Easy-Off Oven Cleaner to remove paint

I've seen this discussed here from time to time but I don't think I've read where anyone has actually tried it. Well, today I proved that it works and works well. It took the original paint off a 1988 Grumman Scrambler with little or no effort except that I did use a pressure washer. I sprayed the Easy-Off on in full sun and let it work for about 15 minutes. The paint bubbled and peeled right off. I had begun the day using a DeWalt grinder with a paint/rust removal wheel but this was going way too slow and was quit a work-out so I decided to try the Easy-Off. I've used it many times to strip the finish off of gun stocks before refinishing so I had a few cans left-over in garage. The outside of the boat took about six cans but at $1.50 each from the Dollar Store, that's a lot cheaper than the sanding disks and will allow me to use a simple finishing sander with 80 or 100 grit paper to rough-up the bare metal before applying Steelflex which is a lot easier and cheaper than using a grinder. I still have about half of the bottom to strip and I'll try to post a few pics tomorrow.

NICE! brake fluid works great too! there is a reason they say DO NOT GET ON PAINTED surfaces.

We use easy off oven cleaner to clean the bathtub...Yup the bathtub (not the tiles).

Spray it on the soap grimed tub, let it sit for 30-45 minutes, easy scrub off. I was amazed.

It took a total of 10 1/2 cans of heavy duty Easy-Off to strip the entire inside and outside of the 1446 Grumman down to bare metal. I bought most of the Easy-Off at Dollar General for $1.50 a can.

Before applying Easy-Off.




The Easy-Off doing it's thing.




About 10 minutes later I washed away the paint using a pressure washer.



Afterwards, make sure you wash the surface with a mild detergent and rinse thoroughly. I recommend wearing gloves and a mask, those lye fumes can be rough and if you have a small cut on your finger that Easy-Off will find it.

I do not believe that the lemon scented or no-fume Easy-Off would work in this application. At least I know they won't strip the finish off a rifle stock so I must assume it wouldn't work on paint either. Temperature of the metal is a major contributing factor. Today, it was in the mid-80's and the Easy-Off bubbled-up nicely working it's magic in about 10-15 minutes with no scrubbing required. As it was getting later in the day yesterday and temps. dropped to into the lower 70's the process slowed down quite a bit.

You can buy air craft stripper, it's made to take paint of of alumnium wothout etching it or anything like that, oven cleaner eats at the aluminuim. It comes in a aerosal can or you can buy it in quart or gallon brush on cans. Stuff works great.