Powder coat removal

[Old Sporty]

What's the best way to remove powder coat paint so an item can be welded?

I've tried all sorts of abrasives with varying degrees of success with most just softening the paint and smudging it around. Loading of the abrasives is also a serious problem.

Thanks for your input.

[aametalmaster]

Yes powdercoat is a PIA. I just just my grinder with a flap wheel, sure it smears but eventally it cuts thru it...Bob

[BWS29128]

What's the base material that's been powdercoated? A steel wire wheel on my 4.5" DeWalt works really well, but will eat the S**t out of your base metal if it gets away from you. Sandblasting or beadblasting with glass beads is absolutely THE BEST way to get rid of powdercoating, but your part will have to be small enough to fit inside the cabinet.

[dabar39]

getting it off

I know how to put it on easy enough, getting it off is a whole nother pain in the rear. Best ways I know are already mentioned in the above posts, but in some cases you maybe able to chip it on an edge and get a razor blade under it and peel it off. Dave

[BWS29128]

I know how to put it on easy enough, getting it off is a whole nother pain in the rear. Best ways I know are already mentioned in the above posts, but in some cases you maybe able to chip it on an edge and get a razor blade under it and peel it off. Dave

True...I'd forgotten about that. I saw a kid trying it once and his hand slipped down the razor-handle and we ended up taking him to the E.R. so if you go this route be careful.

[garth]

kneedle scaler or the torch method (with this use propper respatory protection.) then soft disk on grinder.

[ROTARY]

the easiest way to remove powder coat is Klean-strip Aircraft remover, i use it all the time.

[Darmik]

Powder coat

For the matter of $60.00 You can get a spot shot sand blaster Very good and small for what you are trying to do.And well worth the money.I don't know if there is an acklands grainger near you but that's one place to buy it.But I don't know your location.

[Old Sporty]

Thanks

Guys - Thanks for the input. My problem is I need to box a steel trailer frame that has been powder coated. This will require removal of approx. 42 linear feet of coating along the edges of the channel.

I've used flap disks in the past but that gets very expensive as they load too fast. Also used the wire brush with better results. I have a small sand blaster but having used it on previous attempts at removing powder coat, I wasn't very satisfied as it took a long time and used a lot of media.

Thanks Rotary - I think I'll get a can of the aircraft remover and give it a shot. Sure will be easier to attack this with a chip brush than the other ways.

[dabar39]

Aircraft stripper

The only reason I did not mention this method is because I have had problems when it came time to recoat the item. Seems the stripper gets into the pores (especially on aluminum) and even after a good cleaning it still leaves a residue in the pores and outgases when being baked, the only way to get rid of it is to prebake the item and reclean the item before recoating and that gets gets time consuming and is not very cost effective. Keep in mind also that if you just need to do a spot repair you only have to clean around the effected areas and powder can be applied over the old powder with good results, the entire item may not need to be stripped. . Dave

[ROTARY]

thats strange ive never had a problem with aircraft remover and i powder coat all the time, cast aluminum likes to outgas sometimes even after a pre-heat before coating. do you only have this problem with alum? also how do you clean your parts after using aircraft remover?

Old Sporty - if you are unsure of using the aircraft remover do a test run on a scrap of the same metal as your work piece.

[dabar39]

ROTARY, I know cast aluminum will outgas if you don't pre heat, but I have had some (not many) problems with various types of extruded aluminum after using stripper. I clean the item with soap and water, let dry and then use acetone or laquer thinners for the final cleaning. Hmmmm... just thought of something, maybe my stuff wasn't as dry as I thought it was using the soap and water to neutralize the stripper? could that be my problem, I wonder if water is staying in the pores even though I think it's dry? Anyways, I've not had a problem with mild, cast steel or stainless coatings, seems it's only the aluminum that gives me problems. Dave

P.S. I'm still fairly new to the powder coating so go easy on me, I'm still learning.

[Jim-TX]

The guy that does my powder coating uses a rosebud torch on old powder coated stuff like car frames. Once he burns the coating he sand blasts. He does this stuff for a living so I figure he's tried different ways and thinks this is the best.

[welder_one]

What's the best way to remove powder coat paint so an item can be welded?

I've tried all sorts of abrasives with varying degrees of success with most just softening the paint and smudging it around. Loading of the abrasives is also a serious problem.

Thanks for your input.

when you talk about flap wheels loading, have you tried a ceramic wheel? i grind alot of aluminum to the point of ruining alot of grinders. we switched to norzon blaze ceramic discs and they last a buuuunch longer with alot less loading. norton is not the only ones making a ceramic wheel, just thats what our lws carries