Safely removing paint from a SW 686

[2761377]

is it a 686-3? if so, there's a good chance the finish is factory. it was called Midnight Black.

try to remove the "paint" inside the grip frame first. if you have difficulty, stop. Midnight Black should be hard to remove and if the revolver has that finish it would be desirable.

[71MUSTY]

I do custom Dura - Coat finishes on firearms. I often have to remove some older finishes on firearms before I can apply my work.
If it is a lacquer based paint, soaking it in regular DOT brake fluid will easily remove the paint.
Brake fluid is cheap as well as a small aluminum cake type pan to lay the revolver in.

BRILLIANT

[condor]

I do custom Dura - Coat finishes on firearms. I often have to remove some older finishes on firearms before I can apply my work.
If it is a lacquer based paint, soaking it in regular DOT brake fluid will easily remove the paint.
Brake fluid is cheap as well as a small aluminum cake type pan to lay the revolver in.

Yep, I was gonna make that suggestion about DOT3 too. I've never tried it on a firearm, but I do know it will remove paint off ABS plastic Motorcycle Parts very quickly. The nice thing is it will rinse off with plain H2O. Probably the best paint remover on the market... :-)

[MyOdessa]

[covingtonhouse]

I do custom Dura - Coat finishes on firearms. I often have to remove some older finishes on firearms before I can apply my work.
If it is a lacquer based paint, soaking it in regular DOT brake fluid will easily remove the paint.
Brake fluid is cheap as well as a small aluminum cake type pan to lay the revolver in.

Strip the revolver down as much as you can and don't soak anything without paint you want to remove.
Lay the revolver in the pan and pour in the brake fluid completely covering it. You should see the paint start to blister and "lift" after about 2-4 hours, but I let them usually soak for 24 hrs., or until all the paint is blistered.
After the paint is blistered the revolver can then be removed from the brake fluid and rinsed in HOT soapy water, using a nylon stiff bristled brush to help remove paint from the hard to get to areas .
DRY thoroughly and buff out with micro fiber cloth and re-oil and assemble as necessary.
Before anyone jumps me about the brake fluid, it won't hurt the steel, what do you think your brake lines are made of?
Also, if you've ever dripped some on a painted surface and not wiped it of right away and found it latter, you would know that it indeed removes paint quite nicely.
I also use this method to remove some paints from some plastic models that I have to refinish, but not all plastics are OK to soak, just keep that in mind.
Good luck with the recovery of your revolver.

So I got some stuff called citristrip, and I have some good brake cleaner from NV. This is tge side plate after a 10 minute coat of stripper followed by a brake cleaner blast. It appears to be stainless, but its got some discoloration. Possibly a worn black stainless finish from the short run 686-3. (Google is handy too, but I prefer input from others also).
Anyway it should clean up into at least a good camp gun.

[AreWeFree]

Just paint it krylon OD and cylinder flat black. Be awesome for only $7.

[covingtonhouse]

Just paint it krylon OD and cylinder flat black. Be awesome for only $7.

Update:. After getting the paint off the model stamp, turns out is a 586. Blued steel version, so the discolration on the cover plate was lost bluing. The above idea is appealing if I can do it cleanly. My other thought was to just buff it out and clear coat it. Not worth rebluing since it's going to be a ranch/camp/pack gun anyway. Now I have a reason to get me a .357 lever action.

[sealocan]

The previous owner misunderstood the definition of a "BBQ gun" and sprayed it with barbecue grill high temperature paint?

[covingtonhouse]

The previous owner misunderstood the definition of a "BBQ gun" and sprayed it with barbecue grill high temperature paint?

Looks pretty much like thats what happened.

Red mistmaker, the above examples are cool but way too snazzy for my tastes. What would the cost/turnaround time be on a basic black or charcoal grey be?
Keep in mind this is in no way a collector piece or any other use but a bump around gun for the aforementioned uses, so the more economical the better but w/o the bubba look.

[xxINKxx]

Can of california legal carb or brake cleaner. Melts away spray paint. I had a lower I spray painted with krylon after seeing lots of pics of people doing it. Long story short I blasted the trigger out with carb/brake clean since it was filthy and it melted the spray paint super fast into a slimy goo and wiped off.

Did the whole lower with a can and got it all removed quick. I cant imagine carb cleaner hurting stainless. Just buff it out after

[Fishwishin]

At this point your finish is destroyed. I would personally cerakote it and I like the OD green/flat black idea.

[Xtracrispy]

[Rgarbarino]

Send it to Robar for their Np3 finish.

https://robarguns.com/custom-firearm-finishes/