Agree with others above, don't overdo the stripping.
Do minimal stripping, and if it really starts peeling off then go more aggressive.
Then clean it. Then degrease the HELL out of it (denatured alcohol is my favorite). And stick with that. Do not even touch the surface after you have degreased it (have temporary handles/hooks, like screw hooks mounted in the pistol grip slots, etc. and touch it only there).
I would probably, btw, consider disassembling entirely. Fire control, dust cover, everything off.
Then paint it. All the normal stuff. Good paint, thin coats, time to dry between coats, rotate regular, avoid high humidity or extreme cold, etc.
Then, and this is critical:
Leave it the !@#$ alone.
Cure times are very long. Leave it to cure. 3 days is the earliest I would touch it. 10 - 14 days is better. If you can be without your carbine for 2 weeks, do it. Make it dry in a box in a room you don't go into much so you aren't even inclined to look at it, much less go touch it.
Then, good paint will last forever. From some experience with a number of coatings, I strongly feel that prep is more important than the paint. I've seen Cerakote flake off, and wear off, more than once. And have a number of painted items that don't even chip when brass ejects into them a few thousand times, or you drop them on rocks (not that I advise this).
Prep, prep, prep.
OPTION:
Go one level crazier on prep and: sandblast. Down to the metal, everywhere. Then clean, degrease, and primer it, Zinc Chromate or something else serious. Then the painting steps.
Especially for aluminum, some do not advise this as the anodizing gives the metal strength, but it's an option.
