After reading everyone's comments today on the paint removal on the blank, I asked myself if I've ever tried to mask off an area and just remove that paint, and I haven't, not on a door or furniture either. Anyone had good results?

I sometimes use rubber tubing That came from on of those expanding garden hoses that died, as they do. You can roll sections of it down over a blank to protect areas of the blank from paint removal.( Of course the blank has to be of sufficient dia.) Its hard to pet a precise edge though. If the edge isn't clean enough you can wrap over it. It's the only way I know.

Thanks Lyman.

I did it on a first gen Eternity 2 blank.  It goes from cobalt blue to naked graphite.  I think it looks great.

 

I will say that it took the Citri-Strip a LONG time to break down the paint. Then I used 0000 steel wool to lightly remove the rest of it.