swingarm restoration...

[railer]

Hey y'all, been a long time. Anyway, starting to restore the ole' 98 RM125 and I've started with the clutch and waiting for the parts to come in. While that's transpiring, I decided to take off the swing arm and re-do all the bearings and such. I don't believe it came stock with a painted black swing arm, but it had been painted before I got my hands on this little gem. Anyway, I've completely dismantled it and am looking for advice on the best approach to getting this black paint off. By the looks of it, it's on there real good. I thought to try and sandblast it, but our mechanic at my shop told me that that would wear down the aluminum, and instead to take it to a muffler shop and have them dip it in some sort of acid. I don't remember the specifics on the type of acid he mentioned, but I figured I'd come to the experts! :) Any thoughts or comments?

Brian.

 

[_JOE_]

You should be able to go into any auto parts store and buy paint stripper. You spray it on and wait 5 or 10 minutes while it quite literally melts the paint off. Don't get it on your skin. And do it OUTSIDE, that stuff is nasty.

 

[colbyc28]

You can bead blast it using walnut shell particulates. Wont take the Aluminum.

 

[railer]

well I went with the paint stripper method and WOW. I really didn't know it would be that easy. That stuff did exactly like you said. It said wait 15 to 20 minutes, but after about 5, I was anxious to go and prove you wrong and it literally just flaked right off. Good call man. Thanks for the help! Still gonna need to brush it a bit, so my next question is, I have a DeWalt drill which has good speed, and was wondering what kind of brush attachment to get to take the little areas off. I figure brass, right?

Brian.

 

[IndyMX]

When I was in the Air Force (I was an air craft painter), we had a tank in our shop full of some seriously nasty paint stripper.

We would wire up a part, then drop it in the tank and attach the wire to a bar above the tank. (wouldn't want to lose a part in there.)

Usually when you would put something in there and leave it for an hour or so, it would come out of the tank clean. Sometimes a little light brushing with a nylon brush was enough to get the rest off.

If I was you, I wouldn't bother with the drill & brush.. Just use more stripper on the trouble spots and let it sit a bit longer. It might take a couple tries to get a particularly thick spot off.

 

[_JOE_]

Indy's right, just hit em with a bit more and let it sit for the full 15-20. I did the same thing the first time I used it. The stuff I used was Aircraft Coating Remover, probly similar stuff to what Indy was using. It is cool as hell to watch the paint melt like that, huh?!

 

[XRpredator]

indeed, I've also used the aircraft grade paint stripper. Indy can probably speak more to it, but I think they strip the paint instead of sanding it off because it has something to do with maintaining the integrity of the piece to be stripped. Too much heavy-handed sanding can end up warping the metal underneath and thereby change the aerodynamics or something like that.

Or I could be talking out of my ass.

anyway, the aircraft grade paint stripper is good stuff.

 

[railer]

right on. Thanks guys. I used more and it almost got it all off. I'm gonna take a roloc pad to it to finish it up and begin the polishing...which brings me to my next need for guidance. How to polish aluminum. Not looking for a mirror shine or anything like that. Just want it to look pretty. Whaddaya think...

B.

P.S. I like beer.

 

[XRpredator]

wetsand it with some 600 grit, then finish it up with some Flitz metal polish.

 

[IndyMX]

indeed, I've also used the aircraft grade paint stripper. Indy can probably speak more to it, but I think they strip the paint instead of sanding it off because it has something to do with maintaining the integrity of the piece to be stripped. Too much heavy-handed sanding can end up warping the metal underneath and thereby change the aerodynamics or something like that.

Or I could be talking out of my ass.

anyway, the aircraft grade paint stripper is good stuff.

Not so much an aerodynamic thing. Most of the parts that we would strip would be sent across the hall to the NDI (non-destructive inspection) lab for testing. Don't want to mess with the surface of the metal before they got to look at it.

With the outside skin of the aircraft (KC-135 & FB111) we would just sand them down with orbital sanders and repaint.

We only chemical stripped the parts that needed NDI.

After NDI was done, we'd usually bead blast most of the parts before paint.

That aircraft grade stripper is some nasty stuff. Never get that stuff in your eyes. Always follow the safety precautions on the container. Thick rubber gloves, goggles & face shield and a nice heavy rubber apron. It will ruin your clothes, and burn the hell out of your skin.

But it will remove some pretty durable paint in no time.

 

[_JOE_]

I use Mother's polish. I also have a small pneumatic buffer that makes quick work of polishing. Any scratches or wierd spots can be sanded out. Go length-wise, not in circles. That will help reduce the visibility of sanding marks in the metal.