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There must be a hundred ways to remove power coating from the bearing surfaces on control tubes, and John Monnett even has a Hints for Home Builders video on how to do it with a propane torch. Best way I've found, however, is to mask off the bearing surface with a stainless steel hose clamp and then take the powder coating off with a wire wheel. This eliminates the need to re-prime and paint the "over-removed" areas adjacent to the bearing surface. After the coating is taken off, polish the bearing surface with a strip of very fine emery cloth and dab on a little machine oil.

Great idea. :) Chris should have a topic called ' Methods I Used ' .There have been more than a few good methodologies :idea: used by members here and it would be nice if they could all be in one place.
Mike

I agree (great tip btw!), I've found great tips across a lot of different forums and blogs, and it would be great to have a central forum topic that addresses specific techniques that we have used to accomplish tricky tasks.

I have been posting mine in tools. Usually there is a tool to go along with each idea, even if it is a simple tool like a hose clamp. Nice idea Don.

What do you have under the clamp?

Rynoth wrote:What do you have under the clamp?

Actually, nothing. What you see in the photo is just the collar of the adjoining section of tubing. If there are concerned about the clamp marring the surface, just wrap a little electrical tape around the tube before putting on the clamp.

Please excuse my ignorance. I don't understand the purpose of the clamp. Is it squeezing the collar of the adjoining section of tubing so that the bearing surface remains stationary while you remove the powder?

zirf43 wrote:Please excuse my ignorance. I don't understand the purpose of the clamp. Is it squeezing the collar of the adjoining section of tubing so that the bearing surface remains stationary while you remove the powder?

He's using it as a mask, to keep the wire wheel from removing powder coat under the hose clamp, so you don't have to re-apply primer where too much powder coat was removed (which happens with every other method I've seen until now.)

In other words, the clamp is acting in the same fashion that tape would be used to mask when painting. Except in this case he's removing paint (powder coat) rather than applying it.