Cleaning up an air cleaner "box" on a 164.

The metal air cleaner box in my 164 looks terrible so I'm looking at stripping it back and re-painting it. The metal plate on it is fine, it's just the rest of it. It seems very rusty and pitted. Judging by the marks on the underside of the bonnet it looks like a battery exploded in the engine bay!

So is it best to have it sandblasted? Use paint stripper etc?
(I'll post a photo tomorrow)