Removing paint from crevices

I bought a Famco 3R press today. $80 from Craigslist. According to some eBay auction descriptions, it can do up to 4 tons of force.

It weighs, I would say, 170 lbs. It is about all I can lift by myself. While it is in good physical shape, no major rust, etc, its paint flaked off in about 3/4 of its area.

I decided to clean it up and repaint it. To that end, I removed paint from easy to access areas using a 4" grinder and a cup brush. That took care of 80% of paintable surface. However, that left a lot of crevices uncleaned.

To clean, them, I am leaning towards visiting Harbor Freight and buying some sandblasting gun and just sandblasting those places.

Would anyone have any suggestions here?

Also, what primer would you use to paint it.

I am kind of tempted to paint it in some fun color like red.

thanks

i
Reply to
Ignoramus25173
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One thing I've done on occasion is to take a torch and burn the paint in a crevice, then scrape it off. It might be easier to just feather the edges and paint over it.

Grant

Reply to
Grant Erwin

Would that work on heavy cast pieces? Would the heat not be absorbed?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus25173

"Ignoramus25173" wrote in message >>

Use a cutting head. Hold the oxygen lever down as you play the flame over the paint. It's not a heating process, but an oxygen rich burning process.

Reply to
BillM

Went to HF and got myself a blasting gun and Al oxide media. Also a "engine cleaning" gun. I will try to clean this up tonight.

Re: BillM, I do not have any O/A equipment.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus25173

Impact Brush

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Reply to
Tom Gardner

Well, that's a nifty little toy. Kind of like a needle scaler, but finer. What do those cost? It it in the official RCM shop brush pack?

Reply to
Pete C.

Tom, thanks. I saw the same brishes at McMaster, looks like they are selling yours. Congrats. I ended up using a Harbor Freight abrasive blast gun, which did not work ideally, but was "good enough".

As of right now, I primered it with McMaster's 94% "cold galvanizing" paint. The can is about a year old and the paint is showing some signs of aging, so I am glad that I could use it for something.

After this cold galvanizing dries up, I will put oil based "John Deere Green" paint on it, just for the kicks. I think that it will look nice and unobtrusive in John Deere green color.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus25173

How much are these, Tom?

j/b

Reply to
jusme

One must be careful when removing paint from large cast iron machine tools. The rough castings are often Bondo'ed with some sort of filler material, and if you get too burly getting off the piant, you are likely to screw up the bondo under it.

Its a freaking press. Give it a shot of primer, paint to suit and put pin stripes on it in a complimentary color. Or flames or racing stripes or have it chromed.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Reply to
Gunner Asch

The list is @$50 with one cartridge. The Cartridges are @$22. RCMers get a 40% off. This is my first patent, almost 20 years ago. Apparently it was nifty enough for the Russians to steal.

Reply to
Tom Gardner

The list is @$50 with one cartridge. The Cartridges are @$22. RCMers get a 40% off. This is my first patent, almost 20 years ago. Apparently it was nifty enough for the Russians to steal.

Reply to
Tom Gardner

In my case, there was no bondo.

It is indeed rather rough, I think that they ground the casting in some places and left is as is in most places.

I think that it would be cool to make it look like a toy.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus25173

And I was just about to jump in and say NOT to use any abrasive blasting media till there was no other choice, because it has an annoying habit of going where it isn't wanted and causing problems with the equipment.

The Marines had a Huey crash from a seized gearbox, and they found about a dozen others with failing gearboxes from the cause - walnut shell blasting media in the oil lines to the transmission bearings...

Is that pretty close to the original color? To some purists, the 'wrong' color means No Sale.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

sandblasting and bead blasting are effective - but I don't know how well the HF units work - I have a TIP sand blaster that is pretty good - the kind with the pressurized container for sand

Reply to
William Noble

Oooohhh, I like THAT!

And to think what I've been paying that dental hygienist!

Reply to
Don Foreman

Take it to a tombsrtone place and have them sandblast it. Then be sure and clean it well. The sandblaster will know not to hit any sliding places. Or at least the place I take my stuff to will.

Bob AZ

Reply to
Bob AZ

There is not that much in this press, as far as moving parts are concerned.

I will keep it, and will in fact bolt to a green shop table on casters (3x3 feet, very heavy). So the color matches the table, I do not care what it looked like before, too much.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus25173

Ah HA!

What kind would I need for removing welding flux (stick) and how much are they, and cartridge costs?

Vedddy Interesting!!

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Reply to
Gunner Asch

It will look German. Put on some yellow pinstripes!!

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Reply to
Gunner Asch

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