Cheap and effective way to remove powder coating?

[Nubby]

Hiya fellas!

I'm currently working on a chopped bicycle frame and I'm planning on doing a real fancy paint job. Probably something like marble paint. Those kinds of paint are hella lot of work, but turn out amazing if you take the time to do it right. I already did a bunch of TIG welding on it and it's looking really nice so far.
But now here's the thing: my frame is powder coated. I want to remove the coating, but don't want to scruff the frame too much by sanding it. Seems to me like the obvious solution is to sand blast it, but I really want to do everything by myself. I've heard that some paint strippers work on powder coating, but haven't had any success with that yet. I also tried paint thinner, but without any result.

TL;DR: Any ways to remove powder coating without damaging the metal?

 

[RustySprockets]

There is a rumor that Klean-Strip Premium Stripper #SR-72 is effective against SOME varieties of powder coat--it may or may not work on your application. I can't even say for sure if it's available in the Netherlands. Powder coat is tough stuff; impervious to many common solvents, as you've already discovered. Wish I could be more help, but maybe someone in Europe can provide a better idea of what products are available there.

 

[Fv2]

I can say that powder coat provides a decent base for a repaint, but it sounds like you want more than decent.

I got a backpack sand blaster off eBay for $30 U.S.
Maybe you can find something like that in your area.

 

[FrankNBrew]

I found trying to sandblast powder coat was very difficult. It took about 3 times as long as removing paint. However paint stripper melted the powder coat in about 2 minutes. I suggest paint stripper first, then sandblast.


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[FrankNBrew]

I used Zip-Strip brand stripper.


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[scrumblero]

I'm with Fallstaff, sand it up and putty the nicks. Powder coat is a good base.

 

[Nubby]

Thanks for the tips! I couldn't really find any paint stripper here that was aggressive enough to remove powder coat. I tried a few, but without result. I thought about sanding it and painting it over, but I want to do a really nice paint job this time so I ended up buying a sandblaster like them pistols for a compressor. The only thing is that it makes a huge mess ._. Dust and sand everywhere and I get a front row seat... But it will be worth the effort I hope. The sandblast gun is about 25$ so it wasn't that big of an investment and I think I'll use it on my future projects as well.

But if there's a good paint stripper you can get over in the US or wherever, I'd recommend doing that instead of blasting your frame yourself cause it'll be a lot less messy.

 

[RustySprockets]

If using actual sand in the blaster, I sure hope you're wearing a dust mask. Otherwise, you risk contracting silicosis from all those messy particles.

 

[Beautifully Abused]

Good paint stripper should remove powder coat. The ones that say "aircraft paint remover" are usually stronger. I prefer the gel consistency ones over the real thick goopy stuff. Even so powder coat can be tough and take multiple applications. Wear eye protection and some cheap rubber gloves. Protect your eyes ! Clean any tight spots with a small screwdriver, scratch awl or putty knife. Don't leave any soft powder coat on your frame as it'll be impregnated with stripper and ruin your paint job. Wash thoroughly with soap and water afterwards and rinse with baking soda and water mix to neutralize any acidic chemicals left behind from the stripper. Powder coat is an excellent primer as it gets into tight areas and cracks far better then paint. Powder is super finely ground plastic, melts in the oven and flows into these areas before it cures sealing everything pretty good. Comes in grey, red and black "primer" colors for just this purpose. Better than paint unless you lay it on heavy enough for runs and drips. Powder finishes readily accept common automotive paint finishes over them. Sandblasting often takes a long time to remove powder as the heat of blasting the abrasive across the plastic melts and smears it rather than cutting it away. Very steep angles which slice across the surface rather than blast straight into it help remove it faster. Wet blasting removes ten coats of powder like a hot knife through butter. Cools as it strips so no melting/smearing.

 

[Indyjps]

Methylene chloride.

Thats what youre looking for, make sure the paint stripper you buy has it, as well as a big skull and crossbones , otherwise youre just buying varnish remover for furniture.

I like original zip strip, its 1.5 the cost of others for a reason. Stripper is nasty, the fewest applications is worth the extra investment.

 

[JesseA421]

powdercoat is melted polyester. u can burn it off, then simply clean the burnt dust residue off. but like alot of others have said, powdercoat makes a great base for paint. i would just use it as a primer for your paint job.