Gear paraphernalia - to cut or not to cut?

Good point. I was thinking about it and it might hard to cut it perfectly. If it goes wrong I can't fill it because filler and powder coating don't go together well.

You just need to take your time. I wouldn't even aim to take the whole thing off with the first cut, do a series of cuts getting nearer and nearer and then the last part use a dremel with a sanding part instead of a cutting part and slowly take it right the way back. The finish won't need to be great as the sand blast will clean it up a bit.