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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbatt!ihnp4!drutx!car377
From: car377@drutx.UUCP (RogersCA)
Newsgroups: net.cycle
Subject: Splotchy aluminum parts!
Message-ID: <1346@drutx.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Sep-86 10:50:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: drutx.1346
Posted: Thu Sep 18 10:50:44 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Sep-86 16:49:07 EDT
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
Lines: 27

In hplsla.19500001, Bob Cutler writes:

> My solution, after trying several cleaners and polishes was
> to remove the lacquer, polish the metal, and then apply wax.
 
What did you use to remove the lacquer?

I tried a small experiment with some paint stripper ("Strip-X")
which I obtained at my local hardware store.  I put a drop of
the stripper on the lower outside surface of my timing cover
in a spot where any subsequent damage would not be obvious.
I removed the stripper after 10 minutes, and the clear coat
had been removed.  There was no discoloration of
the underlying metal, but I did observe fine scratches in the
surface.  I'm not sure whether these scratches were the result
of factory finishing work, or damage caused by etching of the
surface by the stripper.  I called a corrosion expert at
Bell Labs in New Jersey and asked him whether the active ingredients
of the stripper (methylene chloride and xylene) would attack
the aluminum or chrome alloy.  He said there was a small
chance that damage would occur if any free chlorine ions in the
stripper encountered aluminum unprotected by aluminum oxide.
He also said that I could avoid such damage by exercising care 
during the procedure, and by leaving the stripper on only long
enough to loosen the paint.

Chuck Rogers @ ATT-ISL, Denver