What to use to clean paint off aluminium?

Question

A friend wants to remove some paint off aluminium panels. The trouble is these panels are probably stove enamelled. Normal DIY methylene chloride paint remover only just touches the stuff, some industrial paint stripper gets it off but its real nasty stuff. Any suggestions about any other options that are not as bad.

Tom Gardner · Accepted Answer

How big are they?  How thick?  What surface finish does he want?Mini-grinder + cup brushSend to plater or stripperSanding disk in power tool - drill or grinderBurn it off with torch

David Billington · Answer

Varying sizes but on average about 18" x 24" for example. Thickness

18swg. He wants a polished finish ultimately and the underlying aluminium surface is already quite smooth. From your suggestions methods 1 and 3 are likely to be hard work due to quantity and won't help the surface finish. Method 4 might be worth a try but I would be worried about localised distortion if not done with care. Suggestion 2, he already has the stripper but what could a plater do.

Mini-grinder + cup brush Send to plater or stripper Sanding disk in power tool - drill or grinder Burn it off with torch

Tom Gardner wrote:

Mike Henry · Answer

Ethyl lactate might take it off if you soak it in that for an hour or two.It's fairly non-volatile at room temperature and a "green" solvent.

Tom Gardner · Answer

A plater can also strip them.  How about turning them over and using the other side?Silly question:  How much are new ones?

David Billington · Answer

They are no longer made so getting new ones without paint is not an option. They can not be turned over as the parts would not work that way.Tom Gardner wrote:

Grant Erwin · Answer

I like to immerse painted aluminum pieces in a saturated solution of Cascade dishwashing soap heated to about 200F for about 15 minutes, after which the paint usually comes off easily or falls off. Be very careful doing hot soaks on aluminum though since solvents like lye or even TSP will eat it away very rapidly indeed at temperature (lye much more so than TSP).

An auto paint store should be able to provide you with aircraft paint remover, which is simply more concentrated paint remover. That works too, but it's a godawful pain to use.

Personally, if the paint is tight, I recommend cleaning it, roughing it slightly with steel wool, wiping it down with paint thinner, blowing it dry with compressed air, then repainting over the top. Use the former paint as primer. Fill it if it has chips or whatever, use auto body filler. I don't strip to bare metal any more without a fairly compelling reason.

Grant

David Bill> They are no longer made so getting new ones without paint is not an

David Billington · Answer

This is worth a try and easy to get hold of, at least I think we can get cascade or something like it in the UK. My mate has industrial paint stripper already which does the job, but its nasty stuff and wants to find an alternative if possible. The whole point of the exercise is to remove all the paint so the panel can be polished for effect.Grant Erw

What to use to clean paint off aluminium?

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