TLDR: Paint stripper has been neutered by the EPA and now sucks, so don't waste your time and money.
I've been working on refinishing a set of wheels and thought I'd share my experience with prepping the wheels for paint.
The wheels I'm working on were already refinished at least once before so there are a few layers of paint, primer, and some filler. I didn't want to just scuff and paint over the flaking paint, so my plan was to remove as much of the old paint using paint stripper and then sand the rest away by hand. I've used this method before in the past with great results, and usually bought this brand of stripper:
The process was to sand the surface lightly, brush on some of the stripper and wait about 15-20 minutes. The paint would bubble up and could be wiped away or power washed from the surface leaving the exposed bare metal below.
But back in 2019 the government banned the use of Methylene Chloride as the active ingredient in all consumer grade paint strippers. A few people didn't read the instructions and used it without proper ventilation and died from breathing the fumes.
So now we're stuck with this reformulated version:
It's supposed to work the same way as the old stuff, but requires a rougher grit pre-sanding treatment, 30+ minutes to work, and a thicker layer of goop. It's also recommended to cover the area with plastic wrap to prevent the stripper from drying out as it sits there.
I tried this brand and several others (Klean Strip Ultra, CitriStrip, Rustoleum Aircraft Remover, Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover). And it's all garbage. I increased the amount of time for the chemicals to work, roughed up the surface more, used a thicker layer of chemical, but it's all totally ineffective at removing paint.
I had the best results with the Klean Strip Ultra, but was only able to remove one top layer of paint and I had to scrub with a wire brush. It did nothing to remove the primer below, and I think it actually smelled worse than the original formula.
So if you're planning on stripping your wheels to repaint, you're better off taking them somewhere to be sand blasted instead. This new stripper might work OK on latex or other weaker paints, but it doesn't do much at all to remove automotive grade urethanes and epoxy primers.
I've been working on refinishing a set of wheels and thought I'd share my experience with prepping the wheels for paint.
The wheels I'm working on were already refinished at least once before so there are a few layers of paint, primer, and some filler. I didn't want to just scuff and paint over the flaking paint, so my plan was to remove as much of the old paint using paint stripper and then sand the rest away by hand. I've used this method before in the past with great results, and usually bought this brand of stripper:
The process was to sand the surface lightly, brush on some of the stripper and wait about 15-20 minutes. The paint would bubble up and could be wiped away or power washed from the surface leaving the exposed bare metal below.
But back in 2019 the government banned the use of Methylene Chloride as the active ingredient in all consumer grade paint strippers. A few people didn't read the instructions and used it without proper ventilation and died from breathing the fumes.
So now we're stuck with this reformulated version:
It's supposed to work the same way as the old stuff, but requires a rougher grit pre-sanding treatment, 30+ minutes to work, and a thicker layer of goop. It's also recommended to cover the area with plastic wrap to prevent the stripper from drying out as it sits there.
I tried this brand and several others (Klean Strip Ultra, CitriStrip, Rustoleum Aircraft Remover, Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover). And it's all garbage. I increased the amount of time for the chemicals to work, roughed up the surface more, used a thicker layer of chemical, but it's all totally ineffective at removing paint.
I had the best results with the Klean Strip Ultra, but was only able to remove one top layer of paint and I had to scrub with a wire brush. It did nothing to remove the primer below, and I think it actually smelled worse than the original formula.
So if you're planning on stripping your wheels to repaint, you're better off taking them somewhere to be sand blasted instead. This new stripper might work OK on latex or other weaker paints, but it doesn't do much at all to remove automotive grade urethanes and epoxy primers.