There's quite few ways to remove old paint jobs...
-sandpaper
Pros-cheap, easy, nothing required except sandpaper and endless hours.
Cons- takes forever, rougher grits can leave scratches, while smoother papers don't remove the old paint.
-Sandblasting
Pros- supah quick, supah easy
Cons- requires specialty equipment.
Paint stripping compounds.
Pros- quick, easy.
Cons- fumes, can eat into plastic, ruining your antique crossbow with original arms and decals...(although that shouldn't have been painted in the first place.... )
And many more.. Anyways the product I choose to use is called PURPLE POWER. I learned about this through car modeling, from the model car equivalent of uin13 or coop. Basically you let it sit in a tub of the liquid, and over a period of days, (or sometimes weeks if you used some high quality paints) and it will eat away the paint right down to the bare plastic. The only cons of this is you do have to purchase it at your local Walmart, or walmart equivalent, and it does put off some harsh fumes, so I would recommend putting this in your garage. I am not sure if this stuff will freeze, but it's not worth trying IMO. I do not currently have pictures but I will upload some when I strip my swarmfire. If you want some proof that what I'm saying is correct, since some of you may know, purple powers description is a cleaner and degreaser, look on youtube for damncranky666, and look for his video, "beyond the purple pond". I am not affiliated with him in any way, merely trying to provide some evidence.
Comment any other methods you use, and I can add them to the post, or correct me on something if its wrong.
Thanks.
EDIT: If this needs to go to off topic I will move it.
Edited by 481IceDragon, 05 February 2013 - 11:41 PM.