Removing a bad paint job. 1958 GE Fridge.

[cadzila]

Hello, I just purchased a 1958 GE model BH12-R refrigerator. It has separate doors for the freezer and refrigerator compartments. Revolving shelves inside with nothing really missing. It seems to be operating well.
Unfortunately, someone spray painted over the original lemon yellow color with some sort of mat looking paint. I would like to try to remove the top paint to get back to the original color underneath.
Has anyone tried this? The original finish would have been some sort of glossy porcelain type. I don't think this original finish would be harmed by hot water. I am thinking of trying to lay boiling hot water soaked towels over the top coat to try to get it to blister and loosen. Then use a plastic or wooden scraper to carefully hand strip the paint. I have successfully used hot water to soak paint off of painted cabinet hardware. Any ideas?

 

[combo52]

Removing a Bad paint job from a refrigerator

It won’t hurt anything to try your method. It all depends on the type of paint that was put on how easily it will come off.

The original paint was just a good baked enamel. It was not porcelain if it was porcelain it would be easy to remove without damaging the original finish.

It’s also highly possible that the original finishes not in good condition which might be part the reason it got painted.

You may want to consult an automotive body shop about painting techniques, and ways to remove or restore finishes.

Good luck with it keep us posted. Pictures are very nice, John.

 

[d-jones]

Everything John said, plus this.

Spray painted finishes, especially matte finishes, are often very thin. You may be able to sand through it with a very fine wet sand paper. Something in the neighborhood of 1000 grit or finer using a stiff foam sanding block could get you safely through the spray paint and back down to the original finish. Just remember that with sandpaper that fine it'll load up quickly, so wet sanding with sandpaper made for that is a must. Once you get through to the original color you'd want to stay away from that spot so you don't sand through it as well. Then a good polishing compound will restore the shine, or gloss to the finish. I've used this method successfully in the past, but it's easy to go too far and sand through the finish you're trying to save as well. I've done that too, so extreme care and patience is needed to do it right. But as John pointed out, underneath that spray paint you may find the reason it was applied in the first place and all your effort will have been wasted.

 

[delco1946]

GE paint from this era is dismal. It’s thin, and will rub off easily. Even an alkaline cleaner will start to take off paint and cause streaking. Scrubbing will cause areas to lighten and it will stay darker in areas you tended to scrub less. Ask me how I know haha all 4 of my yellow 50s GE appliances have not impressed me in terms of their paint; it’s also applied somewhat poorly.

Go ahead and try it but have low expectations - I think anything that will take off the top layer is also going to start to damage and takeoff the bottom layer. It will probably be easier just to strip the whole thing and start from scratch but always good to try to preserve the original first.