Warbird Information Exchange

Hello Folks:

A while back bought a T-6 cowling segment, and it has what looks like a high gloss multi-stage poly urethane coating. Any ideas what paint stripper to use? I tried Jasco on it, but that didn't work. So I bought some "aircraft quality paint stripper, and that is really slow. It only takes off small areas at a time.

Jasco works great for the stock military paint, but not on this modern poly urethane. Any favorite brands? Thanks..

Thanks Rob!

Is stripper preferred over media blasting?

Hi Randy:

I use a brass wire brush on some castings, w/ hard to reach curves. These are the same areas you'd use walnut shells. Of course you use stripper if you can, because it doesn't roughen hte surface in any way.

Media blasting is the preferred pollution prevention method and is the only safe method to remove paint from most composites (other than just plain sanding). Media blasting isn't very convenient to strip your Cherokee at the airport though. The media also gets into everything so you have to do an airtight masking job rather than one to deal with runoff.

I asked because I recently was able to use a media blaster for the first time while fabricating some small parts for the Liberty Belle B-17. I had never used one before, and I thought it was much easier and faster to use than stripper and IMHO more effective.

The T-38s at my base have been undergoing a series of modifications to the intakes, and the AF has been repainting the jets the ghetto way by simply slapping a new coat of paint over the previous coats. The end result is that the jets are losing their fresh coats of paint a lot quicker than I've ever remembered. The problem is that there are very few media blasting locations in the AF that can do complete airframes and the process is very labor intensive. On the other hand, the jets that are blasted prior to paint end up looking lots better and have paint jobs that actually stick.

Thanks.

try zip strip or bix ultimate. both marine & aircraft grade stuff, & not as expensive. forget any of that non toxic environment friendly stuff, it's all garbage. sad to say, the more hazardous the better as far as the results that you want go!!! sorry tree huggers!!!

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

What media do they use?

Corn starch, walnut shells, plastic, and dry ice are most common to do entire aircraft. Of course media blasting includes glass bead, aluminum oxide, black beauty, washed sand, etc. depending on what parent material you are blasting.

I took a bunch of panels to Oshkosh and gave one to everyone selling stripper and told them not to diddle with it and I would pick them up at the end of the day. The enviormental striper didn't do S%$T. I went with this stuff out of Vincennes Indiana Call Quick Clean. They make aircraft stripper! Very good stuff takes off paint as well as skin and I have the chemical burns to prove it.