Quoted from T3quila:Since it's lead paint that I'm removing I was thinking about using Citristrip for the majority of the paint (never worked with it before) but I have heard mixed reviews. Most of the stuff that is recommended seems to be very caustic and fumy. Anybody worked with Citristrip before?
I tried it briefly for paint removal, not so good for me. Great for getting sticky gunk off, but did little to remove the original paint from a 40 year old cabinet. Acetone is caustic and fumy, but for me it's the safest way to (easily) remove these old paint jobs and get down to bare wood. What's more....as you pointed out, these old paint jobs are lead-based. With chemical removal, you don't have to worry about lead dust flying around and getting into your lungs, or someone else's lungs, or settling on things in your garage to be kicked up in the air later and affect someone.
Quoted from T3quila:I figure I'll have to neutralize and clean it afterwards as well, but getting water onto a stripped cabinet seems not like a bright idea to me. Any insight into that?
Sand away the dirt and grime either with a power sander or by hand. When you put on your first primer coat, use Kilz.
Quoted from T3quila:I don't have really a workspace, so I don't want to contaminate it too much with lead if I can avoid it. It's getting into the freezing temps here too, that's gonna be a problem as well I imagine.
You can hook up a shop vac to your power sander to minimize the dust/debris that flies around, but I still wouldn't do it in a garage (especially with lead based paint). You may want to wait for warmer weather and do it outside if you're not chemically stripping (and you should that outside as well unless your garage is well ventilated and you leave the garage door open). Even if you get the cabinet stripped now, you won't be able to put down any primer or paint until temps get north of 55F. Or you have a heated, well ventilated garage.
I've done four restores now and one of the biggest lessons I've learned is......patience. Use the winter months to do "indoor" portions of the project:
- Make a detailed list of new/replacement parts you'll need when you reassemble your pin, then spent the winter chasing them down!
- If you're using Pinball Pimp stencils, know that the adhesive used on them is good for 12-18 months, so keep that window in mind if you're buying your stencil ahead of time.
- Strip the playfield of parts
- Clean and rebuild mechs, tearing them down and running what you can through ultrasonic cleaners and tumblers
- Clean your wire harness in the dishwasher, reflowing all the solder points when you put it back on
- Repair / bullet-proof your PCBs (or send them to someone who can do that). Have them all nice and ready for when you're cabinet's done and you're ready to re-assemble.
- Send bling-worthy stuff out to be powder coated if that's your thing.