Powder Coat Removal??

[Dontheo55]

I just went through this with a trailer hitch I wanted to repaint. The only thing that worked real well was “gasket remover”. It works just like oven cleaner. Just spray it on and before it dries scrap the mess off. It has to be gasket remover. I found some on Amazon.

 

[motormech1]

As an aside, many people mistake heat cured wet coat finishes like some epoxies and other electrostatic wet coat paints and other coatings like isocyanate polyurethanes such as Dupont Imron for a powder coat finish because they are thick and very hard. For the newbies, powdercoat is literally melted plastic powder. It can be disolved by some chemicals of course, but not very well by most over-the-counter stuff from the big box stores.

 

[woodchucker]

jAs an aside, many people mistake heat cured wet coat finishes like some epoxies and other electrostatic wet coat paints and other coatings like isocyanate polyurethanes such as Dupont Imron for a powder coat finish because they are thick and very hard. For the newbies, powdercoat is literally melted plastic powder. It can be disolved by some chemicals of course, but not very well by most over-the-counter stuff from the big box stores.

Agreed. Imron is like a bullet proof (ok an exaggeration) paint. It's also good for destroying your liver.

 

[motormech1]

It's also good for destroying your liver

Totally. I wear full bunny suit, full faced forced air respirator and gloves when I shoot it. If the can lid is even cracked open I wear a respirator.

 

[woodchucker]

I took a nice full breath of a can one time. I was at my friends and he had moved it to a smaller can and it was unmarked. As soon as I sniffed it, I knew... FFFFF.

I have a full forced air respirator with a carbon cartridge too. I don't have the hose anymore. I could just use a clean air hose with some restriction, but I don't shoot imron anymore. My friend wound up in the hospital from not wearing the proper respirator. I think he's about 80 now, surprised he is still kicking, he was pretty sick from it.

 

[pontiac428]

Unfortunately, methylene chloride has (finally) been banned in the US for paint removal as of this year. MeCl is electrophilic enough that it can nuke polymers including thermal cure powders. The substitute is dimethyl carbonate, a convenient but slow acting compound that releases methanol on contact with the atmosphere and surfaces. Methanol is a weak paint stripper that only works on lacquers, and sucks on polymers.

If you can find methylene chloride, use it. I wish I would have known it was banned. I bought some, went home and used it, needed more, went back to the store two weeks later, and no more on the shelves anywhere in town. All replaced by safer alternatives that don't work nearly as well as the nasty chemical.

Some coatings are so tough that even under mechanical removal you can burn into the base metal in spots before making it through the coating on other spots. Blasting and wire brushing both exhibit this problem with hard/tough coatings, so be careful.

The new stuff is all junk.

 

[woodchucker]

yea, I miss that stuff too. On wood finishes it worked fast, without harming the wood. I used it on my spray guns to clean them out after many paint cycles, nothing else works like methylene chloride. with proper mask and gloves you could be safe stripping out in the garage.

Unfortunately, methylene chloride has (finally) been banned in the US for paint removal as of this year. MeCl is electrophilic enough that it can nuke polymers including thermal cure powders. The substitute is dimethyl carbonate, a convenient but slow acting compound that releases methanol on contact with the atmosphere and surfaces. Methanol is a weak paint stripper that only works on lacquers, and sucks on polymers.

If you can find methylene chloride, use it. I wish I would have known it was banned. I bought some, went home and used it, needed more, went back to the store two weeks later, and no more on the shelves anywhere in town. All replaced by safer alternatives that don't work nearly as well as the nasty chemical.

Some coatings are so tough that even under mechanical removal you can burn into the base metal in spots before making it through the coating on other spots. Blasting and wire brushing both exhibit this problem with hard/tough coatings, so be careful.

The new stuff is all junk.

View attachment 441434

 

[pontiac428]

yea, I miss that stuff too. On wood finishes it worked fast, without harming the wood. I used it on my spray guns to clean them out after many paint cycles, nothing else works like methylene chloride. with proper mask and gloves you could be safe stripping out in the garage.

See, that's just it. We know how to work safely with nasty stuff, people do it all the time. MeCl is particularly nasty, destroys plastic and rubber, and is only resisted by silvershield gloves, but that does not mean we can't control exposure with ventilation, PPE, and good work practices. It wasn't a ban on the chemical (still important to industry), it was a ban on the USE as a paint remover. Unfortunately for me, I have no other use for it!

 

[woodchucker]

See, that's just it. We know how to work safely with nasty stuff, people do it all the time. MeCl is particularly nasty, destroys plastic and rubber, and is only resisted by silvershield gloves, but that does not mean we can't control exposure with ventilation, PPE, and good work practices. It wasn't a ban on the chemical (still important to industry), it was a ban on the USE as a paint remover. Unfortunately for me, I have no other use for it!

yea, WE know how, but if you see how many idiots are out there.. NO.
The other day I got a question from amazon from someone. They wanted to know if little RC battery connectors would be safe on 120v. if you saw the connectors you would say NO.. that's only a day ago, I have had some real doosies. Not everyone has common sense. I would say most don't. It's the idiots that ruin it for everyone else. Like the idiots flying their drones at thousands of feet above ground and intefere with Commercial Aviation, or the idiot that hit a blackhawk helicopter with his drone. What is wrong with people. Now the FAA wants to regulate us out of flying.

Amazon.com

 

[pontiac428]

The FAA did regulate me out of flying with the VLOS laws. I was heavily invested in FPV fixed and rotary, but now I'm a criminal. Amazon and FedEx won our airspace.