RKC
Member
What is the best paint remover? Is Aircraft Paint Remover any good? Thanks!
Paint Remover
- Thread starter RKC
- Start date
azblackhemi
Old Man with a Hat
Aircraft Stripper used to be really good but they made it safer to the environment and reduced it's effectiveness. Probably the other brands did the same though. It will still do the job.
The ideal paint remover would come in a gallon container as a gel. Brush it on and leave it until the paint underneath crinkles and such. Follow the directions as to removal techniques and correct disposal of the removed paint mixture. Of use a plastic squeeze to remove it onto a layer of corrugated cardboard with newspapers placed on it, for correct disposal. Timing things such that the paint is removed down to the factory primer and not "bare metal". Going to "bare metal" is not advised as once the bare metal is cleaned, it has to be metal-prepped and re-coated very very soon afterward, so rust does not happen.
Not sure what might make "aircraft" paint remover better, unless possibly it is oriented toward harder paints (as epoxies and such)? Might be too much for normal automotive paint, possibly?
What might your ultimate project be? Just curious.
CBODY67
Not sure what might make "aircraft" paint remover better, unless possibly it is oriented toward harder paints (as epoxies and such)? Might be too much for normal automotive paint, possibly?
What might your ultimate project be? Just curious.
CBODY67
RKC
Member
Someone painted the door latch mechanism and I would rather not take it off, as it is a big job working inside the door, unhooking the outside door handle and lock. The latch was not painted when it left the factory.
azblackhemi
Old Man with a Hat
What year car do you have? I'm asking because I believe some 50's cars came with painted latches.
RKC
Member
1967 Dodge Charger. They were not painted from the factory.
this stuff used to be good but who knows now that everything has been made safe and useless.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Agreed.
Once again, thank you California.
Actually, I don't think it's an environmental problem. It's a toxicity issue. The stuff that was in it, methylene chloride, is pretty bad stuff. Not only breathing it, but it's also absorbed through the skin. It's the same stuff they used in model airplane cement and there are a bunch of folks that huffed that with bad results.
I seem to remember something about a bunch of guys stripping bath tubs died while using it with no ventilation.
Lee Phillips
New Member
Interesting that the "Aircraft Paint stripper" has a note on the can to the effect that it is not intended for use on Aircraft. That said, I work on aircraft, and have had occasion to strip a few. "Aircraft Stripper" and Jasco both previously used methylene chloride as an active ingredient. Nasty stuff to get on you anyplace, especially NOT in your eyes, or any mucus membrane. Ask me how I know. Eats nitrile gloves. Burns. Gets everywhere. Don't use near any plastic, even attacks fiberglass a little.
As for the NEW formulations -don't know if it was EPA or simply Californicacia that banned methylene chloride (or maybe just good sense!)- but methylene chloride seems to be out of vogue.
I've tried small amounts of the Jasco offering (Home Depot), seems to work pretty well. Have not tried the new formulation "Aircraft Stripper" yet.
With the methylene chloride based strippers, the best thing to get the stripper and the stripped/loosened paint off [after the plastic bondo scraper] would be liberal quantities of lacquer thinner (sorta like sniffing glue, so wear a respirator suited for the task) and maybe some maroon Scotchbrite hand pads. WATER does not work for sour apples. I suspect the same applies to the new formulations, as it certainly did with the Jasco product I mentioned.
The comments about rust are well taken. Do the metal preparation ASAP when the surface has dried and treated with prep-sol. I've found a good epoxy zinc chromate primer to work really well. Harder than the hubs of hell, resists strippers, too.
Collect the stripped material on an old tarp or cardboard or whatever. Let it dry thoroughly, then it is OK to put in the trash - no longer hazardous material.
No matter how you do it, it can be a nasty, messy job.
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