Paint strippers. What's your current favorite?

[ebinmaine 74,174]

What's your current favorite method of removing paint from metal? 

 

Chemical? 

 

Mechanical? 

 

My Workhorse is getting a repaint. The two year old maroon ish needs removal so I can get some gray on it...

 

What say you, fine Redsquare folk?

 

 

 

[lynnmor 8,035]

Two year old paint should strip easily with chemicals, I don’t like to use mechanical methods till it becomes necessary.  However paint stripping products aren’t as effective as in the good old days, I guess the safety police meddled in that.

[Racinbob 12,167]

Rustoleum make what they call Aircraft Remover. I've had a partial spray can on the shelf for many years. I ran across it a while back and thought I'd try it again figuring it wouldn't spray after all these years. It did. I forgot how nasty it is. Even the mist will feel like acid on your skin. Yup, first hand info. Give it a few minutes and the paint will basically drop off. It's still sold but, like lynnmor said, it's probably watered down now. I've tried about every stripper out there and haven't found anything close.

[Achto 29,674]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

My Workhorse is getting a repaint. The two year old maroon ish needs removal so I can get some gray on it.

 

If your old paint is not peeling or flaking, I would not remove it. Wet sand it with 400grit and spray over it.

[ebinmaine 74,174]

3 minutes ago, Achto said:

 

If your old paint is not peeling or flaking, I would not remove it. Wet sand it with 400grit and spray over it.

 

 

This particular case, some of it is scratched or broken already and I don't want to leave it there because the maroon has such a sharp contrast to the gray going over the top of it. It will get scratched again. And I don't want to see a two color scratch.

I'd rather just remove it now while it's easy.

[JoeM 8,696]

Looks like @Blue Chips has pretty good results wrapping the stripper.

[oliver2-44 10,922]

Was the original paint remover prior to the maroon paint?

Since it's newer paint I would expect some of the newer strippers like Citistrip to work OK. 

Wrapping tightly in thin plastic does help, it slows the evaporation so the product works on the paint longer.  

The "Aircraft Stripper does an excellent job, but it is pricy. 

Since it is newer paint, try wiping it with a very wet rag of lacquer thinner, it just might wrinkle right up.

[Blue Chips 150]

1 hour ago, JoeM said:

Looks like @Blue Chips has pretty good results wrapping the stripper.

 

I've had good results with CitriStrip gel on various items. As @oliver2-44 mentioned, wrapping the stripper in a poly sheet keeps the gel wet and working for a long time. Sometimes a second application is needed. You could buy a small bottle and test it on a small area to see how it works.

 

Results will vary with the type of paint. It seems to work well on 1K single-component paints, but 2K (two-component) paints are more chemical resistant.

Edited Thursday at 02:06 PM by Blue Chips

[ebinmaine 74,174]

1 hour ago, Blue Chips said:

It seems to work well on 1K single-component paints

 

This is single coat Rust-Oleum 2X. 

 

Sounds like it could work.  

 

[ri702bill 9,892]

4 hours ago, Achto said:

If your old paint is not peeling or flaking, I would not remove it. Wet sand it with 400grit and spray over it.

 One reason the finish on WH tractors and implements turns to that familiar rust-brown color is that they did not use a primer prior to painting & top coating. That makes for a rather thin base to build off of later...  it all depends on how chipped, flaking, or rusted the overall finish is to decide to strip it to bare metal or not. Unless you are a total hack & just use a paint brush or roller! 

[Achto 29,674]

11 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

it all depends on how chipped, flaking, or rusted the overall finish is to decide to strip it to bare metal or not.

 

Agree, I always strip to bare metal for a resto. Sounds like Eric is repainting a previous job that he did.

[ebinmaine 74,174]

17 minutes ago, Achto said:

 

Agree, I always strip to bare metal for a resto.

 

Us too. 

 

17 minutes ago, Achto said:

Sounds like Eric is repainting a previous job that he did.

 

Correct. 

[Blue Chips 150]

2 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

This is single coat Rust-Oleum 2X. 

 

I think CitriStrip should probably work fine. Rust-Oleum 2X is a single-component paint (not to be confused with 2K).

 

You probably know this already, but just to clarify for anyone new to paint: A 2K two-component paint is one that uses a separate catalyst/hardener that is mixed with the paint to speed curing and promote molecular cross-linking that results in a hard, high-durability finish.

 

Most spray can paints are single-component paints, although if you don't mind spending some extra bucks, you can get 2K spray cans that have a built-in inner compartment containing a hardener/catalyst, which is typically activated by pushing a separate button or pin on the bottom of the can to open up the catalyst container inside the spray can. Once activated, there is typically a limited time window in which the paint must be used. 2K spray cans might be a good choice for a small job that only requires one or two spray cans, but for larger spray jobs, it is usually more economical to buy larger quantities of 2K paint and use a spray gun.

