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Stripping Akzo inorder to polish

maniago

Well Known Member
I have a 3'x4' piece of AL that I sprayed with Akzo 4yrs ago and I want to strip it and polish it with Nuvite. Its my first foray in to polishing, and I have similar areas with Akzo on the plane that I'll have to strip inorder to polish, so this large piece is a test case.

I've done mechanical stripping on Akzo surfaces before, but not with the intent to polish. Thoughts on how to proceed?
 
The prep I did prior to spraying Akzo-Nobel epoxy primer was to etch and scuff, so if you did the same, that might make polishing difficult even if there was an easy way to strip off the primer.

I did some really minor stripping of the primer where I ended up mounting antennas in order to get a good ground plane, and it needed mechanical scrubbing with MEK and it was still not easy to get any of it off.

I don't know if there is a stripper available for epoxy primers.
 
The prep I did prior to spraying Akzo-Nobel epoxy primer was to etch and scuff, so if you did the same, that might make polishing difficult even if there was an easy way to strip off the primer.

I did some really minor stripping of the primer where I ended up mounting antennas in order to get a good ground plane, and it needed mechanical scrubbing with MEK and it was still not easy to get any of it off.

I don't know if there is a stripper available for epoxy primers.

I didnt etch but for sure degreased and scuffed thoroughly. The Akzo is on there good.
 
A methylene chloride based stripper covered with some aluminum foil (to prevent the evaporation) will lift the paint. Just look at the label. Apply thick and scrape with a plastic scraper (one not melted by the stripper!) scrub/rinse with iso alcohol and dry with saw. All in rapid succession.

Scratching the primer with 220 before starting will help the process.
 
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