I want to strip and polish my struts and would like any advice you all have on how to do it. If the job isn't too bad (yea I know it sucks) I might do the rest of the plane over time for no other reason than to make a repaint less expensive. If I like the way it looks I will keep it polished.

Thanks.

Worst thing I've ever done in aviation was stripping my Widgeon myself. Nasty, dangerous, expensive, time consuming. But if you must, the orange eco based Sunset Stripper works pretty well.

Don't do it! If you do, send pictures!

Sunset stripper is the best thing on the market currently. Spray it on per instructions.

About 20 years ago I thought I'd strip and paint my C182. Biggest judgement error I've ever made in aircraft ownership. Took me most of a summer, and the results in the first photo looked Ok “from 10 feet away on a galloping horse”. After many years my A&P told me he's finding lots of filiform corrosion under my sub-par paint job and that I was at risk of losing the airframe if it wasn't addressed soon. It was especially bad where I hadn't adequately cleaned stripper that had migrated into seams and joints (nearly impossible to avoid, or cure). I eventually decided it needed attention from a pro. I researched several paint shops around the west and eventually settled on Master Aircraft at Wikenburg, AZ. The results are the second photo below, and I've been very happy with it. Soooo, final advice, “Let the Pros Do The Painting”!

Well I am just doing the struts so hopefully not too bad.

I am wondering if a soda blaster from harbor freight might be a better way to do it. They run about 40psi so don't know if that is enough take the paint off. Anyone use a soda blaster?

What do I need to do to prep it for polishing after it is stripped?

The soda will end up in the joints and ruin the airplane. Any mechanical action on aluminum sheet will often heat it up and cause it to deform.

Tim

A friend and I removed all the metal panels on my Stearman except the one where the cabane struts go through. We thought stripping and painting would be easy. We were half right. Painting was easy. Removing the old paint was horrible. We tried every paint stripper we could find. None of them worked well but I think the one Mike mentioned was probably the best. There was just a ton manual labor involved after the stripper was finished.

I'd also be very worried about the stripper oozing where you don't want it to go.

I used a lot of soda on my Widgeon and yes it works great and is harmless to aluminum but it gets into everything and everywhere. Horrible mess.

We've stripped several aircraft using this stuff..

https://solventkleene.com/d-zolve-15-33r-aircraft-depainter/

Spread it on thick, leave it overnight and just hose it off the following morning. It doesn't sting, burn or smell too bad.

Horrible, horrible job.

During, after and before. Worst thing I’ve ever done in aviation. Turned my hangar and grass into a superfund site for 2 years.

I've done a strip and paint on a C-150...and it was a lot of work. Piece parts are ok...but a whole plane, no thanks. I gladly paid to have my Bonanza done.

But, we have water soluble chemicals now....I used MEK as a cleanup wash with old fashion acid stripper. And it did burn.....lol

I used a lot of soda on my Widgeon and yes it works great and is harmless to aluminum but it gets into everything and everywhere. Horrible mess.

dry Ice blasting works well but is expensive. the Dry ice leaves no residue as it turns into the gas CO2.

https://www.continentalcarbonic.com/air ... y%20ice%20

We were at a car show this past weekend and spoke with a dry ice blasting vendor. Their process was just to clean engine compartments and supposedly was harmless to paint. I had thought that process was used for paint removal on aircraft.

My last paint shop used a conventional stripper, probably not great for the environment.