Brake fluid as paint remover

[Bonnewagon]

Sounds crazy, right? But I needed to remove many years of paint from an aluminum boat. I did not want to use toxic Methylene Chloride removers as I often have grandchildren around. Plus it's summer and when you get that stuff on your arms or legs it burns like hell. So I had a large quantity of brake fluid and I remembered how great it ate through auto paint when you spill some. So I painted the hull with the brake fluid and covered it with a plastic drop cloth overnight so it could eat the paint for a while. It is very humid now and being hygroscopic, brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. That keeps it wet longer instead of drying out like regular remover. Well darned if it didn't soften and peel that boat paint nicely. I tested it against a commercial environmentally safe remover and it performed about the same. And as a bonus is easily cleaned up with simple soap and water. I think I will try this on a car next time I need to get paint off. What I really like is that it is so easy to wash off and neutralize without leaving residue that will spoil your paint job later. It should work super great on car paint, right?

 

[1evilregal]

I've often wondered the same thing... looking forward to seeing some of the comments.

 

[foxtrot]

It sounds like you have some good results but I'd still be worried about leftover residue.. How is it 'nutralized'? I'm still thinking that I prefer a good old fashioned sand blasting..

 

[Injectedcutty]

I can definitely vouch for this which happened to be a sucky situation on my end! Freshly painted(cured) firewall and cowl on my cutlass, was bleeding my new brake system. Removed the cap to carefully refill the master cylinder when a damn air pocket in the bottle decided to dump fluid causing a little stream to shoot across the firewall and cowl!!!! Literally, within seconds the paint started to bubble and i was able to peel off little pieces!!! Made me sick, however i was able to touch up the areas affected and blend the paint to look like nothing ever happened.

Brake fluid is very caustic in nature due to the chemical compound of being able to withstand heat and pressure on a constant basis! Crazy how you can spill oil, trans fluid, coolant, or hell even gear oil on painted surfaces and it doesn't damage it. Get a dab of brake fluid and it all goes to hell in a hand basket!

 

[Bonnewagon]

Foxtrot, I'm not sure of the chemical composition of brake fluid so I don't know if "neutralized" is the correct term. What I do know is that simple soap and water will wash it right off, with no residual film left behind. You know how when you get some on your hands and it feels like the slipperiest stuff in the world? But wash it off and it's like it was never there. I have repainted spots where the fluid accidentally ruined the paint, ( as Injectedcutty stated), and there was no issue at all with the new paint. My plan is to use a soapy power washer to get the fluid off and out of crevices when the paint is gone. If this works well on the boat I will be doing this on my next car job.

 

[1evilregal]

waiting for the show Bonnewagon!

 

[foxtrot]

Bonnewagon, I'm not sure of the chemical makeup of modern brake fluid either but was worried about leftover residue causing new paint not to adhere.. But it sounds like the majority of the fluid just washed off, which is cool and unexpected. I was thinking that there would be lots of residue leftover. I'd be interested to se a picture of the surface after its prepped, primed and painted..