Coating(?) on Airwaves PhotoEtch - Question

I don't know anything about the PE set, but it would seem to me that there's no reason to leave it on.. As for removing it, without knowing what it is, I'd just try a bit of MEK or laquer thinner...

I've burned it off with a Bic lighter holding the fret with a pair of clamping tweezers. Try on a spare piece of fret first.

If it is the photo-resist from the PE fabrication, lacquer thinner works well.

Don, Hans, thanks for the lacquer tip!  Didn't even think about using any type of solvent!    I'll give it a try when I get home.  I also didn't realize that some manufacturers might not remove the photo resist film from the brass sheet.....

Rob, thanks for the lighter tip.  I'll try it if lacquer doesn't work.

Good info guys, thanks again for helping out!

OK Hans, the stripping award goes to you!!

I tried lacquer thinner first and it had absolutely no affect, even after soaking for a few minutes.  It did clean the coating very nicely though!  Maybe the coating isn't photo resist?

I then tried the lighter method.  This worked but I was worried about the fumes from the burning coating.  I do have a respirator, but with the cold wet weather here in the bay area I decided to leave my windows closed.  Also, I didn't want to anneal the brass as all the bends in the PE were very simple and I didn't really want to soften the metal.  However, since it worked I decided to save it for my last option.

I don't have any more straight MEK left, but I think Tenax 7R is mostly MEK so I tried it and after a little scrubbing with a stiff nylon brush the coating started to dissove and flake away.  It took about 15 minutes to gently scrub away the coating off the entire fret.  I did put on my respirator even though Tenax doesn't have much odor and I wore nitirile gloves to protect my skin.  After brushing off the residue and giving it a light sanding with some 600 grit sp the PE is now shiny brass and ready for use!

Thanks again guys for dropping in those tips!!