A question on removing spray paint from iron shell frags

[devldog]

Some time ago I sprayed my iron CW artillery shell frag's with flat black spray paint. I sprayed these lightly and did this to be able to tell more about the detail. How would you go about removing the paint without using anything too harsh? Any feedback would be appreciated. I'm thinking of going the hot wax preserving route.

 

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[against the wind]

Paint and varnish remover and OOO grade steel wool.
Then hot wax it.

 

[devldog]

Thanks Windman. I had thought of going the paint remover route. I didn't know if there was something out there that was any better method. I don't want to remove the paint and make the iron shiny before waxing them. Thanks for the input.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

If it's latex paint, a heat gun will remove it. Even a hair dryer might get the job done.

If it's oil based paint, you're in trouble. Paint thinner might work, but I doubt it. And if it's Rustoleum paint, forget it. I spray painted something with Rustoleum once and nothing touched it. Paint thinner, gasoline and carb cleaner didn't do jack squat to loosen up that paint.

 

[hvacker]

I've stripped a ton of stuff. Different materials. All the oak in my old Vicky (Victorian house) I even stripped a small airplane once.
My favorite product is Kleen Strip as it cleans up with paint thinner and won't raise the grain on wood. It's quite aggressive.
There are strippers that are water cleanup and that might be more appropriate in your case.
Strippers come in paste or liquid. The paste is usually for multiple layers and can be harder to remove in some cases where there are nooks to hide in.
With your CWR I don't know how any strippers will affect rust. Rust is usually attacked with acids or chelation. I would probably want to take another rusty item and do a test first. Rust can be rather delicate especially on cast iron.

As spray paint was used it is most probably an enamel. They resist most common chemicals but will lift with any stripper. A more mild one is oven cleaner. It won't lift powder coatings IMO but that's not your immediate problem.

 

[SusanMN]

Boiling water usually causes paint to sluff off metal pretty easily. You might have to boil it for a few minutes but it should come off.

 

[mick56]

Lacquer thinner seems to take off most paints.

 

[devldog]

Thanks for the tips. I believe I will experiment on a smaller frag first and see how it goes.