For those of you who are fans of the "Canadian Ballet", this is not about that.  This is more of a "how to" type post.  Specifically I am talking about stripping handles of kettlebells.  The problem is that when most bells are purchased they arrive entirely covered with paint or epoxy.  This is not good for high repetition work.  The paint does not allow the chalk to adhere and either the grip fails on a slippery handle or blisters form from too much slippage and friction.  Both are bad.  Here is how I stripped the handles on my American Kettlebell Club bells.

First you need a few things.  Strong latex or vinyl gloves, you don't want to get your hands on the stripper.  They carry diseases.   You will need some plastic to cover the bodies of the bells, you will need sandpaper to finish the job and some paper towels and cardboard.  I use a mask filter so I don't inhale any aerosols as well.  Lets start with the stripper.  Citristrip is what I used.  It is less harsh than other commercially available strippers, still I wouln't want it on my skin.  After masking the bodies Just spray it on the handle and leave it there for about 30 min or so.  Here are a couple pics.



Once the stripper has been on for a while it forms a gel like substance.  I scrape it off with a plastic scraper and wipe the handles down with a paper towel and then wash the handles again with soap and water.  By this time almost all the paint will be gone.  If much remains, repeat the stripping process.  Usually there is only a little left so hand sanding will get rid of the rest.  Those square sandpaper sponge blocks work well for this.  Some handles have some rough irregularities.  These are easily addressed with a dremel.  Make sure you wear eye protection.  A filter mask is good to use when doing a lot of sanding.  I prepped my set in about 2 hours.  Once you are done your bells should look like this:



Once you start using them they will look bad quickly.  That is what you want.  Even this cat respects the iron.  Why?  Because it will never deceive you.  It always weighs the same so it never lies.  It asks for nothing but it will take whatever you have got. 

Have fun and train smart.

Scott