paint stripper

[Bob H]

Be careful not to allow stripper to collect in faying surfaces, like sheet overlaps, where it can induce corrosion. Joints must be neutralized or thoroughly rinsed.
Bob H

[bdk]

Actually some of you have it exactly backwards! You should NOT use stainless steel wire brushes. Use carbon steel on aluminum.

You want to be as close as possible to the other material on the galvanic corrosion table. Stainless steels are farther away from aluminum than carbon steel. You can also see why cadmium plating is used against aluminum.

Stainless steel does nothing to protect aluminum, it protects itself!

http://www.corrosionist.com/galvanic...sion_chart.htm
http://www.insertsdirect.com/blog/

[Bill Berson]

Yep, I was going to mention that about stainless, but wasn't sure anyone cared about such detail.
Keep in mind the book (AC43.13) is talking about corrosion removal not paint removal. For corrosion removal, it says use a stainless brush followed by 60grit aluminum oxide abrasive paper then 400 aluminum oxide paper.

If embedded metal is really a problem, do you need to sand and clean all the holes that are drilled with carbon steel drill bits?
Do you sand all sheared edges to get rid of embedded steel from the shear? I never heard of this.

But in any case, paint removal doesn't require the same brisk abrasion as corrosion removal. The idea is to just scratch the softened paint just enough for fresh stripper to get under the paint and lift it. And even if there was any metal bits left, it will come off with the scotch bright scrub.