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What would be the best way to remove flaking layered paint from very intricate ornate wrought iron railings?

Any paint recomendations that hold up to snow/ice as well would be of interest.

A wire wheel brush for your electric drill, Dad's paint remover (heavy bodied), coarse steel wool to remove the remover, and any pointy tool in your shop that might get into the nooks and crannies.
I had a common steel swing keel on my sailboat that rusted so bad that I had to beat blisters off with a hammer before I used a side grinder with a 36 grit disc. I had the best luck with a fiberglass primer I found at a marine store topped with two coats of shiny-oil-based paint with a lifetime warranty.

1) Disassemble as much as is practical
2) Chemical paint remover to get rid of as much of the paint as possible
3) Bead blast to clean bare metal (careful not to destroy detail)
4) Prime *immediately* with rust inhibitory primer
5) Paint (find a real paint store (where the pros go, not the Borg) and talk to them about paints for your area. An epoxy finish might be appropriate, but might also make it real tough for you or the next guy the next time around.)
6) Reassemble and touch up.

Some of us would get old long before finishing such a job with a wire wheel.

Disassemble the whole thing, load it into your truck and take it to a commercial outfit with a dip tank.

Encase them in drywall. Then they're a snap to paint.

Take the railings down and haul them to your local monument works for sand blasting. Then find someone in your area who does powder coating.

This paint stripper works very well. Brush it on, let it sit several hours, and us a stiff brush to clean off. Water based, No fumes, no caustics, no acids. It used it to remove paint on a ceiling the wasn't budging with a scrapper. Kind of pricey though.

http://www.dtep.com/removall.htm

Philip Jensen wrote:This paint stripper works very well. Brush it on, let it sit several hours, and us a stiff brush to clean off. Water based, No fumes, no caustics, no acids. It used it to remove paint on a ceiling the wasn't budging with a scrapper. Kind of pricey though.

http://www.dtep.com/removall.htm

Due to the fact that this wrought iron is sunk into concrete for both my front and side entrances removing it to have it sandblasted is impractical, but your suggestion beats what I had planned with the wire wheel.

Two questions - how much will a gallon cover as I have to cover about 200 square feet? Also their site recommends a power washer - how powerful of a powerwasher will I need?

Thanks!

tofu wrote:Two questions - how much will a gallon cover as I have to cover about 200 square feet?

It'd be cheaper to hie thee on down to the auto parts store and ask them for some "aircraft stripper". That stuff will dissolve anything, so keep it away from any other painted surfaces. Wear stripping gloves, eye protection and a long-sleeved shirt--it really irritates the skin if you get even a small drop on you.

Work on only as much as you can handle in about an hour at a time.

Get the tough spots up with a wire wheel.

If this were the bad old days, I'd say prime with some zinc chromate primer--but that's illegal now. There are zinc-bearing primers, however--go to a good paint store and ask for recommendations. Then finish up with your favorite color of Rust-Oleum (the brush on kind, not the rattle can).

Dad's

bloke wrote:If you think you're going to strip it with a powerwasher, you had best rent the supah-supah-doopah.

Why do you need to strip this thing? You originally mentioned removing FLAKING paint...Why not just address those areas with a wire brush, and then prime/repaint the whole thing?

bloke "heavy-bodied strippers are MESSY "

It is a very old house and many prior owners have apparently tackled it by just layering on more paint. The last owner's paint job is flaking all over, but underneath that paint there are many places that have layer upon layer of old paint (I've counted at least 10 different colors) or some places with just a few layers and as a result there is extreme unevenness which I think contributed to the last owners paint job just flaking off.

Apparently no one really took the time to prep it properly before painting. I'm used to messy strippers having rebuilt and painted several cars. Having never tackled something like wrought iron I thought I'd see if anybody had any experience with it and what worked well. I'd like to do it right so the paint will last for awhile.
In a perfect world I think the best option would be sandblasting, but that is really not a practical solution in this instance.

The good news is all this paint really preserved this old wrought iron and it is really in excellent shape.

Philip Jensen wrote:
This paint stripper works very well. Brush it on, let it sit several hours, and us a stiff brush to clean off. Water based, No fumes, no caustics, no acids. It used it to remove paint on a ceiling the wasn't budging with a scrapper. Kind of pricey though.

http://www.dtep.com/removall.htm

Two questions - how much will a gallon cover as I have to cover about 200 square feet? Also their site recommends a power washer - how powerful of a powerwasher will I need?

I did a bathroom ceiling (6X10) and used about a 1/2 gallon. I obviously did not use a power washer. I "scrapped" the paint off. The stripper does not dissolve the paint but merely loosens it's attachment to the substrate. The paint came off in strips (like old sunburn).

I bet you wouldn't need a powerwasher, you could probably get by with one of these on a garden hose and a good stiff brush.

http://www.zwwstore.com/img/pro/SWP.jpg

The next question then, is how are you going to prep the surface for the new paint? Either sandblasting or a good amount of work with a wire brush.