cleaning off galvanised bits

[Mick-Kelly]

Rightio brains trust
Problem galvanised body cappings that have been painted over at some point in the distant past and paint is now self destructing.
Solution ...........
All of the bits that can easily come off, will come off and go to be re galvanised. What i want to figure out is how to clean the paint off the other bits without destroying the zinc finish. Any thoughts

[JDNSW]

A solvent (as opposed to alkaline) type of paint stripper will remove the paint without any damage to the galvanising, although they a lot less effective than the alkaline type. Brake fluid is also quite effective, and will not harm galvanising. A talk to an aviation workshop may reveal something more effective that won't hurt aluminium, and so will be safe on galvanising.

With either type you need to find a scraper or brush that is softer than the galvanising and won't dissolve in the paint stripper - I suggest a bamboo wooden spoon or something like that.

Expect to put in quite a bit of work - in my experience, although paint won't stick to galvanising when you want it to, it won't come off when you want it to either!

John