Best way to remove paint, rust, and other surface contamination off metal

There are two common ways to remove rust and other contamination off metal. The chemical method can be dangerous, messy, and can take time. Or the mechanical method, which with clean and strip discs and wire brushes are designed to make it an easier, faster and a safer option.

The old standard way to remove rust and other contaminants is with chemicals that contain acid. They are harsh chemicals that give off some pretty intense fumes, so you need to cover up, and cover anything else that the acid could get on. Or you could try using safer chemicals which are nontoxic and acid-free, but this takes a lot longer to start working. After this you will still need to scrape, sand, and brush off the released paint or rust, and you may need to do this a number of times over to get it back to clean metal.

If you are after a cleaner and faster way to remove paint, rust, and other surface contamination off metal try the mechanical way. Use a power tool like an angle or straight grinder, sander, or even a drill. An angle grinder fitted with a Strip and Finish disc or wheel, wire cup brushes or wheels, will take off the paint, rust, or other surface coatings but won’t remove or cut into the base metal or material.

Traditional abrasives

You can use a fibre disc, flap disc or sanding discs to make quick work of heavy and large objects. But as these products are designed for removal they can easily dig in or gouge into the base metal, leaving the substrate not in its original shape or state, so it will require more rework. Also these products will clog quickly with paint or the likes so you won’t get the full life and cost out of them.

Wire brushes

Steel wire brushes come in crimped and twist knot form, great for light removal or where the surface is ruff or in angled / small shaped areas.crimped-brush-433956-edited.jpg

• Crimped wire brushes are more flexible for lighter removal.
• Twist Knot wire brushes which are firmer for faster heavy removal.

Wire brushes are best for light removal, soft paint coatings, or coating that aren’t firmly bonded to the metal, like flaky paint, scaly rust, or even weld spatter. Heavy, hardened, or firm coatings the wire brushes will de-burr or round off the edges, making this item best if you aren’t trying to removal all the coating, just take off the loose or flaky parts.

Clean n strip are made with strong non-woven fibres with extra coarse abrasives, specially designed for striping and cleaning off rust, coatings and any surface contaminants without removing the base material, (Steel, Stainless Steel, plastic, and wood) leaving a clean manageable surface.clean-and-strip-097651-edited.jpg

• Designed so are ‘easy to use’ to reduce rework.
• Works more effectively than traditional coated abrasives, as the open web structure won’t clog.
• Safer than wire brushes, reducing the risk of flying loose wires, and it will remove any coating back to the base metal far faster and cooler than a wire brush.

Clean and strip or Strip and Finish come it two types; black is softer and more conformable for shapes or light work, Purple is stronger for faster removal and longer life.