Simple Paint Removal Question

[icejawa]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to ask what the best paint remover/stripper is to use on my valve covers, heads, engine etc?

I have used Rustoleum "Aircraft Stripper" and it works ok but it takes lots of reapplication to get everything off. Some times it doesn't manage to even affect the paint and I have to scrape it off and reapply it.

Of course bead blasting would be the best, but I don't have that yet. Brake fluid sure took off the paint on the strut tower braces though haha.

 

[keiths71]

I've never tried the rustoleum brand. Klean Strip Aircraft Remover at auto paint stores is the best in my opinion. Use it in a well ventilated area or use the right ammonium chloride rated respirator . It will hurt if you get it on you. Keep a wet rag handy. Only brush it in 1 direction. A trick that works well is put plastic wrap over it and it will stay wet longer and penetrate better. I'm lucky, my wife usually volunteers to strip parts and even whole cars

 

[icejawa]

I've never tried the rustoleum brand. Klean Strip Aircraft Remover at auto paint stores is the best in my opinion. Use it in a well ventilated area or use the right ammonium chloride rated respirator . It will hurt if you get it on you. Keep a wet rag handy. Only brush it in 1 direction. A trick that works well is put plastic wrap over it and it will stay wet longer and penetrate better. I'm lucky, my wife usually volunteers to strip parts and even whole cars

ill check it out, I found at my friends house a full jug of "citrustrip" and i have it on the valve covers now. I like how watery it is so when it dries more it just turns into a gel

 

[jscott]

I just media blasted my air cleaner to bare metal, will do the same with the valve covers when I get to them.

 

[Kilgon]

I have also used the Klean Strip Aircraft.  There is no comparison between Kleans and Rustoleums.    They have discontinue the good stuff.  Below is a link to the type you want to look for.  You can still find a few people selling it on ebay.  It will work wonders.  Did my complete car with it.

http://kleanstripauto.com/products/aircraft-paint-remover

 

[Galucha]

I've found that using aircraft stripper to take off most of the paint then hitting the part with a wire wheel tends to work really well.

 

[Kilgon]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to ask what the best paint remover/stripper is to use on my valve covers, heads, engine etc?

I have used Rustoleum "Aircraft Stripper" and it works ok but it takes lots of reapplication to get everything off. Some times it doesn't manage to even affect the paint and I have to scrape it off and reapply it.

Of course bead blasting would be the best, but I don't have that yet. Brake fluid sure took off the paint on the strut tower braces though haha.

Just a fyi - watch out for flash rust on anything you strip.   Eastwood makes a product call After Blast that will help prolong it for quit a while.  I'm for sure there are other similar products out there also.

 

[Mister 4x4]

I've never tried the rustoleum brand. Klean Strip Aircraft Remover at auto paint stores is the best in my opinion. Use it in a well ventilated area or use the right ammonium chloride rated respirator . It will hurt if you get it on you. Keep a wet rag handy. Only brush it in 1 direction. A trick that works well is put plastic wrap over it and it will stay wet longer and penetrate better. I'm lucky, my wife usually volunteers to strip parts and even whole cars

So....... technically, you're married to a stripper.  Well Done, Sir!   ::thumb:: ::thumb:: ::thumb::

lollerz

And yes, the Klean Strip Aircraft Remover is what I used on mine with excellent results.  Bare metal in a half hour.

 

[machattack]

Eric,

So what average JOE has 13 commercial bay doors at home? Or did you actually send the car to get stripped, by a stripper?

 

[icejawa]

Great tips i really did not know about the klean strip, I knew this rustoleum stuff sucked. As for flash rust i have a rust soak bath that I would be leaving the parts in unless that eats the metal beyond the rust

 

[MikeGriese]

I've never tried the rustoleum brand. Klean Strip Aircraft Remover at auto paint stores is the best in my opinion. Use it in a well ventilated area or use the right ammonium chloride rated respirator . It will hurt if you get it on you. Keep a wet rag handy. Only brush it in 1 direction. A trick that works well is put plastic wrap over it and it will stay wet longer and penetrate better. I'm lucky, my wife usually volunteers to strip parts and even whole cars

ill check it out, I found at my friends house a full jug of "citrustrip" and i have it on the valve covers now. I like how watery it is so when it dries more it just turns into a gel

I like citristrip as well - and it won't wreck the environment as bad.  I apply with a brush and let it sit for a few hours.  A 3M green scouring pad usually takes the paint and citristrip right off.

