Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Removal of Powder Coating

December 24, 2009

We have some aluminum parts (5052-H32) & CRS parts that are presently powder coated coating thicknes up to 120 microns.We need to remove this powder coating so taht we can refinish the parts. How do we remove powder coating from aluminum & CRS parts. We have a enclosures of size LxWxT (16" x 8" x 3"), which the chassis having standard parts like Pems & Studs that parts will not get rusted during or after coating removed. We need alkaline based solution.

Please advice.

Thanks & Regards,
C.Kamaraj

Kamaraj C
Quality Assurance - Chennai, India

Alkaline has a great number of meanings. To me, any alkaline solution that would remove/degrade the paint would very rapidly attack the aluminum as soon as it broke thru the paint.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
December 28, 2009

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Trade secret- you don't have to remove the paint, you just need to sand the gloss off and repaint.

Sheldon Taylor
supply chain electronics
Wake Forest, North Carolina
December 29, 2009

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January 8, 2010

Hi Mr.Kamaraj,
Mr.Sheldon answer is correct.
you need to do the blasting for removal,
Acid removal and melting the coating will spoil the base material

Kannan Boopathi
- Salem,Tamil Nadu, India

There are solvents available that will remove powdercoat fairly easily. Our preferred method, since Bell Helicopter limits our solvent-strip options, is to strip with a media blast.

Terry Lycans
Aerospace - Dayton, Ohio, USA
February 20, 2010

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March 9, 2010

There are several methods to deal with this issue, some outlined above.

Burning: quick and low cost but can affect some substrates (heat treated alloy?)
Solvent: many proprietary brand paint remover [on eBay or Amazon] also remove powder
Blasting: Shotblasting, but can be slow depending on the coating. For aluminium can abrade the metal, depending on type of shot used.
Caustic: (too generic a name to be specific), if NaOH can dissolve Aluminium.
Sand and recoat: Relies on the adhesion of the earlier coat. If known to be good, then sanding and recoating is perhaps the quickest. If total coating thickness is an issue, then this might be a problem.

Geoff Crowley
Crithwood Ltd.
Westfield, Scotland, UK