How can I strip old paint from sash window locks and handles?

[nraphael]

New locks and handles for the whole house will cost $500 from Bunnings. There is nothing wrong with the existing ones except they've been painted over by the previous owners. Is there an easy way to strip the paint? Ideally some solution I could leave the locks submerged in. It would be too difficult to start scouring the paint off because the locks are very fiddly.

Is there a product out there for me?

Thanks
Nick

[seriph1]

if it is still available, modostuc stripper is powerful and fast. The importers were in melbourne's northern suburbs. Coburg, from memory. Owner was Mario fiorentino. Lovely bloke and helpful. That said, if these have been painted with house paint, buy a couple of cans of spray on oven cleaner... place the locks in a plastic container and spray the cleaner until you get full coverage. Stick the lid on and wait 10 or so minutes. Wash the gunkoff and scrub them with a scrubbing brush. I use this method for stripping knobs and 'some' timberwork on cabinets.

...or you could just have them commercially stripped.

[droog]

Another idea that worked for us is buy an old crock pot or slow cooker from an op shop, fill with water and heat, put items in and wait a few hours, the paint will then peel off, works better on some paints more than others and not so good on enamel based.
Particularly good on delicate parts, we used it on all the GPO and light switch covers the PO had done his "best" on.

Regards Dave

[Dr_No]

Similar to droog, boil them for a long time in a big pot of water with some backing soda added.

[seriph1]

Oh yeah, I remember the boiling water thing now! Great suggestion!

... and then there's always the trusty heat gun.