hey folks, Joe asked me a couple of questions about cleaning up this type of thing, so I though I would share here.
Glad to. First off, I almost NEVER use a paint stripper. I really do not like the fumes. I almost always use a wire-wheel mounted on my 1/2 hp buffer. With that said, when I do use stripper I use "Aircraft remover" (I love the name)
That stuff took the finish off of a 1966 Barracuda to the undercoating in one pass. Watching the paint wrinkle up and literally fall off the sides of the vehicle was amazing... and provided me with a profound respect for what this stuff can do.
One word of caution, Aluminum is not good for the human body, so when you strip or sand be sure to wear protection, especially breathing protection...
Also, when wire wheeling ALWAYS wear goggles or a face shield. I use a shield most of the time because I got tired of having a wire fly out and stick into my face...
I usually use simple Krylon paint for most projects. It is a paint and primer in one product.
I am redoing a Craftsman 109 Lathe right now, and the gear cover you see on the back left is aluminum. It has a huge molding defect in it but since I am not making a show piece, I just painted it. If I wanted it to be smooth, I would have "leaded" it with solder and filed/sanded smooth. (Again Lead is very toxic, so be careful)
The bed with rails in the foreground shows what it looked like when I started.
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