How to Strip Black Epoxy Coat From Sheet Metal
Black epoxy coating protects sheet metal from corrosion and damage from metal destroying chemicals. Unlike other forms of metal protection, once the epoxy coating is applied to the surface of the sheet metal, it cannot be stripped easily with a retail paint stripper. To break through and remove a tough black epoxy coating, you need to use abrasive media. Abrasive media ranges from media blasting with air pressure to grinding and sanding pads used with an angle grinder. When using grinding and sanding pads, you need to select an abrasive pad that will not clog with the black epoxy coating.
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Things You'll Need
- 60-grit flapper wheel
- Angle grinder
- Safety glasses
- Face shield
- Leather work gloves
- 80-grit flapper wheel
- Dry rag
- Wire brush
Instructions
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1
Secure the 60-grit flapper wheel to the angle grinder.
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2
Put on your safety glasses, face shield and leather work gloves. It is important to use both safety glasses and a face shield when grinding, as epoxy and metal particles work past the face shield.
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3
Lower your face shield and run the 60-grit flapper wheel over the sheet metal. Hold the flapper wheel at a five to ten-degree angle from the surface of the sheet metal to avoid gouging the sheet metal with the flapper wheel.
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4
Exchange the 60-grit flapper wheel with the 80-grit flapper wheel when the surface of the sheet metal is exposed.
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5
Run over the exposed surface of the sheet metal with the 80-grit flapper wheel to remove the scratches left by the 60-grit flapper wheel.
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6
Wipe the surface of the sheet metal with a dry rag to clean sanding dust from the sheet metal.
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Clean remaining black epoxy from the surface of the sheet metal with the wire brush and re-wipe the surface of the sheet metal with the dry rag to complete the black epoxy coating removal process.
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