Removing paint from a cast iron bath - heat gun or stripper?

[bobdonkey]

I bought a second hand, hardly used cast iron bath. It had been painted and stored outside, so some of the paint was peeling off. On the advice I received at Brewers, I got some paint stripper called Rust-oleum. 750ml has removed about 40% of the paint, with many coats. In some places it hasnt even touched the paint.

I was going to use a heat gun, but they advised against that because it might affect the enamel as the metal is obviously very conductive.

Can anyone advise perhaps a better stripper, or maybe whether it would be safe to try a heat gun?
Thanks

 

[emilybronte]

Are you talking about paint on the outside of the tub, or on the inside?

 

[handyman77]

Get it acid dipped

 

[emilybronte]

Get it acid dipped

Please could you explain what you think this process involves?

 

[bobdonkey]

Sorry I am talking about the outside which is painted. The inside is enamelled and is perfect. I dont want to mess up the enamel potentially using a heatgun on the outside.

 

[opps]

You could have it sand blasted, care would need to be taken to prevent damage to the roll top enamel.

What kind of finish are you trying to achieve? What type of paint are you trying to remove?

I would be concerned about a heat gun but I guess that the surface area is so large that the heat would dissipate. Never-the-less if it does damage the enamel it will work out very expensive.

 

[bobdonkey]

I have ended up just doing some hard graft and scraping it off with a stanley blade scraper. More effective than the stripper, although there are some areas that won't budge, but I figure they will be good enough to paint over.

I am going to prime to stop rusting, and then using a oil based matt paint (darkgrey) on the outside.

I reckon the heat gun would be ok if used carefully but I dont want to risk ruining it.

Thanks

 

[handyman77]

Try nitromors, to remove the stubborn bits.

 

[emilybronte]

Try nitromors, to remove the stubborn bits.

Preferably a very old can (pre 2010!)

The new version is a pale (and more expensive) shadow of the old one.