How to remove paint on motor?

[Mike Redmond]

The previous owner of the motor I,m going to buy has painted it all over #-o , decals and all,,I know it would have cost him about 5 cents worth of masking tape to do a proper job///but theres my problem, how do you, or can you remove paint off the decals without destroying them,,,the motor is either a 94/or 95 will have to check on the numbers this week/ been looking on the net for replica decals without any luck,guess I will have to check with a Johnson dealer to see if they can be ordered in, but I fear high $$ Mike

 

[Whoopbass]

I've used oven cleaner to remove crappy spray paint jobs. It won't get it all of it but any paint that didn't bond well will bubble up and then you can spray it off with a hose or pressure washer.
There's probably better stuff to use but oven cleaner is cheap. Your most likely going to have to repaint the entire motor if you want it to look good. You should be able to buy original Johnson decals off ebay.