Paint stripper

[FlaMtnBkr]

I am wanting to clean up my EDC which is a Benchmade Rift. The liners are coated and the edges are worn off in many places. I want to strip the coating off the liners, clip, and fastners so I can polish them and possibly even jewel the liners. The coating is a matte finish and is fairly durable. It will take a while to sand it all off as I have tried and it is slow going. It looks like the same coating they put on the pocket clips that aren't painted.

Any ideas of a product that will strip the coating? I bought a quart of paint stripper and it has sat for over an hour and doesn't appear to have done anything. The directions say it should loosen paint in 15 min. It is Klean Strip brand Strip-X paint stripper.

[holymolar]

Klean Strip brand Strip-X paint stripper didn't work for me either on a Kershaw Blur.

Then I tried 32% hydrochloric acid (HCL) which is nasty stuff and dangerous but it stripped it in about 10 minutes. The problem is that the blade was left so dull that I had to spend a lot of time polishing with sandpaper anyway. Also the blade started rusting almost immediately. Not worth it for me so I got rid of the HCL. If I ever need to do it again, I'll probably just use sandpaper starting with 80 grit and progressing to 2500 grit.

[FlaMtnBkr]

I tried 3 different brands of paint stripper and none of them touched the coating. I guess I won't be doing what I wanted with this knife. Maybe one day if I am feeling ambitious I will bust out the sandpaper.

[a2d2]

Aren't those liners parkerized? If so, I'm told EVAPO-RUST does a good job, though I have no experience with the product. Ask in a gunsmithing forum, they will likely be able to help.

EDIT...
Looks like EVAPO-RUST should work if the liners are parkerized. http://www.evaporust.com/faq.html

[holymolar]

I just saw on YouTube (don't know how to link to it - How To Strip Cold Steel's Coating by jdavis882) about a product called Aircraft Remover that easily breaks the bond of the coating on Cold Steel knives. It may work on your knife, too. You apply it and wait a minute - then scrape off the coating with something plastic while the product is still on the blade, not after rinsing it off. One brand is by Rust-oleum that is available at AutoZone and other auto product stores. There are other brands also. The active ingredent is Methaline Chloride. Let us know if it works on your knife.

[ConBon]

Love me some heavy duty hydrochloric acid, it'll clean anything off of everything, wheter it be coating off of metal or skin off of bone. Wear safety glasses and acid proof gloves.