Hitchcocks Forum

Not sure what they paint the black bits on enfields with. Stuff like the fork shrouds, mainstand, engine plates, chainguard and bottom yoke.

It seems to give minimal protection from rust while at the same time being almost impossible to remove from the unrusted bits.

It seems to be very resistant to chemicals while at the same time is slightly soft so it clogs paper almost immediately and resists abrasive wheels.

Trying to prep my chainguard and saddle frame for painting just now and it's a seemingly impossible task. I have tried:

80 grit aluminium oxide paper (clogged in seconds)
Flap wheel (bounces off)
wire wheel in drill (scrapes shallow lines in it then polishes the surface)
Meatier wire wheel in angle grinder. (same)
3 days in a tank of caustic. (No discernable effect).
Proper commercial nitromorse (softened the surface slightly but then hardened again as it dried out before I could remove much)
Gasket removal spray . (no effect)

The only thing that seems to work at all is heating it with a heat gun which temporarily softens it enough to scrape it off with a putty knife. This is how I did the engine plates but the shape of a chainguard really doesn't lend itself to this.

I have one of those evil coil-sprung wire wheels for the angle grinder but I'm worried that'll knock holes in the metal, last time I used it it turned a swingarm into a colander.

I have a small amount of MEK but it seems a waste and is nasty stuff anyway.

Wondering if anyone else has found a better solution? Media blasting is a possible but it's an expense and I really wanted to get it painted and fitted by the weekend.

I'm considering lighting the fire-pit and burning it off then wire-wheeling it. I'm sure the neighbours wont mind the smell too much...

Is it possible to just sand any rust off and fill any chipped paint then undercoat and paint over it?

Depends on where you are? if near to South Wales I can get it blasted then sprayed on a budget
The other option would be to buy one then spray it yourself
Hope this helps Dai

Just had another idea
Caustic dip don't try it with aluminum bits
Cheers Dai

Well, I got it off!

A long (hour) soak in nitromorse then scrape the worst off with a putty knife (it's almost like scraping tough wax off a surface). Re-apply more nitromorse then attack it with the wire wheel while still wet.

This was not a pleasant task! The wire wheel flings strings of soft, nitormorse soaked paint everywhere. PPE important!

I've hit it up with black phosphor coating (krust) on the rough bits, now for some plastikote metalprotekt then a coat of black underseal on the inside. I've got some rusty saddle springs soaking in vinegar, probably need another hour or so. All the chrome has already blown off them so they should paint up well.

Just reread your first post you already tried caustic dip
Nitromores getting flung around by a wire brush sounds like no fun
Well done for persevering
Dai