Paint Removal from Parts

[Vintage Veloce]

I just took the very old flagpole mount off of our 100 year old house. Lots of paint layers on this, some certainly lead based. The screws rusted off in the wood!
So... whats the easiest way to strip the paint off of this? Is there something I can soak it in? I don't have easy access to a sand/bead blaster.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Get an old pot or a tin can, and boil it in water.

7 Methods to Remove Paint From Metal That Actually Work

Learn about seven methods to remove old paint from items like hardware, hinges, knobs, etc, including using boiling water, a heat gun, a scraper, and paint strippers.

www.thespruce.com

 

[MrPink]

tin can and gasoline or paint stripper.

 

[Zeke]

Get an old pot or a tin can, and boil it in water.

...with lye. Assuming it's steel.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

It's magnetic, likely cast iron.
Boiling water! Way too easy, I would never have guessed.
Dad would have soaked it gasoline in the 1950s... I think I'll try the water first.

 

[ybnormal]

when I was in the Navy 30 yrs ago it would have been Xylene . makes paint bubble right off within 2 minutes of application

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=xylene+and+paint+removal

 

[Vintage Veloce]

I have a can of Xylene right here... but I think I'll try boiling first!

 

[PoorUB]

If you have Boraxo a tablespoon in the water will help too. Pretty sure you don't need to boil the water, just get it hot.

 

[Toxictom]

Boil it in water with baking soda. Paint will come off with no effort.

 

[rayra]

Jasco makes a gelled paint stripper that's very effective. But you'll instantly know if you splatter any on your bare skin.

Boiling!? Excellent. Never would have occurred to me.

 

[FredWanaker]

I cleaned some hinges in boiling water and baking soda once. Worked really well to soften the paint on them. Worked better than leaving another set in a can of MEK and Acetone. Both methods worked.

 

[toolmiser]

I keep an old crock pot around for items like this. Overnight in water and the paint comes right off.

 

[My Old Tools]

electrolysis rust removal takes the paint off with the rust pretty much every time.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

B12 Chemtool Fuel Injector cleaner. It'll come off in complete sheets. I found this out by accident and did this with some 100 year old HVAC grates in my Pasadena house. It's reusable too if you filter out the paint.

 

[Jayman17]

Another non toxic way is an overnight soak in Simple Green. Factory paint on old power tool parts comes right off this way.

Jay

 

[Yankee2bbq]

I just took the very old flagpole mount off of our 100 year old house. Lots of paint layers on this, some certainly lead based. The screws rusted off in the wood!
So... whats the easiest way to strip the paint off of this? Is there something I can soak it in? I don't have easy access to a sand/bead blaster.

I’ll add my 2 cents.
I use oven cleaner to strip and clean various parts. Buy a couple cans from Dollar General or from Wal-Marts. Place that flag pole mount in a coffee can and spray the heck out of it with oven cleaner. Do it OUTSIDE. Soak it down good. Let it sit over night. Spray clean with garden hose and wire brush. Wear gloves when handling it.

 

[ZRX61]

I keep an old crock pot around for items like this. Overnight in water and the paint comes right off.

Works even better with some laundry detergent in it.

 

[Stuart in MN]

A pot of water is free. For cleaning a single part, I don't know why people are suggesting more expensive and complicated methods.

 

[ZRX61]

A pot of water is free. For cleaning a single part, I don't know why people are suggesting more expensive and complicated methods.

If a teaspoon of laundry detergent is going to cause someone to miss a car payment & cause confusion, they may want to reevaluate their finances & ask their college to refund their tuition

 

[Stuart in MN]

I was talking about the suggestions of electrolysis, various chemicals, etc.

 

[danfromsyr]

my take is I'd go the chemical free methods 1st.
last thing any of us need is more oven cleaner and solvents mucking about if not necessary.

but I'd also consider tossing it in the woodstove for a spell ;-)

we boiled the antique locksets in our house..
was nice to see the Bennington Potters clay door knob come out from under half dozen coats of paint.

polished that knob up real nice and it's a treat to put ones hand on.
an original fixture to this 200yr old house made by hand from clay out of the ground in Vermont.

 

[disston]

I use Pine Sol the house hold cleaner for stripping paint. If I need a lot I dilute it. Also save the remains after use as it's still good.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I have been using a product called gunwash. Gunwash is used in the automotive paint trade to clean spray guns. This is a strong lacquer product that can be very rough on skin. Use with caution. Gunwash is very flammable. I have often filtered the gunwash and used it many more times.
I bought a paint mixer. It had up to 2.5cm of dried paint inside the cabinet. I opened an area on the dried paint and poured some gunwash in and let the cabinet sit for an hour. the paint lifted off, easily.

 

[MoonRise]

Note that using lye or oven cleaner (which is usually a spray can of lye) or Simple Green or ANYTHING alkaline (and lye is really-REALLY-really alkaline ) on something made of aluminum WILL etch (with short term exposure) or dissolve the aluminum object.

To remove paint, I'll usually use ...





paint remover.

And although I do (now) have access to a media blaster, on an old probably lead-paint coated object I'd use chemical removers to remove the paint first and then maybe clean the metal with the media blaster if needed.

Cast iron sitting in water, with various corrosives in it (baking soda, soap, whatever) probably would not be my first choice as I don't like turning a painted cast iron object into a rusty formerly cast iron object. Personal choice.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Well, I tried a short dunk in boiling water (30-60 min) and the outer layers came off... but the older, likely lead paint didn't budge. My wife forbid me from using one of her pans on the stove for a longer boil... I'll have to buy a cheap pan at goodwill and put it on the grill. Or... I do have an old can of zip-strip...

 

[Yankee2bbq]

Well, I tried a short dunk in boiling water (30-60 min) and the outer layers came off... but the older, likely lead paint didn't budge. My wife forbid me from using one of her pans on the stove for a longer boil... I'll have to buy a cheap pan at goodwill and put it on the grill. Or... I do have an old can of zip-strip...

Do the zip-strip. Or oven cleaner. Don’t be scared.

 

[ZRX61]

I was talking about the suggestions of electrolysis, various chemicals, etc.

It was tongue in cheek, I couldn't resist after your post appeared below mine

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

A pot of water is free. For cleaning a single part, I don't know why people are suggesting more expensive and complicated methods.

'cause that's what Garage Journal is for!

 

[Shiftless]

For stripping multiple layers of paint from old vises, including old factory paint, I use undiluted Simple Green in an old crock pot.
Here is the result. The last pic is the original as found condition.
I like this technique because it preserves all of the texture and sharpness of detail.

 

[Yankee2bbq]

Got to love Garage Journal! “The place where everyone is boss”

 

[Shiftless]

Reading about others’ success with plain water, I will try that on my next non greasy vise stripping job. Needless to say, soaking in hot Simple Green for a few hours gets hardened up old grease out of difficult to access places in old vises. That’s why I like the SG soak method.
But as others have already said, some laundry detergent in water might be almost as good.

Stripping that flag pole mount is really straight forward.

 

[txvwnut]

For old grease or oil residue you'll most likely need a detergent of some sort. For just straight paint a sak in boiling water works wonders. If the paint is really thick it may take a couple of sessions but avoiding chemicals is never a bad thing.

 

[Forgottonia]

If you don't get it all off with the suggestions above you might work it over with a wire wheel. You're not gonna scratch that cast iron.