ADVERTISE HERE - FREE TRIAL
Articles Forums Gallery Marketplace Videos

WoodCentral Forums

Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge

Rare Exotic & Domestic Hardwoods, Milled In-House in Oregon. Browse Unique Stock.

Removing paint from an old chisel

Posts

Removing paint from an old chisel

#1

Removing paint from an old chisel

Dominic Greco in Richboro, PA

>OK folks. I do a good deed and I get a little recompense. I helped my father in law clean out his basement and came away with what looked like some rather badly treated chisels. They were used to open paint cans! They were covered with paint. Most was peeling off with minimal force.

However, further inspection showed them to be pretty darn nice. I can see the "Made in Germany" stamp on them. From what I'm told, they are about 60 years old.

So, how do I get the paint off these without damaging the steel? The handles are long gone. So that isn't an issue. I can turn new ones easily. Can I soak them in thinner? Or is there a better method?

Thanks,

Dominic

Re: Removing paint from an old chisel

#2

Re: Removing paint from an old chisel

Jerome Laux

>Soak them in good paint stripper. If you don't care about the handles it doesn't that much of a difference. Kleen-strip works okay, but there are many, many others.

Re: Removing paint from an old chisel

#3

Re: Removing paint from an old chisel

Bob Hackett

>Hi Dom,

Nice to see you on this side.

You can always just scrape the paint off the backs as you`ll probably have to flatten them anyway.

I usually lightly scrape the old grime,crud,paint or whatever off the tops and sides of old chisels I get and then clean them up with scotchbrite and then turn new handles, flatten the backs and sharpen by whatever means floats your boat.

You`ll find some excellent info in the articles section to your left(the one with the flashing dot).Good luck with your new find,hope to see you posting the results when you`re done.

Mainely,Bob

Re: Removing paint from an old chisel

#4

Re: Removing paint from an old chisel

Todd Hughes

>On chisels like this I clean them if the paint is real thick using a blade to scrap it off then clean them on a fine wire brush wheel, if paint isn't to bad the wire wheel will take care of it OK by itself. As long as you don't go crazy with it the wheel shouldn't leave any marks. I also like to use a strip of worn emory paper on a stick to give them the final look.If done correctly chisel should be clean but not look like it was cleaned.....In my experance most tools marked "Made in Germany" are of rather suspect quality but hey you got them right....Todd

Re: Removing paint from an old chisel

#5

Soak them in laquer thinner...

David Miller from Iowa

>and use a little steel wool - the paint will come right off and the patina will be intact.

Re: Removing paint from an old chisel

#6

Re: Removing paint from an old chisel

paul womack

>To remove paint from something as hard as a chisel, you could just use ... another chisel.

Just pare off the paint.

Alternatively, to strip paint, use paint stripper. Obviously :-)

In either case, a wire brush (manual, not wheel) should complete the clean up process.

BugBear

👍 This page answered my questions

Your vote helps other woodworkers quickly find the answers and techniques that actually work in the shop.