Dissolving Cured Epoxy - Bolt Gun Painted Shut

[Somebody]

What is everybody's favorite chemical for removing cured epoxy?

I've picked up a complete, but poor condition Greene bolt action in a trade. For reasons unknown, a previous owner painted all the metal with a silver flake epoxy, including all the seams around the bolt and lugs. The coating looks very much like Pettit Trailercoat, which is an aluminized urethane epoxy. I have managed to strip all the surface coating, and free every single moving part, except for the bolt, which has no handle and remains stuck shut. I have located a spare bolt handle, but I must remove the current bolt. After a few days of experimentation, here is what I have tried and my thoughts on each approach.

Clean Strip Premium Stripper - Half hour soak softens the surface enough for a bronze brush to scrub surfaces clean.
Acetone - Half hour soak softens enough for a bronze brush to scrub surfaces clean. It evaporates too quickly for brush application, but immersion worked well for the small parts.
Xylene - About as effective as acetone, but more useful - the slower evaporation rate allows for useful brush work, and wrapping the work in tinfoil greatly enhances the soak time.
Methyl Ethyl Ketone - Seems about as effective and useful as Xylene. Evaporation rate somewhere between Xylene and Acetone.
Heat - Epoxy should soften around 400°F, but that is well into the tempering range of modern steels. I have no idea if it would harm 1860s alloys, nor do I know if such alloys would respond to modern re-heat treat methods. Photos of other rifles show the bolts as either bright or blued, not case-hardened.

NONE of the chemicals have succeeded in softening more than a thin layer of epoxy, even after 24 hours. This isn't a problem when you are scrubbing accessible surfaces, but now I must penetrate into the inaccessible bolt lugs and races. I have soaked the action overnight in each of the above solvents, and the bolt remains firmly stuck. This evening will be day 2 of the MEK soak, but I don't expect it to be any better than day one.

*Edit - I am aware that there is a button that must be pressed to unlock the bolt. That locking system has been removed for cleaning, and is not the source of the bolt remaining stuck.

So, if you need to remove thin coats of cured epoxy, any of the above chemicals will do nicely. If you have ever succeeded in softening thicker layers, I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

[country gent]

While not a solvent, you might try heating and cooling cycles. Pack in ice for a while then heat with a heat gun. Most epoxies dont hold up to expansion. try several cycles of this

[Nobade]

That's a neat rifle, well worth taking the time to bring it back!
Is there a hole where the bolt handle goes that you can get a lever into? That and a heat gun ought to do it. I wouldn't worry about annealing the metal, you won't be soaking it through and most likely there's not much that can be changed anyway. If it is hardened anywhere it's going to be a case. I've been able to remove bedding and pillars from McMillan stocks this way without damaging them, just get on it and cool things off as soon as you get it apart.

[cwtebay]

What an awesome rifle with a tragic story!
Definitely not the same, but I had a pre 64 Model 70 that someone had tried to bed - slopped the bedding compound into the action and into the magazine. I believe I paid $20 for it. I tried everything that I could think of with zero success. What did finally work was placing the rifle in a vice, holding a piece of oak against the action and using an air hammer on the block, I had to move it around the area for total success - but it worked!
I would love to see some pictures of your rifle!

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[36g]

Dimethylformamide appears to be the most commonly recommended solvent. There are some MSDS cautions to be aware of.

[LAGS]

I have never glued a receiver shut.
But did have a barrel that got stuck to the stock when glass bedding the barrel.
I left the barrel and stock in a freezer over night.
It popped loose in the morning.
To remove epoxy bedding used to bed stocks to refinish them.
I just used paint / epoxy stripper.
It doesn't liquify the epoxy.
But it softens it up so it is gummy and can be removed easily.

[M-Tecs]

Real MEK works but it's not available in most states. I have a soak tank and it will dissolve solid chunks of epoxy in a couple of days.

[cwtebay]

Dimethylformamide is difficult to get, I tried dimethylsulfoxide in my case unsuccessfully in the action opening. It did help with the stripping of the epoxy once it was open.

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[15meter]

Try a lower temp to heat to. West System epoxy recommends ~ 121C, no where near the 400F you are quoting.

https://www.westsystem.com.au/epoxy-handling/clean-up/

I trust their recommendations, I've been using their products for almost a half a century. It's good stuff backed up with full lab testing.

[Somebody]

Is there a hole where the bolt handle goes that you can get a lever into?

The stub of the handle remains, which is just enough meat to get some purchase with a pipe wrench. A previous owner tried that, but didn’t care to pad the wrench jaws. It should buff out. The rear of the bolt is free and springs slightly under torque. It is just up front where the lugs are that is remains stuck.

[Somebody]

Real MEK works but it's not available in most states. I have a soak tank and it will dissolve solid chunks of epoxy in a couple of days.

I have a gallon of real MEK. Since the action happens to be soaking in it right now, I’ll leave it for another few days before trying again. My soak tank is a tall spray can with aluminum foil wrapped tightly around the opening.

[Somebody]

Brief update: heat and 56 hours of soaking in MEK still have not freed the bolt.

[15meter]

Put the whole thing in an electric oven(if it will fit) for and hour or two to get the heat to soak all the way through? Oven set to 210? Probably a Craigslist freebie set out side.


Or a craigslist toaster oven with a hole punched in the side for the barrel to stick out?

[Somebody]

I suspect that there might be a fair bit of rust at the bolt head keeping things locked up. I don’t have a cleaning rod long enough to reach the chamber!
It’s back in the soak tank, but the next step will be pouring an ounce of Kroil down the bore.

[LAGS]

I worked in construction for many years.
We did several types of Epoxy Flooring.
If we had to shave out defects or remove epoxy from things like metal beams , we used heat.
We would just use a heat gun or propane torch.
Heat up the area and then scrape off the epoxy with a scraper or chisel.
If the finish that you have is not softened but heat between 400 or 600 degrees.
Then it might not be epoxy.
Maybe it is something like Ceracoat.
You might have to try bead blasting some areas and see if that will remove that finish enough to break it open

[popper]

https://generalchem.com/category/epoxy-paint-strippers

[ulav8r]

400 degrees should not harm the heat treatment of the metal. Heat to that, then apply as much force as you dare. If it doesn't move put it in the freezer for 24 hours, remove, tap on the bolt with a leather, wood, or deadblow hammer a few times and try to open. Tap in all directions to rotate open and closed and on the rear of the bolt and the front with a long rod. If that doesn't work, heat it again.

[M-Tecs]

Heat treatment should not be an issue with this one.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...e-underhammer/

https://collegehillarsenal.com/Fine-...ad%20the%20gun.

[375RUGER]

Jasco Premium Paint and Epoxy Remover for thick epoxy layers. Have used it successfully to unpot electronics, very thick epoxy. I remove it in stages, let it dissolve some and remove the dissolved material then reapply, keep repeating.
From the sounds of it though I don't think this is what you need. I'm surprised that the 56 hour soak in MEK didn't do it. Long soak in MEK is what I would have done myself.

[cwtebay]

What an awesome rifle with a tragic story!
Definitely not the same, but I had a pre 64 Model 70 that someone had tried to bed - slopped the bedding compound into the action and into the magazine. I believe I paid $20 for it. I tried everything that I could think of with zero success. What did finally work was placing the rifle in a vice, holding a piece of oak against the action and using an air hammer on the block, I had to move it around the area for total success - but it worked!
I would love to see some pictures of your rifle!

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Just an FYI - I was not implying that you beat the ever lovin out of your action. Merely to induce vibration with the air hammer on the block of wood.
(After I re read my post I realized I was encouraging near blasphemy)

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