whackywaxer
Well-known member
I have an aluminum plate which is covered with thick black powder coat ....whats the best method or product to use to remove it for polishing.....Thanks
Remove Powder Coat from Alumin.
- Thread starter whackywaxer
- Start date
pepi
Well-known member
If I were going to do this, light sanding is where I would start, 180 until you just start to see the raw metal, bump it to 220 to finish it off. If buffing 320, finish off with 600. Hopefully these are flat surfaces, other wise it will take a while.
Stooge
Well-known member
i've had great luck with aircraft stripper on powdercoat, "melts" it right off after a few minutes
pepi
Well-known member
Never knew or thought that could work, good one to remember. I was under the impression power coats were impervious to anything but chipping LOL.
kf4zht
Well-known member
Gasket remover spray also works well. Getting hard to find so I keep a can on hand
http://www.permatex.com/products-2/...ermatex-gasket-remover-low-voc-formula-detail
APEowner
Well-known member
I can tell you to not use the commercial Redi-Strip service. Their process does an excellent job of removing the powder coating but something in the process anneals the aluminum. I had the coating removed from about 50 cabinets at one time and they looked great but you could crumple them up by hand afterwards.
You might try sending a PM to CudaChick and see if she has any suggestions.
You might try sending a PM to CudaChick and see if she has any suggestions.
Jswain
Well-known member
Pretty sure I've read acetone works well here but no personal experience, I am sure someone here has though!
IlliniJeeper
Well-known member
They probably bake the powdercoat off which would make sense that it could anneal the aluminum a bit, depending on what temperature they set their ovens to.
I will give my recommendation to use aircraft stripper. Worked wonderfully to remove the powdercoating off of my Jeep's rocker guards. Mechanical removal with sandpaper and a wire wheel was a HUGE pain. I do not recommend trying to do that. It also tore up the base steel and it would definitely tear up aluminum.
OP
whackywaxer
Well-known member
Success .............I got some Aviation Stripper and with 3 coatings and a little work w/ a wire brush and I got the 6" x 10" plate with ribs (K&N filter cover for MG) cleaned right up from the thick coating of black powder coat.......kf4zht...I once stripped Valve Cover using Gasket Remover....I was amazed at how well it worked. .....Only problem Aviation Stripper is EXPENSIVE.
IlliniJeeper
Well-known member
Yes it is. It'll also eat through Nitrile gloves and give off a bit of heat while doing it. Oops.
Glad to hear it worked well for you.
V-10 Killer
Well-known member
I'm gonna use this as a learning lesson in a different direction. I need to get a gasket off a powdercoated aluminum part without killing the powdercoat. These are all good examples of what I shouldn't do then lol.
TheEquineFencer
Well-known member
Scratch/scuff it with a 80# grit sandpaper, then spray or brush on the AirPlane stripper in the shade, not too hot of a day and not too cool of a day, directions are on the can. When it finishes bubbling up good, take a 4000PSI pressure washer and blow it off. A hot water washer works even better. Repete if it doesn't all come off. You might have to sand a few stubborn spots if the point spray tip doesn't get the stubborn spots. It works great stripping a car, tractor or anything painted I know. I've never tried it on powder coat, but if it'll strip Imron paint, powder coating shouldn't be a problem.
Slick111
Well-known member
Wet sand it with 150 grit to take off the top gloss finish then scrub it with acetone soaked scotchbrite pad.
CudaChick1968
Member Emeritus
Awwww thanks for thinkin of me APE!
Whacky, if the job was originally done badly (as it sounds, since you mentioned it's thick), then chances are good it was also over- or under-cured too so you can probably just blast it off with abrasive media. You don't want to go over 90 psi or concentrate the nozzle onto the metal for long periods of time. Depending on how big the plate is, it might take a half hour or longer but it will come off without doing damage to the aluminum.
If you try blasting it and it doesn't come off easily, the only chemical I'd personally use it on it is aircraft or powder coating stripper. They're both expensive ($60/gallon or so) and don't always work, and you certainly don't want to leave it soaking in anything for too long. Cast aluminum is very porous and it will absorb liquid ... and it won't always come out.
Easy Off oven cleaner can take anodizing off but a good powder coating job will laugh at it and be a waste of resources.
If the metal doesn't have details you can use a DA sander and some 80 / 120 grit. Wear a glove because the metal's going to get hot.
* * *
And crapstix, I just realized you already did it. I saw the thread this morning but had to split and saved it for later when I was done in the shop ... oops.
I’m looking to remove old thick powder coating from cast aluminum on (8) fairly intricate patio chairs. I’ve tried Aircraft but it wasn’t aggressive enough probably because it was methyl chloride free. It was also very time consuming and expensive. I would consider this a medium to large project because there are 8 chairs I want to strip the PC off of. I’m trying to not damage the metal because the next step is to polish them to close to a mirror finish. I’m trying to match them to some chairs that I already own/use that came polished already. If the removal process helped with the next step (polishing) that would be awesome. If it damaged the aluminum it would be terrible. I thought about heating or dipping but I don’t own anything big enough for either. I own a small Home Depot 3200 PSI water blaster. Has anybody used glass media through a water blaster to remove PC from aluminum that will be polished in the next step? *** I haven’t researched this to make sure this is true but after March 2021 methyl chloride will be outlawed in California.
Getting hard to find stripper that has methyl chloride. I was having luck with permanent from Napa. Dedicated powdercoat stripper is available
I think wet blasting with glass beads would be costly and very aggressive. Would try paint stripper and maybe pressure wash .
The stripper will soften it at least .
I think wet blasting with glass beads would be costly and very aggressive. Would try paint stripper and maybe pressure wash .
The stripper will soften it at least .
harperlola27
Member
Try with lemon juice and vinegar. All natural ingredients.
This!
Metal-Marc
Well-known member
Tinner
Well-known member
Xylene works well in my experience. I've heard it doesn't work on some, but I haven't run into that problem. Removes most gasket sealers well, also.
SlappyWhite
Well-known member
Another "vote" for aircraft stripper. Give it a scuff first also helps.