Dang ! Of all the places to drill for a muffler. Still a nice drum that should clean up good and sound great.

Any paint stripper should work. Can't really do any damage to the shell as long as you don't use a metal putty knife or scraper on it.......marko

I agree. I personally go with Klean Strip. Strongest stripper on the market ( that I've ever found ) and works ultra fast and can wiped off. This is one you wanna wear gloves and not get on your self. Warned my co-worker about it yesterday actually as we were using it. He ignored me, until I heard owe owe owe oh it burns and watched him run to the bathroom.

I was afraid of damaging the lacquer, nickel and the engraving. I don't expect it to have much of the black nickel left but whatever it does have I'd like to keep. Will it remove the paint from within the engraving? Can I very carefully brush the stripper into the engraving? Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice.

I honestly don't think it'll hurt nickel, engraving or even the laminate. I think for it to really get into those it would need to sit for an extended period of time. Typically Klean Strip is able to be wiped within a few minutes, so it never gets deep enough. Would def take the paint out from the engraving. And yes I would use a smaller brush and do light amounts. You'll see it begin to bubble and do it's thing.

That's great! Thanks!

A good welder can cover up those hole and you won't be able to tell they were there

I might suggest acetone as any acid or strong base could affect the nickel plating. It should weep into the engraving as well. Then use a baby toothbrush to scrub out the engraving.

No matter what, ALWAYS TEST before going “all-in”.

Very good tip there. Start with a small area and see what the results are. Acetone is also good and will work. Just make sure you are in a ventilated area as with using any chemical.