Anyone got a quick way to remove powder coating ?

[JeffR]

So its refurbish the winch bumper time.  Does anyone know of a quick, painless way to remove powder coat ? Angle grinder takes forever, blowtorch, well that failed miserably and I don't have access to a sandblaster. Oh and the damn thing weighs a ton

[L19MUD]

I had this exact issue with some light guards. In the end I loaded the firepit up with some logs put them on it and lit it! They didn't buckle and it all came off. I shot blast them after to clean them up before getting them galvanised and re powder coated

[Eightpot]

You could try an abracs polydisc in a grinder, they don't clog up easily and remove a fair bit of material quickly - delicate over sharp edges though. 

[cackshifter]

1 hour ago, JeffR said:

So its refurbish the winch bumper time.  Does anyone know of a quick, painless way to remove powder coat ? Angle grinder takes forever, blowtorch, well that failed miserably and I don't have access to a sandblaster. Oh and the damn thing weighs a ton

Painless? This has huge promise for something going wrong..... looking forward to the hydrofluoric acid bath or the TNT.  

 

 

I wish you no harm Jeff but the stories of unfortunate events are highly amusing.

[JeffR]

1 hour ago, cackshifter said:

Painless? This has huge promise for something going wrong..... looking forward to the hydrofluoric acid bath or the TNT.  

 

 

I wish you no harm Jeff but the stories of unfortunate events are highly amusing.

If I was gonna go the chemical route , Fluoroantimonic acid would be the preferred rout, Hydroflouric is for wimps.... Up North we put that stuff on chips

[Gazzar]

Please don't follow the suggestion in the previous post. It will ruin your chips.

Only use vinegar, or curry sauce if you're of that inclination.

 

Don't.  Thanks.

 

[smallfry]

Simply leave it outside for a fortnight. The rust will peel it off no problem.

At work ,we had a bath of Applied Chemicals Metastrip 6. Would blister and peel two pack paint in about 20 seconds. Powder coat would fall off in 2 minutes.

Had to get rid of it when the HSE man had a fit !

Sadly I dont think you can get it any more due to Nanny State rules.

Also, I dont even think you can get a decent paint stripper nowadays. I have tried most, and none of them satisfy my instant gratification expectation, or even work well without a lot of time and applications. Got to be better than messing about with an angle grinder though, especially with your track record !

Blasting surely the best solution, depending on cost though.

[Maverik]

2nd for fire, dumped a load of stuff in a fire to burn off the coatings, worked well.

[L19MUD]

1 hour ago, smallfry said:

Blasting surely the best solution, depending on cost though.

Most blasters won't touch it as when you try and blast it the powder coat heats up and softens and then the blasting is not very effective. 

[smallfry]

1 hour ago, L19MUD said:

Most blasters won't touch it as when you try and blast it the powder coat heats up and softens and then the blasting is not very effective. 

Is that right ? Didnt know that. Probably have the same problem with abrasives then.

Looks like a paint stripper job. One of those places that strips bodyshells ?

[FridgeFreezer]

I'll wade in  as I've just been through this on the military bull bars from the ambulance, which were very robustly powder coated with a good quality powder;

Blasters won't touch it as the media bounces off or gets embedded in the coating - my blaster recommended the bonfire route if you don't mind the risk of warping or heat damage, or scraping off with a Stanley knife if you do.

I tried a couple of different paint strippers including a VERY nasty one that claimed to be able to remove some powder coats - didn't touch it at all.

I've done the wire wheel in grinder thing in the past and it's horrible hard work as the plastic melts and smears around - same deal with other wheels like flap wheels or stripping discs (which are also vvv expensive)

What I found worked best was to gently run a blowlamp over the bull bars until the surface just changed texture - it goes slightly "orange peel" with heat - and that softens it very nicely, so you can then fairly easily get under it with a Stanley knife and peel it off cleanly in strips. It's still a fair old effort but it's a whole load easier, cleaner, and quieter than grinders or other tools and it came off very cleanly leaving clean metal (except in the bad/rusty patches, natch).

[soutie]

I used a paint stripper called Power Strip off ebay. The trick to using it is to lightly scratch the powder coat before painting it on. Leave it for 5 minutes or more and when you see the bubbling use a wire brush to scrape it off. This removed powder coat off a mantec spare wheel carrier and some unknown make rock sliders. You however do need good chemical resistant gloves as it is nasty on the skin.

[JeffR]

This is an old Dave Bowyer bumper, the powder coating is extremely thick and robust , I guess its time for a bonfire...

[ThreePointFive]

So I assume not removing it and using it as a base layer to paint over is the wrong approach then.....

[FridgeFreezer]

On 8/19/2021 at 11:08 PM, soutie said:

I used a paint stripper called Power Strip off ebay.

Pretty sure that's the one I got - it didn't touch it at all.

[mmgemini]

NO

[JeffR]

23 hours ago, ThreePointFive said:

So I assume not removing it and using it as a base layer to paint over is the wrong approach then.....

Not enough powder coat left to warrant that... Only lasted 20 or so years.....

[ThreePointFive]

Ah, no I was just concerned I'd wasted a lot of time in my ARB bumper where I definitely did not remove it.

[Ed Poore]

Attach a chain to it and take it for a drive down the road?

[JohnnoK]

On 8/19/2021 at 6:08 PM, smallfry said:

At work ,we had a bath of Applied Chemicals Metastrip 6. Would blister and peel two pack paint in about 20 seconds. Powder coat would fall off in 2 minutes.

Had to get rid of it when the HSE man had a fit !

Back when I was a 'Prentice Lad, we had a 1.5m cubed stainless tank with a pneumatically lifted tray that rose out of the gunk in it to allow you to load and submerge the goodies you needed stripped.

We called it the "Ardrox bath" probably because Ardrox made the stuff in it, but whoever arrived first at work had to turn on the heating element int the tank and drain the compressed air lines and then turn on the 5 gallon urn for coffee, in that order.

I can remember having to use elbow length gloves to work there and my arms getting all tingly and pasty white from the vapour when it got under the gloves, it was so strong. The guy in charge of the overhaul shop left a main transmission casing in it over the weekend once and come Monday all that was left were the steel inserts for the bolts, the magnesium casing was GONE!!!

[smallfry]

1 hour ago, JohnnoK said:

I can remember having to use elbow length gloves to work there and my arms getting all tingly and pasty white from the vapour when it got under the gloves, it was so strong. The guy in charge of the overhaul shop left a main transmission casing in it over the weekend once and come Monday all that was left were the steel inserts for the bolts, the magnesium casing was GONE!!!

Sounds very similar ! If you got any on your skin, even for a few seconds, you had to rinse with water quickly, and even then, it would burn skin. One of the guys had a similar experience with a go faster inlet manifold. Dangled it on a hook in the morning, to retrieve at lunch time. Spent the afternoon accusing everyone of hiding it, when it was, in fact, dissolved !

The tank was a similar size to yours. Not heated though. I did my Land Rover body panels in it. SO labour saving. 30 second dip and then hot pressure wash. Stripped, etched, and ready for paint. Also took off any aluminium corrosion. De rusting steel etc. Its primary purpose however, was to strip carbon from engine parts.

Happy days ........ All you can get now, in this country at least, is stuff that doesnt work !