Edited Thursday at 05:34 PM by Blue Chips

[Chaz54 85]

I’m currently working on refinishing a few parts on my ‘89 520H. This is what I’m using, it works pretty good.

I tried using the CitriStrip and found it not working as well and taking longer.

 

Edited Thursday at 08:21 PM by Chaz54

[Blue Chips 150]

18 minutes ago, Chaz54 said:

I tried using the CitriStrip and found it not working as well and taking longer.

 

 

CitriStrip can be quite slow, but works well for a lot of paints if you're not in a hurry. I usually cover the object being stripped and let it work overnight (or longer). In most cases the paint literally falls off.

 

I've used a LOT of different paint strippers over the last 50 years or so...some of them VERY nasty to use. Different stripping chemicals work better with some paints than others.

 

 

[ebinmaine 74,174]

1 hour ago, Blue Chips said:

I usually cover the object being stripped and let it work overnight

 

 

How about setting the pieces in big 40 gallon trash bags?

[Blue Chips 150]

6 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

How about setting the pieces in big 40 gallon trash bags?

I've done that. Works.

[Blue Chips 150]

I tried using CitriStrip on three different kinds of paint last night and had excellent results with two of them.

 

Here's a pulley from a WH mower deck. I applied stripper to it and placed it in a plastic bag:

 

Here's how the pulley looked this morning when removed from the plastic bag. All of the paint wrinkled up nicely:

 

I simply brushed off the stripper and wrinkled paint, gave it a quick wash with mineral spirits to remove any residue, let it dry, and primed it:

 

I applied the stripper on a broken piece of painted cast aluminum from a chainsaw and placed it in a plastic bag:

 

In the morning, the paint had not wrinkled, but it was so soft that it came off in seconds with a plastic-bristled brush. I then gave it a quick wipe down with mineral spirits:

 

I didn't have such good luck with this WH rim. I applied the stripper to a small area and covered it with polyethylene. In the morning, the top layer of paint had softened to the point that it could be scraped off, but the stripper had no apparent effect on the underlying primer, which I suspect is a 2K epoxy primer, and it's possible that the top coat might be a 2K paint, which is often used on rims.

 

The rim paint might respond better to other, more potent strippers, but I think I'll bead blast it instead.

[ebinmaine 74,174]

1 hour ago, Blue Chips said:

tried using CitriStrip on three different kinds of paint last night

 

 

Good experiment. I appreciate you doing that. Very interesting.

[Maz91 283]

If you go the mechanical route, these are the best at stripping paint in my experience and little to no metal damage

 

[Chaz54 85]

14 minutes ago, Maz91 said:

If you go the mechanical route, these are the best at stripping paint in my experience and little to no metal damage

What brand, description, etc. are these?

[ebinmaine 74,174]

21 minutes ago, Maz91 said:

If you go the mechanical route, these are the best at stripping paint in my experience and little to no metal damage

 

 

 

 

 

6 minutes ago, Chaz54 said:

What brand, description, etc. are these?

 

 

 

Agreed. These work excellent for paint or sometimes even rust.

 

 

[rmaynard 16,489]

I have not found a paint stripper that really works as good as Methylene Chloride. Since the EPA has said "no, no, no" to anything that works well, I find myself going to yard and garage sales looking for the good old stuff. My brother used to strip and repair furniture. He would have Methylene Chloride delivered by tanker truck to fill his stripping tanks. I would syphon off a gallon or two for my own personal use, but that was back in late 1980's. Times have changed.

[sqrlgtr 840]

On 10/16/2025 at 5:10 AM, Racinbob said:

Rustoleum make what they call Aircraft Remover. I've had a partial spray can on the shelf for many years. I ran across it a while back and thought I'd try it again figuring it wouldn't spray after all these years. It did. I forgot how nasty it is. Even the mist will feel like acid on your skin. Yup, first hand info. Give it a few minutes and the paint will basically drop off. It's still sold but, like lynnmor said, it's probably watered down now. I've tried about every stripper out there and haven't found anything close.

 

I also have had good luck out of the Rustoleym Aircraft Remover, but haven't used in a while so don't know if its the SOS it used to be.

[Maz91 283]

10 hours ago, Chaz54 said:

What brand, description, etc. are these?

That picture was generic from the internet to show the style of disc, but here is the actual one that I have used. I tried every sanding disc and wire wheel I could find and these were the winner. As Eric said they actually remove rust well too. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Avanti-Pro-4-1-2-in-x-5-8-in-11-in-Non-Woven-Quick-Strip-Disc-PNW045STRB01G/202830907
 

Harbor Freight has something similar but I felt like the avanti ones worked better. I have limited use with the HF discs though.