> Date: 11 Aug 92 09:43:46 U
> From: "Jerry Kaidor" <jerry_kaidor@engtwomac.synoptics.com>
> Subject: Stripping paint off small p
> To: british-cars@autox.team.net
>
> Stripping paint off small parts
> A large can of carburetor cleaner works great for this! Get the kind that
> comes with a dip basket. Don't get the little $10 kind; get the bigger
> $25-$30 size. Dip'em in painted, pull'em out bare.
Jerry,
There are a couple of cheaper alternative to this method which work
quite well. I've used both. The first method is to soak the parts in
warm TSP (trisodium phosphate) solution. This stuff is available in
most hardware stores here in California and is used to wash down walls
before painting. I found that a half hour soak in a galvanized bucket
over a Coleman camp stove took the factory paint off right down to the
bare metal. Supposedly this can be done at room temperature but I'm not
sure how long that would take. Unfortunately TSP isn't available in
some states but there is another alternative if you feel adventurous.
Drano. This is what I used to strip my snake heater shell. I poured a
can of Drano into a bucket filled with hot tap water and tossed in the
heater pieces. I left everything in for about an hour but this could
have be speeded by by continuous heating over a stove. Let me emphasize
that I wore a face mask, plastic rain coat and chemical resistant rated
rubber gloves (not vinyl).
e Metalprep into a five-gallon plastic bucket. Then fill the rest of the bucket
> with water. Make sure you have a tight-fitting lid for the bucket before you
Yes, you'll need to use acid after stripping for the same reason Jerry
mentioned for the carb cleaner. TSP and Drano are alkaline. If there
is no rust or just just a bit on the surface, Metalprep is sufficient.
If you have a bad case of rust (as I did for my heater case), you might
want to use some more vigorous preliminary rust removing methods. This
might involve scraping and wire brushing. I did some of that, plus I
used some more concentrated forms of phosphoric acid like Naval Jelly.
Just as an experiment I tried out something else I had read in CLASSIC
AUTO RESTORER magazine a year or so ago. Muriatic (hydrochloric) acid.
Muriatic acid is used in swimming pools and it's also available at many
hardware stores. I found it works very fast on rust but I did feel
uneasy using the stuff. Again, I wore gloves, face mask and plastic
coat. The fumes are quite strong and toxic so this stuff should be used
in an open area.
And as Jerry points out, don't use acid on high stress steel alloys.
Roland
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