is factory paint. I may pull them apart and powder coat them, but they really look pretty decent for being 32 years old. Is the thick paint in fact factory applied? The paint is applied so thick that it’s hard to see the snap rings. Is the paint available if I wanted to go back that route? Thanks!

Can you post up some pics? It seems odd to me that the snap rings would be covered up.

Pretty sure mercury bakes on the enamel on those tabs, they have a paint for the drives called phantom black, Im sure its the same color for the tabs

I had to use a propane torch and a scraper to get the heavy paint off mine. It was like removing powder coat , but was not powder. Used aircraft paint remover on what was left. What they sell today as the aircraft paint remover is worthless.

Thanks for the replies. I decided to go ahead and pull them apart and have them powder coated. Once I got to work on them the thick paint chipped off easily so I think the powder coat is the right decision for mine in this condition. The pins were nearly impossible to get out. I ended up having to put them in a press and apply heat to the area around the pins to get them to break loose.