Originally Posted by
miriam
I would say it has to be oil free in order for the paint to stick. You would want to cover up or remove anything you don't want painted. The new paint has to stick - you might talk to a car paint person about getting it prepped before they paint it.
Yeah, when I asked his advice, my BIL was very clear about wanting an oil-free surface to paint. He also mentioned that sandblasting was pretty messy and would probably get grit all up in the machine insides. I was thinking a chemical stripper, then make sure the surface was cleaned with something like denatured alcohol before priming and painting using automotive stuff. Mostly it would be getting all the old finish off that I wondered about. Lots of nooks and crannies and small parts on these things!
As a side note, I also asked about just taking it down to the steel and putting clear over that for a modern industrial look. Thought that might be interesting, but he said it would have to be done pretty quickly before you get any rusting on the steel surface.