Ishy paint removal

My new friend arrived the other day, an Ishapore 2a1 from 1966. She is in great shape for a surplus gun, numbers matching, and I'm very pleased to say that 95% of the finish is intact...under the black paint, that is. A previous owner removed most of it, but the stuff is still clinging around the edges of most parts. Underneath is what feels like a very smooth gray-black parked finish, but I'm guessing it's sunkorite?

So here's a question: what do you think would be best to take the remaining paint off without harming the finish underneath? I was thinking of using mineral spirits and a nylon brush. Think that would be safe?

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Originally Posted by ShaveTail

My new friend arrived the other day, an Ishapore 2a1 from 1966. She is in great shape for a surplus gun, numbers matching, and I'm very pleased to say that 95% of the finish is intact...under the black paint, that is. A previous owner removed most of it, but the stuff is still clinging around the edges of most parts. Underneath is what feels like a very smooth gray-black parked finish, but I'm guessing it's sunkorite?

So here's a question: what do you think would be best to take the remaining paint off without harming the finish underneath? I was thinking of using mineral spirits and a nylon brush. Think that would be safe?

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The black paint is the sunkorite,and it's tough stuff ! You will need something a tad stonger than mineral spirits to lift it. I use paint stripper for that type of thing , and the nylon brush. The finish underneath could be parkerized or blued they tend to vary. I'm going to pick up a 2a1 soon but I think i'm going to leave mine as found.Congratulations and have fun !

India used a very cheap paint. Nothing like suncorite. Any paint remover will remove it. Try a gentle one like citrus oil first before trying the stronger ones.

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Originally Posted by jona

India used a very cheap paint. Nothing like suncorite. Any paint remover will remove it. Try a gentle one like citrus oil first before trying the stronger ones.

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Mineral spirits is not a paint remover , any paint remover will remove the paint . And you can call it what ever you want :thup: If your looking for expert advise look to those with more than 84 (or 11 :madsmile: posts)
I'm sure you will be able to sort the wheat from the chaff ! :dancingbanana:

Thanks guys. And I realized after posting that (and a few hours of sleep) that I'd soaked the parts for my no.4 in mineral spirits when I was de-rusting it without harming the parkerizing, so why would it hurt the Ishy? I think I'll try a few of the smaller and inconspicuous parts first and see how it goes. :wave:

Mineral Spirits, also called Stoddard solvent, is a petroleum distillate commonly used as a paint thinner and mild solvent. Outside of the United States and Canada, it is referred to as white spirit. In industry, mineral spirits is used for cleaning and degreasing machine tools and parts. According to Wesco, a supplier of solvents and cleaning equipment, mineral spirits "are especially effective in removing oils, greases, carbon, and other material from metal." Mineral spirits may also be used in conjunction with cutting oil as a thread cutting and reaming lubricant.

Artists use mineral spirits as an alternative to turpentine, one that is both less flammable and less toxic. Because of interactions with pigments, artists require a higher grade of mineral spirits than many industrial users, including the complete absence of residual sulfur. Odorless Mineral Spirits are mineral spirits that have been further refined to remove the more toxic aromatic compounds, and are recommended for applications such as oil painting, where humans have close contact with the solvent.

Mineral spirits - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

White spirit, also known as Stoddard solvent, is a paraffin-derived clear, transparent liquid which is a common organic solvent used in painting and decorating. In 1924, an Atlanta dry cleaner named W. J. Stoddard worked with Lloyd E. Jackson of the Mellon Research Institute to develop specifications for a less volatile dry cleaning solvent as an alternative to more volatile petroleum solvents. Dry cleaners began using it in 1928 and it was the predominant dry cleaning solvent in the United States from the late 1920s until the late 1950s.

It is a mixture of saturated aliphatic and alicyclic C7 to C12 hydrocarbons with a maximum content of 25% of C7 to C12 alkyl aromatic hydrocarbons.

White spirit is used as an extraction solvent, as a cleaning solvent, as a degreasing solvent and as a solvent in aerosols, paints, wood preservatives, lacquers, varnishes, and asphalt products. In western Europe about 60% of the total white spirit consumption is used in paints, lacquers and varnishes. White spirit is the most widely used solvent in the paint industry. In households, white spirit is commonly used to clean paint brushes after decorating. Its paint thinning properties enable brushes to be properly cleaned (by preventing the paint from hardening and ruining the bristles) and therefore enabling them to be re-used.

Three different types and three different grades of white spirit exist. The type refers to whether the solvent has been subjected to hydrodesulfurization (removal of sulfur) alone (type 1), solvent extraction (type 2) or hydrogenation (type 3). Each type comprises three different grades: low flash grade, regular grade, and high flash grade. The grade is determined by the crude oil used as the starting material and the conditions of distillation.

In addition there is type 0, which is defined as distillation fraction with no further treatment, consisting predominantly of saturated C9 to C12 hydrocarbons with a boiling range of 140-200 °C.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoddard_solvent

Unfortunately, mineral spirits didn't even put a dent in this stuff. Maybe it is suncorite after all. So the question remains: what will dissolve this stuff without harming the parkerizing?

Try acetone. It's the common solvent in a lot of bore cleaners and nail polish removers. You can get it by the gallon at any major hardware chain. It won't harm metal.

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Originally Posted by Mizzouboy

Try acetone. It's the common solvent in a lot of bore cleaners and nail polish removers. You can get it by the gallon at any major hardware chain. It won't harm metal.

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If you use acetone, don't do it in a confined space; it's really not good to breath the vapors & (I think?) also highly flamable. Otherwise, it's a very good solvent. HTH.
Donzi

Donzi's correct. Acetone and caution. Then oil because you've also removed all traces of oil.

I'll try a small bit tomorrow and let you guys know how it works.

This might work....:banghead: