Use the aircraft paint stripper at Home Depot. It's methylene chloride,
the same stuff that is/was used to strip aluminum aircraft parts with.
Now it's commercial use is mostly prohibited due to pollution
considerations, so you can only buy it for household use. It is pretty
nasty stuff, so use gloves and goggles, and have a water hose nearby to
wash it off if you get any on yourself. Don't drink it, and don't get it
on the grass at your mom's house!
The secret is to apply the stripper and let it work, but don't let it
dry out. It's best to do it in a warm area, but not in direct sunlight.
I recommend applying it with a paint brush. Spread an eighth inch thick
layer on, and let it do the job. With lots of layers of paint, the top
layer may come off leaving the layer below dry. Reapply in these areas.
Don't keep brushing the areas over and over and over, let it sit there
in a wet film.
Once all the paint is soft, use a fine wire brush (not like the one for
your barbecue grill, more like a toothbrush) to scrub the area
thoroughly. You can also use a Scotchbrite(TM) pad if you prefer. Do not
apply any water until the stripping action is complete to your
satisfaction- water neutralizes the stripper.
Then rinse thoroughly with fresh water. You want to get it all off (it's
kind of slimy) so you don't have paint problems later. You never want to
let the stripper (or film) dry on the part or it gets very hard to
remove. A pressure washer (or better yet, a steam cleaner) works great
for this step. Keep the safety glasses to protect you from the residue
splashing back.
The "approved" way to strip (I'm told by businesses that do this
occasionally) is to scrape and wash all the stripper/paint residue off
the part onto a tarp to dry out thoroughly, then toss the dried stuff
into the dumpster. They make a pond from plastic paint tarps (with a 2X
4 wood dam perimeter) where they do all their stripping. Let the water
evaporate from the pond, don't let it run down the storm drain.
Please don't let this explanation discourage you, it isn't as hard as it
sounds.
You can save the aluminum etching step until just before you paint to
maximize paint adhesion. It's not expensive (I'll give you some), and as
another lister mentioned, it is not the same as metal prep for steel.
You can buy it from Aircraft Spruce & Specialties in Corona (they've
moved from their former location in Fullerton).
There are other strippers and methods out there- alchohol based
strippers (Dan Swett's- works OK, not as agressive as methylene
chloride) and media blasting (glass beads, soda, dry ice, etc.) to name
a few. Each salesman will tell you that their method is best!
Brandon
William R. Benson wrote:
>
> Hello!
>
> What is the best method of removing all of the old paint from the aluminum deck of a mule?
>
===
To unsubscribe from the mil-veh mailing list, send the single word
UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of a message to <mil-veh-request@skylee.com>.