 

[Hemikiller]

I used the original Aircraft Stripper, but that was 16 years ago and it has been reformulated to remove the Methylene Chloride.

Best trick I learned with stripper is to get a box of cheap garbage bags (or thin plastic anything). apply the stripper, then lay the garbage bag over the part and form it to it. The plastic keeps the stripper from drying out and it works much better. Do this in the shade, not direct sunlight.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Our friendly government has made them change them all. I was at my friends shop couple weeks ago and he called NAPA to get some delivered. He had some of the old and was stripping the frame on a GTO. The new came and was pretty much useless. 

If you have any oil or grease on the parts you are trying to strip wash them with oven cleaner first to get the oil and grease off and it will also take some paint off. 

Be careful glass beading heads or valve covers. Very difficult to get it all washed out of cracks and can get into your oil. Crushed glass is what they poured in the cash for clunkers cars to lock the engines up.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Eric,

So what average JOE has 13 commercial bay doors at home?  Or did you actually send the car to get stripped, by a stripper?

LOL!  I wish!

No Sir, I was active duty Air Force, and my last assignment landed me at Goodfellow AFB, TX (San Angelo).  Part of what used to be called "Morale, Welfare, & Recreation - or MWR" is a facility called the Auto Hobby Shop.  It's called "Force Support" now, and I think they're a lot less into the actual "MWR" aspect of it all, since they keep cutting back on all the things that made it fun back in the day.

I've used the shops at my different assignment bases to work on my cars and gain the skills and confidence over the years I would eventually need to take on my life's biggest automotive challenge - resurrecting my Mach 1 from the dead.  I left the Air Force back in 1996, but as a DoD Civilian working on-base, I still have access to the shop.  I was even hoping to become the resident 'old fart car guy' at the shop that helped everybody out when I retire from this job in another 7 years or so, but the way things have been going for the shop in general, I don't know if that will be possible.  That bums me out because some of my very best friends along the way have been the various 'old fart car guys' at the shops who passed along their knowledge to anybody who was interested... I was hoping to carry on the tradition.  But oh well - I've got plenty of model kits to build.  LOL!

 

[machattack]

Eric,

So what average JOE has 13 commercial bay doors at home?  Or did you actually send the car to get stripped, by a stripper?

LOL!  I wish!

No Sir, I was active duty Air Force, and my last assignment landed me at Goodfellow AFB, TX (San Angelo).  Part of what used to be called "Morale, Welfare, & Recreation - or MWR" is a facility called the Auto Hobby Shop.  It's called "Force Support" now, and I think they're a lot less into the actual "MWR" aspect of it all, since they keep cutting back on all the things that made it fun back in the day.

I've used the shops at my different assignment bases to work on my cars and gain the skills and confidence over the years I would eventually need to take on my life's biggest automotive challenge - resurrecting my Mach 1 from the dead.  I left the Air Force back in 1996, but as a DoD Civilian working on-base, I still have access to the shop.  I was even hoping to become the resident 'old fart car guy' at the shop that helped everybody out when I retire from this job in another 7 years or so, but the way things have been going for the shop in general, I don't know if that will be possible.  That bums me out because some of my very best friends along the way have been the various 'old fart car guys' at the shops who passed along their knowledge to anybody who was interested... I was hoping to carry on the tradition.  But oh well - I've got plenty of model kits to build.  LOL!

Well........ we are more than happy to have you on here answering questions. You have a big audience here that will be tugging at your shirt tail for many years to come. So..... you wont be short students for sure.

We appreciate your help

Rod and Sally

 

[BrewSTL]

If you get your hands on the good stuff, be careful with it. It is nasty to say the least. If you are doing small stuff and it has a decent amount of detail I might actually suggest just an angle grinder with a cheap wire cup brush from a harbor freight or something. You can scuff the bare metal after the fact for paint adhesion but those wire cups don’t put a lot of heat into metal and they knock old paint down fast.

 

[Hemikiller]

Methylene Chloride is some particularly nasty stuff. My previous job had a small MC vapor degreaser which had a whole host of regulations to it's use and disposal of the waste. We generated very little waste as it's primary use was simply removing light oils from parts that were to be welded or have glass glued to them. We had a supplied air respirator system for using the tank, and operators had to be trained and certified. A small price to pay to keep people from getting sick.

Then again, compared to the Trichlor 1,1,1 tank the machine shop next door had, methylene chloride is kid's play.

 

[c9zx]

Here you go! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzebqnevDdk

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

all you need is 400K and it can be yours