I’ve got some old, decorative, heavy metal hooks that have been painted at least twice. I thought I could just put paint remover on them, but it’s not working. Any suggestions? Sandblast? They’ve got a cool shape and scroll designs, so I don’t want to just pitch them.
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Tarlo
Is there a dipping strip shop or plating company near you?
What kind of paint remover are you using?
small parts - put in pressure cooker with salt water and tsp
If epoxy paint coated, may need to add some nitric acid
Lacquer Thinner
Oil based paint softens nicely with 1/2" of cheap lacquer thinner in a pail, add your hardware, no need to be covered with liquid. Cover the pail to keep the fumes inside. Let it sit overnight. 5 gallon mud or paint bucket works great.
Thanks all, lots of great suggestions. I'll start with the easiest first and work my way up to the abrasives/plating company. BTW, just using a "Strip-Ez" type remover.
You might try some heat. Use a hot plate on the lowest setting and put the stuff in a can with the stripper. I would do this way out in the yard. Fumes and rhe chance of fire may be an issue depending on what stripper you use.
Latex paint may respond to soapy water tho.
If they're really old they might be oil, laquer, or (as I said earlier) fired-on ceramic. There may be a new layer of latex on them, but that would not be the original coating.
There's also a vague chance that someone put some "milk paint" on them at one point, and that's also impervious to standard paint removers. There are purpose-made removers for milk paint, or ammonia is reputed to be moderately effective at softening it.
not sure on the size but i have had gread luck with stickeing them in a pot of boiling water then scraping
“[Deleted]”
oven cleaner aka lye cleans off pretty much everything - just use caution as "it cleans everything " including skin down to the bone....