Paint removal or lost cause?

[BFBOB]

I got a brilliant idea - or not. I just bought a little Red Arrow vise that needs stripping and a new paint job. No rust, just lousy paint. I put it in a gallon sized freezer ziplock bag, set that in a sturdy plastic container with a tight lid, surrounded it with wood blocks just to take up space, and filled the bag with paint thinner (mineral spirits), of which it took only about a quart.
The idea is that I'm in no hurry, and a few weeks of sitting there should loosen/remove the paint. The double confinement will keep the thinner from evaporating.
And, of course, paint thinner is much less toxic than the nasty stuff they put in paint remover.

Anyone tried the looonngg soak? Did it work??

 

[gilbo]

Why not use electrolysis, and be done with it, in a couple hours.

 

[The Cobbler]

mineral spirits probably wont budge the paint. it is not aggressive enough .
x2 on electrolysis

 

[BFBOB]

I'm a BIG fan of the E-Tank, but in my experience it does little if anything to sound paint on a solid, non-rusted substrate.
On rough, rusty stuff, yup, it'll take the paint right off.

 

[Maui]

Try Simple Green instead of paint thinner. After a few days the paint will come right off.

 

[motofool33]

paint stripper would be a better choice

 

[Boilerhouse]

I used paint stripper and a wire brush for a batch repaint of 4 vises. Did a great job and didn't take very long.

 

[BFBOB]

Yes, I know about paint stripper / remover. I can't use it in the house, and this time of year I ain't doing that stuff outside!!

Simple Green stinks (at least I think so, but then there are some who think WD-40 stinks) but it's not toxic. Maybe I'll try it if there's no progress in a week.
Thanks

 

[SimplyPeet]

I used paint stripper and a wire brush for a batch repaint of 4 vises. Did a great job and didn't take very long.

I'll second that. Wire wheeling an entire vise on a grinder takes about 30 minutes.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Well, you already have it soaking in the thinner so you may as well let it go for a few weeks and then see what happens. It sure won't hurt anything. Let us know how it comes out.

Another non-toxic method of paint removal for smaller items is to put them in a pot of simmering hot water. People restoring furniture often use this method for cleaning paint off the hardware (handles, hinges, etc.) Just let them cook until the paint falls off. Depending on how small the vise is (and if you have a large enough pot that you don't care about) it may be worth a try.

 

[Lynden]

Use a crockpot....

https://www.google.com/search?clien...int+from+hardware+crock+pot&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

 

[four.cycle]

Another non-toxic method of paint removal for smaller items is to put them in a pot of simmering hot water. People restoring furniture often use this method for cleaning paint off the hardware (handles, hinges, etc.) Just let them cook until the paint falls off. Depending on how small the vise is (and if you have a large enough pot that you don't care about) it may be worth a try.

I stopped using stripper years ago. It's expensive and it makes a mess and it stinks up the house. Awful stuff. Also pulls all the oil out of the wood piece you're working on and results in splintering on old pieces.

I have found that enough boiling hot water will remove any paint from any object, including the furnace grates in a 40-year-old house that had been painted with multiple coats of both oil-based and latex paint for years.

The problem with metal parts, of course, is preventing rust after you've removed all the paint and dried the water off. Blow dry, and use a hair dryer or heat gun to completely dry. A little surface rust might be inevitable, but #0000 steel wool is your friend.

 

[Jazz1]

Soaking in lacquer thinner will dissolve the paint. I sandblasted because I wanted to make sure there were no cracks in the vise.

 

[Boudin]

Use CitrusStrip paint Remover. Glob it on and cover with plastic bags. Paint will be gone in a few hours.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[turbowoodworker]

Is it not disassembled? You might have better results separating the parts.

 

[BFBOB]

Thanks to all -
I'd forgotten about the hot-boiling water trick. The vise in question would actually fit in a good sized stew pot, but it would be worth my life to so misuse one!
I just took a quick peek - on the top of the jaws, the only easily visible part, the paint is wrinkling! That's after only two days... will wait and see.

