Talking over the paint disaster with everyone I come in contact with who even might have the faintest interest or knowledge in the subject, I have come to this: I will rent a high pressure/hot water washer and use a hand sprayer with gasoline and caustic soda to soften the paint. That's it so far. I have no idea what or even if I'm going to paint the press.
But here some pictures of the last improvement:
The lock roller rotating on the fixed stud, following the shape in the small head lock cam was quite worn. More than twenty thousands out of round it was likely forgetful lubrication that was to blame since the roller is a bit hidden under the delivery board. The local machine shop did a nice job of cleaning up the stud on the lathe and pressing in a bronze sleeve into the roller. I ended up drilling the lube hole myself as the machinist forgot about it. The roller and lock action is very precise now.
You can see the surfaces with dissolved paint after the gasoline cleanup. One of the mechanics I spoke to suggested a vegetable based spray which leaves a film of wax that will prevent rusting. I'm looking to get a can of that to try out.
