Hey y'all, I need your help. About a year ago I bought my Antec P182 gun metal black case which I absolutely love, and I sanded and painted it. It was my first time painting the interior of a case before and it was tough to get everything sanded and painted. After four layers of primer and about for layers of flat black paint it was done. However, it was riddled with imperfections and the paint was flaking off like crazy, I did not wet sand in the process of painting so I don't know if that is a cause of it, or my not letting the paint have enough time to dry. Anyway, with what I felt was a failure of a paint job I lost confidence of my abilities to paint. The case was expensive and for about a year its in peices in a box waiting until I could muster up the courage to have another knack at it. My question and plea for help is that I don't have much time to sand (took weeks my first time, just because I was so busy at the time) due to my other project ADM or Adam desk mod. So what is a good alternative to stip off the paint and primer so that I could keep sanding to the minimum. I understand that if you want to do a great job then one must take his time. I just don't have much of it at the moment. I remember my boss once said that soaking the parts in acoustic soda (that is what I remember) for a day and then all the paint would be gone. However I could not find anything of the sort. So if any of y'all have any ideas, PLEASE let me know. I've done a lot of research which most of it is forgotten and my patience is at a end on the case. Any help would be much appreciated.
What your looking for is chemical paint stripper and it is applied as a liquid with a cheap natural brush. The paint is eaten away and starts to peel making it easy to scrape off in flakes, but it also very toxic to anything living. It has to be done outside wearing old clothing away from the sun while using protective eye glasses, elbow length chemical gloves and a good NOISH approved respirator. Wiping the scraped surface with a clean rag soaked in mineral spirits stops the chemical reaction, making the object safe to handle without gloves after it dries. I highly recommend using a new filter cartage for the respirator if you don't want to inhale any of the vapors and read all the directions on the can. The problem is this stuff is toxic and cannot be used in an apartment, condominium or public parking lot. The ideal location is a paved area away from the road in the shade or very well ventilated work shed. Another possibility is hiring a professional restorer to take the paint off for you. People who restore antiques also use paint stripper and might be able to help.
Look for Nitromors All Purpose Paint & Varnish Remover at B&Q or the equivalent in store brand. I agree with everything said above, you will need a respirator, gloves and to apply the stuff outside away from pets and children. It will eat through rubber (washers/gaskets) so only apply it to the metal that you want to strip.
