Massage a few drops of olive oil onto the paint.
Remove paint from copper roof.
Dampen a rag with mineral spirits.
This normally soften will and remove virtually most paint systems.
Stripping a 5 foot by 2 foot copper roof over a front door.
Be extremely careful not to pierce the metal when scraping.
Get rid of as many leaves and as much loose debris as possible.
There isn t enough paint left to let it just sit and bubble it worked pretty well with 3 passes but those fumes got to me after a few hours 1 2 way complete and now i m oging while the fog clears.
To use the lemon juice based cleaner mix the three ingredients into a large bucket and stir till the salt is dissolved.
I mean ok i understand the aesthetic reasons and yes if anyone heralds the sealing value of paint it s me but come on.
Sure copper cannot currently be found on any other part my house.
Fact is that you need an aggressive chemical to remove it and no matter how you try you will end up marking into the patina oxidation of the copper.
Wrap the wide scraping end of a plastic putty knife with a rag.
I have removed the once present 3 copper downspouts which were also painted.
Started at the top let it run down and followed it with old clean rags to wipe off the paint.
Mix your cleaning solution.
This means if you use six cups of lemon juice you will.
Allow the oil to sit for one full minute.
Use three parts lemon juice to one part coarse salt.
Dip an absorbent cloth such as an old towel into the cleaner and wipe it over the copper surface from the roof peak downward.
Although it isn t recommended to use a metal implement to scrape the roof it was the only way to remove the loose rust and old paint.
A terry cloth rag can be used to wipe the paint from the copper and you are suggested to wipe the paint in a circular clockwise motion.
Sweep off your roof.
You don t need to paint it.
Use a firm natural bristle scrubbing brush to scour the copper surface.
How to clean a copper roof without removing the finish.
I would try laquer thinners on a small area.
If you have a terne metal roof like this one then it has probably been repainted several times over the years.
Then for the corners and side where nails are i am using a blowtorch and a steel brush to get in there tight.
It is copper flashing.
How to remove paint from copper step 1.
In the end you can apply the mineral spirits to any remaining paint with the damp rag.
I started out stripping it with a gallon of goof off stripper removed 95 percent of the paint.
Like todd i would suggest contacting the copper institute.