Paint stripper safe on a magnesium saw?

[Roanoker494]

Just wondering if it is safe to use spray cans of paint stripper on a magnesium case saw, I know that stuff is mean. If not, what is the best way to strip the old paint of a saw without damaging the parts? Just for reference, I am doing the work on a old Stihl 042av.

 

[Motodeficient]

Not sure what type of stripper comes in cans, but I know when we strip any magnesium flight controls on an aircraft we have to use a special magnesium safe stripper that is different from the stripper we use on the rest of the aluminum aircraft. Otherwise we get corrosion problems on the magnesium down the road.

 

[Zombiechopper]

caustic soda is the base component for most strippers. It will rapidly corrode alum and magnesium. Best bet is media blasting with finest grade crushed glass

 

[Roanoker494]

I was worried about serious corrosion issues with regular paint stripper. Wal-Mart is sell a "safer" paint stripper called Citristrip, here is a link to it
http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=10&prodid=64

Anyone tried this stuff?

 

[GoRving]

Good thread. Once that "white rust" starts, it's hard to get that "finish" back. There are alot of "homely homeys" out there that run great. The Homelites seem to be the worst corroders in my shop.

 

[Coloradobum]

caustic soda is the base component for most strippers. It will rapidly corrode alum and magnesium. Best bet is media blasting with finest grade crushed glass

+1. This is correct.

Edit: or you could get a paint stripper wheel for your angle grinder, dremel, etc

 

[Roanoker494]

Good thread. Once that "white rust" starts, it's hard to get that "finish" back. There are alot of "homely homeys" out there that run great. The Homelites seem to be the worst corroders in my shop.

My younger cousin went out and bought himself a really slick set of mag wheels and decided to clean them with some kind of cleaner, ended up with some not so nice white wheels.

I might get a can of the "safe" stuff and try it out on a old junker saw first.

 

[GoRving]

My younger cousin went out and bought himself a really slick set of mag wheels and decided to clean them with some kind of cleaner, ended up with some not so nice white wheels.

I might get a can of the "safe" stuff and try it out on a old junker saw first.

Cool! If it works for you, I might want to try some of that.

 

[FATGUY]

Bump! I'm really looking for a better way than media blasting. I have a 150 PSI compressor powering a benchtop sandblaster using crushed glass. To say it's painfully slow would be an understatement. Anybody have any luck with chemical strippers?

 

[Trigger Man]

I've used a product called tal-strip ,(I think I spelled it right) its called aircraft paint stripper ,on my aluminum boat prior to painting it, it never corroded the aluminum and you put it on with a brush and the paint swells up and can be rubbed off with rags( not sure about how it would work on the crevices of a saw), only down side it cost quite a bit the last time I looked. I will update with a link if I can find it. Mine came in a gallon size jug. You'll want to use it in well ventilated area (strong stuff) and rinse it off with a good cleaner after before painting, but it beats the hell out of sandblasting, and it does go quite a long ways in use, I still have some left and the boat was 12ft long. If you ever want to use a good primer go with a 2-part epoxy primer by any brand, it will give an awesome base for your top coat of paint!!



This is the stuff, I did'nt buy it through this site , I got it at my local auto paint store, The price is about what I paid though.

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/mar-hyde-tal-strip-ii-aircraft-coating-remover-3713-p-10948.aspx


Sorry to the Admin. I could'nt find a link to the actual company!

 

[MS260 Fan]

FG,

What size crushed glass are you using? I bought a bag labeled 30-60. I didn't notice there were two different kinds until my next visit to Princess Auto. The 30-60 is probably the size of mesh in the screens used to sort out the glass. The bigger the number the finer the glass. It's painfully slow.

Princess Auto has 10-20 or 10-30 that would be quite a bit bigger pieces. I was going to try it. I think it's around $10 a bag.

If you're using the 10-20 with no luck then I will start looking for a different option.

 

[FATGUY]

I don't remember what size it is. Graingers catalog reccomended it as the best for stripping paint safely. I'll see if I can find the pail it came in when I go to work tomorrow.

 

[FATGUY]

I've used a product called tal-strip ,(I think I spelled it right) its called aircraft paint stripper ,on my aluminum boat prior to painting it, it never corroded the aluminum and you put it on with a brush and the paint swells up and can be rubbed off with rags( not sure about how it would work on the crevices of a saw), only down side it cost quite a bit the last time I looked. I will update with a link if I can find it. Mine came in a gallon size jug.



This is the stuff, I did'nt buy it through this site , I got it at my local auto paint store, The price is about what I paid though.

Mar-Hyde Tal-Strip II Aircraft Coating Remover - 3713


Sorry to the Admin. I could'nt find a link to the actual company!

$35/gallon seems like a reasonable enough price. Wonder if anyone down here sells it?

 

[Trigger Man]

$35/gallon seems like a reasonable enough price. Wonder if anyone down here sells it?

Check with a auto paint shop Nik, they should be able to get it.

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

I bought the aircraft paint remover in a metal quart size can at autozone for 14-15 bucks about 10 years ago and used it to remove the paint off of a complete bronco. Good stuff but I've never used it on any magnesium.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Good thread. Once that "white rust" starts, it's hard to get that "finish" back. There are alot of "homely homeys" out there that run great. The Homelites seem to be the worst corroders in my shop.

I've seen some Macs that were corroded pretty bad too. I think rather than the brand, it may be how the saw was taken care of. I never leave any saw on my floor very long, I generally find a shelf to put them on.

 

[Hddnis]

I use the Mar-Hyde Tal Strip II stuff and then blast it with glass beads. It works really well and no issues at all with about two years since the first project I did that way.

Once I'm done I rinse them really well in detergent, that might help some.




Mr. HE

 

[cpr]

I've used CtriStrip. Takes 2 or 3 tries with an overnight coating, but I haven't noticed a problem on magnesium or aluminum. It's fairly tame, some bars I have that are covered with gray rattle-can primer it wouldn't touch.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Nic,..I have done a few saws and the Tal Strip that was mentioned will soften even powdercoat. After getting all the paint/powdercoat removed in the blast cabinet I immediately boil the parts in detergent and water, then rinse them in very hot water to rid them of soap. They dry off quickly from the heat inside them, then immediately hit them with a light coat of self etching primer. Untreated Magnesium begins to break down rapidly, I have used epoxy primer on several of my early restorations and it most likely is superior to etch primer but is very difficult to clean up the spray gun after each use. That is why I changed over to the etch, it has worked out very well with many of the saws I use for cutting in the woods holding their finish for more than 3 years now.
I think the most important step is to boil the parts clean before priming, magnesium is very porous and if the contamination is left in there under the paint it will eventually break out, blister the paint and the exposed mag. will begin to break down, white rust, when exposed to moisture.

 

[FATGUY]

that's awesome advice Jerry.