Paint stripping

[geofflove]

Topic moved - Site Admin.

Trying to remove the paint from metal on a 50s vendor. Not sure what paint it is but guessing the original spray paint.

My B&Q paint stripper does absolutely nothing to it. Covered it, left an hour. No softening, no impact whatsoever.

Can anyone suggest a stripper/method that will get it off. Really don’t want to resort to sanding it all!

[tim575]

I know Jasco Paint and Epoxy remover will eat through pretty much any paint fairly quickly but not attack metal. I had used it 40 years ago to strip off car paint which is pretty hard.
If the formulation today is anything like it was decades ago, I expect it will work. You need to wear chemical resistant gloves, as it will also do a job on your skin if you make contact with it.
I find most paint strippers at the local stores are safer to use, but intended for latex paint, not epoxy or other durable paints of the past.
I live in California USA, so all the durable paints like that have long since been banned (unless you drive out of state for them).

[badpenny]

Paint stripping chemicals, even Nitromors have been rubbish since The EU banned the active ingredient Dichloromethane (I think).
However it is still manufactured and all you have to do is sign for it at the point of sale to say you're not an idiot and won't drink it or use it in an enclosed area because it's all nasty chemicals.

The one I use is manufactured by John Myland of London and is called Perfecta Paint Stripper. It's only sold in 5 Ltre containers but is still cheaper than others and it really does the job. You need to do some searching on Google.

BP

[special when lit]

As Jeremy said, modern stripper is useless. You used to be able to get some called Synstrip, made by Starchem off ebay, but I don't think it's sold anymore.
One option is to soak a rag in thinners & leave it on the paint for 5 minutes, and that should soften it up enough to scrape most of it off.

[polaris]

I use a product (Peelaway) and have had good results on various surfaces over the years. Works like a poultice where you spread it on and cover and leave for a day or two and peel it off.

[geofflove]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Helpful stuff. Having left the stripper on for about 6 hours some parts have started to soften. I’ve scraped what I can and re applied. I’ll pop some more on later and leave it overnight and see how it looks in the morning. Failing that, I’ll investigate the ideas given. Useful for the future anyway.

[gameswat]

One trick is to lay cling film over the stripper which stops it drying out too soon.

[sentimental salvage]

Acetone and fine wire wool. If the spray paint is really stubborn, melt it with spray lacquer and wipe it off quickly with acetone on a cloth.