TOPIC:

I'm going to tear my Z1 engine down to its bare casings to get rid of the silver paint that a PO applied many years ago.

Before I put them in the wet blasting cabinet though, I want to remove as much of the old paint as possible (blasting painted surfaces means changing the blast media much more often).

What experiences have you had with aluminum safe 'aircraft paint strippers'? I know that there are a number of brands out there - Rustoleum, POR-15, Klean-Strip etc.,

Does any brand out there stand head-and-shoulders above the others in practice?

Thanks for your input!

Klean-Strip has always worked good for me on steel and aluminum. I believe it is called Aircraft because it is powerful enough to work on epoxy paint on airplanes. Best to degrease motor, get it on thick, and give it time to work. And don't let it sit to long and dry up. And rinse, rinse, rinse to get it completely off. Most paint strippers will not hurt aluminum.

Jasco Premium Paint and Epoxy Remover works good. You have to wash it off with paint thinner but all the good strippers are same.

I appreciate the replies, guys.

Has anyone tried both of these brands who can offer a real-world-scenario comparison?

A little late to the party but Klean Stripe Aircraft stripper worked great for me,.

Wear gloves and eye protection, this stuff will burn you.
and do it in a well ventilated area or wear a respirator, or both

I poured some paint stripper in a small tin container and used a natural bristle paint brush to apply it to an area then almost right away started scrubbing it with a tooth brush, it loosened it up real quick.
Then I use a squirt bottle with warm soapy water to rinse it off into a catch pan.

You will still have to dig it out of the nooks and cranny's, I use cut up squares of old cotton tee shirts and a pair of hemostats for that.



















I don't paint my engines so I use WD-40 as a solvent for the final cleaning and for protection against oxidation