Sorry for the delay in reporting back on this job. It's actually turned into a rather long process due to me trying to accomplish two goals at the same time. While all the plastic was off, I thought I would remove the black engine guards and re-paint one that had gotten scratched. The filing went well but I have now painted it a total of four times. I'm hoping this will be the last one. Color wasn't right, too shiny, too flat, paint lifted from one layer to another, had to strip off all the paint, etc. It reminds me of how hard it is to get a good paint job on anything.
Join the club - thankfully, mine is just annoying. Replaced the leaking vent line in the tank and filters at the same time. I must have damaged the fuel level sender in the process because it has read low ever since. The float is free of the hoses, so I guess it will give me something to do when I'm bored.
