Removing paint without harming bluing

[uspfan]

Let's say you have an old, high-polish blue pistol that happens to have a couple of nickel-sized spots of old paint on the slide.

Is there a way to chemically remove the paint without damaging the blue underneath? Will a generic paint remover from Home Depot harm the original finish? What are the chances that the finish is still fine under the possibly decades old paint spots?

 

[rcmodel]

Do Not use paint stripper.

I'd soak a cotton ball with Hoppe's #9 Power solvent and let it set on the paint for a while.
If that doesn't do it, try fingernail polish remover.

Then see if you can lightly scrape it off with a brass cartridge case mouth, or wood Popsicle stick.

Depending on what kind of paint it is, one or the other should do it.

Chances are, the bluing is good under the paint.
But it probably won't be if you use paint stripper on it.

rc

 

[Miked7762]

Look for water based Oops! in the paint isle. It will come in a plastic bottle, not the metal can. Apply to the edges of the paint spots, let sit a few minutes, then rub with a soft cloth dampened with the product.

The finish under the paint is probably in better shape than what was exposed.

 

[Sam1911]

Do Not use paint stripper.

Really? Will methylene chloride harm a blued finish? I'd have guessed not, though I haven't tried it.

 

[rcmodel]

I don't know.

There a gazillion different brands and formulas of paint stripper, so I errored on the side of ignorance on which one he is talking about.

Some contain Calcium Hydroxide, Magnesium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, etc.

I have used some caustic kinds that would take the finish off a chrome trailer hitch ball!

rc

 

[Sam1911]

Gotcha.

 

[uspfan]

Thank you for the informative replies.

I am far from a chemist, so when I said "generic paint remover" I didn't really have a particular one in mind. I don't yet own the gun, but I'm asking because the price on it is pretty low due to the paint spots, and I'm thinking I'll buy it and then have a go at removing them myself.

There's surprisingly little information about such a situation that I've found. A couple other people somewhere online recommended something called Goof Off, and others said that an acetone-based paint remover shouldn't do anything to a blued finish.

 

[rcmodel]

acetone-based paint remover

That's what the fingernail polish remover I recommended is.

Goof-Off contains 7% Oleic acid, whatever that is?

But regardless of that?
Not around my bluing you don't!!

rc

 

[jimmyraythomason]

A heat gun may work better than a chemical paint remover.

 

[Rail Driver]

I used cheap brake parts cleaner (non-chlorinated) from Wal-Mart recently to strip paint off an RIA I took in trade. Didn't harm the bluing underneath at all.

I also second the "Goof Off Extreme" in a can that you can get from Lowes or Home Depot (Yellow and red can). Good stuff. Strips through cosmoline and shellac like you wouldn't believe, but it doesn't touch bluing. (at least not the bluing they use on a Mosin Nagant)

*Edit to add: If you use the brake parts cleaner, wear gloves. It WILL burn your skin after awhile. The Goof Off is less caustic, but I still recommend gloves. Doing the job outside is a must unless you want brain damage from the fumes.

 

[Dr. Dickie]

IPA is should do the tick, simple cheap and easy.
ETA: Sorry, IPA is isoproply alcohol.

 

[35 Whelen]

How about 0000 steel wool and a little WD-40. Promise it won't hurt the bluing.

35W

 

[brickeyee]

Goof Off MSDS

1. Ethanol, 2-Butoxy- {Ethylene glycol n-butyl
ether, (a glycol ether)}
3.0 -7.0 %

2. Benzenemethanol {Benzyl alcohol} 100-51-6 5.0
10.0 %

3. Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether
{2-(2-Butoxyethoxy)ethanol {(a glycol ether)}
1.0 -5.0 %

4. Propylene glycol phenyl ether {(not 313)} 770-35-4 1.0
5.0 %

from http://www.goofoffstainremover.com/product-information

 

[Rail Driver]

from http://www.goofoffstainremover.com/product-information

This is the data sheet for the aerosol that I recommended:

1. Acetone 67-64-1 60.0 -100.0 %
2. Hydrotreated light distillate (petroleum) 64742-47-8 7.0 -13.0 %
3. Xylene (mixed isomers) {Benzene, dimethyl-} 1330-20-7 5.0 -10.0 %
4. Ethylbenzene {Ethylbenzol; Phenylethane} 100-41-4 1.0 -5.0 %
Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether
{2-(2-Butoxyethoxy)ethanol {(a glycol ether)}
5. 112-34-5 3.0 -7.0 %
Liquified petroleum gas, sweetened
{Propane-isobutane-n-butane}
6. 68476-86-8 7.0 -13.0 %

I don't claim to know just what half that stuff is, but it doesn't hurt the bluing on my guns, it gets them clean, and it removes any paint I've come across.

 

[gyvel]

Geeeez. Just get a can of lacquer thinner or acetone. Those are paint dissolvers and will not harm bluing. Also, Walmart carb cleaner works great at removing paint and will not harm bluing.

 

[Ar180shooter]

Varsol won't harm bluing, but should dissolve the paint.

 

[uspfan]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but just for posterity's sake, I wanted to say that I bought the gun and acetone took the paint off instantly. I was actually quite amazed at how well it worked. Finish is perfect underneath, and I saved a few hundred bucks on the gun because of the unsightly paint marks on it.

 

[rcmodel]

Great!

Thanks for the follow-up.

SO, post #2 = fingernail polish remover = acetone did the trick.
Who woulda thunk it!

rc

 

[EMC45]

0000 steel wool and Acetone. Acetone WILL NOT damage bluing. It is used to degrease gun parts all the time. Works great. I would re oil the parts afterward though. Acetone with suck all the oil out of the metal.

 

[uspfan]

Yeah, I just used a jug of straight acetone from Home Depot. The paint wiped right up with a towel and cotton swab, incredibly. I had gotten a decent amount off using oil + steel wool, but it was slow going and there were some crannies I couldn't get into.

I did re-oil the gun thoroughly just to be safe.

Thanks again to everyone for the help!