I'm in the process of stripping the paint off a set of Porsche Fuchs wheels. The aluminum was galvanized from the factory and then the centers were painted over that. I removed about 90% of the paint with Citristrip, but I have some stubborn stuff that won't come off. I know Easy-Off will remove the anodizing, so I don't want to use that. Does anybody know if Aircraft Stripper or Gasket Remover can safely be used on anodized stuff? I know that gasket remover can be used to strip powder coating.
Aircraft stripper is methylene chloride based - it'll eat paint and skin and cause cancer, but it shouldn't touch anodizing, which is nothing more than a thick, uniform layer of aluminum oxide.
The only way to remove anodizing is the application of strong bases or possibly acids - oven cleaner being the most convenient.
Thanks for the tip on gasket remover vs powder paints - I'd like to strip the PC from all the hideous aqua-green chassis parts on the Radical when I go through the chassis this winter but didn't relish the thought of days of bead blasting.
I found that tip here, through Pelican:
http://www.choppersurplus.com/global/articles/howtoremovepowdercoating.html
I've found that the cheap black nylon putty knives do a good job on the softened paint when you don't want to damage or leave marks on underlying metal.
I like the semi-paste adhesive remover which has methylene chloride and methanol in it. I don't know if it will touch powercoat though. The stuff is nasty if you get some go and get a pair of neoprene gloves, they're the only gloves truly impermeable to chemicals.
erohslc wrote:
I've found that the cheap black nylon putty knives do a good job on the softened paint when you don't want to damage or leave marks on underlying metal.
That's what I used with the Citristrip. I did three or four applications.