Paint Removal

[jlewis1102]

So I painted my AR...Now I don't like it! I long for its blackness again! :D What is the best (safest) way to remove the Krylon spraypaint Without damaging the finish underneath? :confused:

[Don Robison]

I've never had any issues with break cleaner, carb cleaner for really tough paint and a scrub brush. It's best to remove plastic though. Gun scrubber for poly guns would probably work just as well and be more safe for the plastic.

[bobafett]

There's a thread in this forum on removing paint, just search for it here, probably on page 2 or 3

I used laquer thinner & acetone. Acetone will eat weak plastic but did not harm my pistol grip, stock, or rail covers.

Sadly there is still residual paint that permeated the pores of the parkerized finish that will probably never come out unless the gun is abrasive blasted so I repainted my stripped receiver & barrel with BBQ black... As it wears off it will still have colored overtop the OD green I couldn't get off.

[bobafett]

Here you go....

http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=36190

[Romeo Foxtrot]

to be honest with you bro, you might just wanna repaint the gun and get it right. I use "Klean Strip." Its a gel stripper that can be bought at walmart. Its very harsh stuff, wear gloves and strip outside. It says its not safe for use on plastic, but its never harmed my stock, rail panels, or grip.

The stuff is great, put it on, let it sit for about 5 minutes and scrub softly with a brush, paint will damn near rinse off.

The thing is, like stated above, once you paint a rifle, its pretty much painted forever as little bits of paint will get down in the pores of the parkerizing/anodizing and youll be very hard pressed to get em out.

Embrace your new paint job bro. Its a rifle, mean to be as effective a killing tool as possible, and camo increases that effectiveness... its good for CDI too. Just strip it and repaint the rifle till you get it right. I good paint job will not only give you a woody, ittl feel good too knowing you got it right. :D


http://i38.tinypic.com/i6y05h.jpg

[thorswhisper]

You could find someone that does plastic media blasting. It wont take off the park. Walnut shell media in a blast cabinet would work as well. Just remove anything plastic first. Harsh chemicals have a way of wicking into places and remaining there longer than you would like.

[Quiet-Matt]

Found a product at Lowe's. It's called Mostenbocker's Lift Off 4 Spray Paint Graffiti Remover. Just spray it on and wipe off the spray paint. I used it on a barrel and it looked like new in about 3 minutes.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=246350-11743-411-01&lpage=none
http://images.lowes.com/product/077448/077448108919.jpg

[bobafett]

I tried that stuff too but it still didn't get the paint out of the pores.

[556mp]

this is my first post but I figured that it would help some people out. So... here ya go.

I just successfully removed Dura-Coat from my upper! What I used was lacquer Thinner. I lightly roughed the paint with a brass brush and then soaked the upper receiver for a few hours. I then used a nylon brush to scrub the paint off... a lot of it came off very easily, while some parts I had to scrub and continually wet. If i fix my camera I would be more than glad to post some pics. there was no damage to the phosphate, park, or whatever you would like to call the finish on receivers...

By the way.... if anyone could tell me what the finish actually is I would appreciate it... i thought it was Parked but apparently you cant park aluminum?

Hope this helps some!

I also forgot... there was no paint stuck in the pores as some people had problems with.... after I used the thinner I wiped it down with standard bore cleaner... It removed the haze that the lacquer left, looks new.

[Belmont31R]

No problems for me when I used brake cleaner.


Spray on, and let it sit until almost all of it has evaporated off. Then spray the same area again, and most of the paint will come off just from the pressure of the spray.


Use a toothbrush or some other kind of brush to get it out of the nooks and crannies or if the brake cleaner wont do it alone.

[Mate]

I've had good success with the motsen blocker'a lift off. It took alot of scrubbing to get through 3-4 coats of spray paint. The areas that I did look brand new.

[BLACK LION]

So I painted my AR...Now I don't like it! I long for its blackness again! :D What is the best (safest) way to remove the Krylon spraypaint Without damaging the finish underneath? :confused:

I use brake cleaner without issue... make sure to generously re-lube after stripping your rig with it.

You will need rags, rubber gloves and may need some disassembly to ensure no goop gets stuck in hard to reach places...

[JohnVassilakos]

I used Wal-Mart break cleaner to strip the krylon job off an Arsenal AK I bought. At $1.37/can I couldn't find anything cheaper that worked as good.

The only down side was that it stripped EVERYTHING off, including the factory finish.

I just reshot it with Coyote Brown Duracoat (base coat) and will be doing a multicam camo job on it over the next couple weeks.

[Don Robison]

On brake cleaner make sure it's the non-chlorinated so it doesn't strip more than the paint.

[till44]

I've heard brake cleaner, and many will not damage the plastic components.