On Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:29:47 -0600, "SteveB"
wrote:
Someone painted the console of my Lund. Then didn't mask it off, and some
of the spray got on the inside side of the boat. In several places. Ronnie
Milsap coulda did a better job.
I'm going to pull the console and the bench and everything else that will
come out for recarpeting. While it's out, I'll paint it right. But I need
to take off the paint from the aluminum. Suggestions? A vibrating sander?
Acetone? Paint remover? Scouring pads? What will look decent without
buffing it up? And if I do buff it up, how would I age it quickly to dull
it down before I put the parts back in there?
Help appreciated.
Steve
Depends some on what the paint is. Since they didn't mask, it seems
likely that they didn't use good (pricey) paint so it probably isn't
2-part urethane like Imron, more likely an acrylic lacquer or
something from a rattlecan. Paint I got from Alumacraft (years ago)
was acrylic lacquer. Lacquer thinner will remove lacquer with ease.
I'd start with acetone or lacquer thinner, see if that works. If not,
try paint remover. If that fails, Scotchbrite will definitely do the
job, particularly the Roll-loc discs in a pneumatic die grinder -- but
they will definitely buff it up some. A sander is more aggressive
than necessary and suitably-fine-grit paper will clog very quickly.
Unless the overspray is Imron or similar, I'd be quite surprised if a
Scotchbrite pad wet with lacquer thinner and operated by (gloved) hand
wouldn't get 'er done in jig time.
If it gets buffed up, or even if it doesn't, get some Ditzler/PPG
Alumaprep #33 and apply that. When time to paint, I'd follow with
Alodine.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo.../alumiprep.php
These treatments prepare ally so about any paint wets, flows and
adheres with a vengeance. A body shop or auto paint supplier should
have these products or something similar. A quart of each would be
way plenty for this project and several more. If you want to keep
cost to a min you could skip the alodyne with little loss in job
quality.