Hi Cosullivan,
You can also use Sodium Hydroxide(NaOH) to strip paint in minutes. This is available in supermarkets and hardware stores as drain cleaning powder and costs about seven bucks for a 500g container. The trick is to use hot water and agitation. Ideally in an old esky, fill it with hot water and then add about half of the powder to make your solution, then very carefully submerse your painted parts into the mix (best done with tongs or a piece of wire tied around them) and let the chemistry do it's work. Please note, NaOH is extremely corrosive (no 8) to skin and deserves a lot of respect. That said, it will remove decades old paint in a second without harming ferrous metal. I have been using this method for years with great results, just be sure to use PPE and common sense.
p.s. don't get any alloy parts near NaOH, it will destroy them.
Craig