Turbo, the vise is not disassembled. I figured if it works, it will take weeks, plenty of time to soak in everywhere. And it's another data point for the experiment!

 

[driftpin]

I like Rustoleum aircraft paint stripper, it works quickly, and is available at your local auto parts stores. Multiple layers may require multiple coats. Be-sure to wear rubber gloves, not just thin latex gloves. Have some way of quickly washing your eyes, should you have some splash you (yes goggles/safety glasses are mandatory) though it's almost a gel rather than a liquid. For scrubbing, I like the brillo-type copper-wire pads commonly used in the kitchen for pot scouring.

Some metal prep as a wipe-on once metal parts are stripped will keep rust away until you paint it. Test a small area to ensure the product isn't corrosive to your material.

I like plain old everyday vinegar to remove rust. The cleaning vinegar is a higher % than kitchen brands.

These motorcycle pieces were rattle-canned gloss black, and the Rustoleum aircraft stripper made quick work of them. Stubborn residual traces required a second application.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I just took a quick peek - on the top of the jaws, the only easily visible part, the paint is wrinkling! That's after only two days... will wait and see.

Sounds good.

(note that people will continue to ignore your post and instead reply with every other possible way of stripping paint.)

 

[BFBOB]

Negative data is still data!
Several things went wrong, starting with a leak in the ziploc bag. After 10 days, about 1/4 of the thinner had escaped into the outer container, so I decided to call a halt. What I found was the large majority of the rattle-can baby blue had wrinkled up to where it came off in sheets, especially where the original paint was still sound. Where there was rust or chipped paint exposing bare metal, the blue stuck pretty well. A few minutes of putty knife and wire brush work resulted in what you see here. The original paint was not attacked at all by the thinner.
So, kids, don't try this at home. (not that it's dangerous - it just won't work).

I'll probably try Citrus Strip as Boudin suggested. Should be ok to use inside (for you southerners, some places it actually gets COLD outdoors in winter)

And though it appears the handle and screw head were painted originally (!!) these are going to get polished.

Thanks for all the comments - on point and off.

 

[F124C]

An air or electric Needle Descaler can work well on jobs like this.
(clean, fast, no solvents/chemicals/fumes, - just hold at 45 degrees to work surface).

AL.

 

[BFBOB]

Phase II of this experiment was to try boiling it. I'd heard of furniture old home restorers removing paint from delicate (brass) hardware. (Thanks, Stuart and Lyden) Since it fit with the objective of finding a paint removal method indoors in the middle of winter without causing explosions, asphixiations or fisticuffs, I gave it a try. Hint: consult the cook of the family for a suitable vessel before proceeding.
The short version is it worked pretty well. About 2 hours at a brisk simmer (replenishing water lost as steam along the way) removed the great majority of the factory paint and all the rattle-can, with just a bit of scraping and hand-wire brushing.
The little bit left was deep in the sand-casting, and probably could be left there with no problem. I decided to go a bit farther, and a few minutes on the wire wheel got rid of nearly all that.
The result is what you see here, waiting for a warm enough day I can paint it outdoors - it was 4 below last night (Farenheit!!) so it may be a while.

Of the two methods, I'd say boiling came closer to meeting the objective; paint thinner soak was pretty much a failure, though it did succeed in not filling the house with fumes. Mechanical means as a sole method are also unacceptable for putting too much dust/debris in the house.

On a much rustier project, I would definitely start with electrolysis.

Here are some pix - right after boiling and hand scrape, then afte rwire wheeling. I decided not to go with the factory paint job-paint everything -but mask the parts that are usually left bare on the big boys. The handles shined up pretty nice.

Any thoughts on the best match for factory color? Rusto Cherry Red looks close to me, certainly closer than Regal Red (my favorite red for vises if I'm not trying to match factory), and Carnival Red looks kinda pinkish to me.