Stripping and scouring a hard to reach area?

[Nanako]

Hi all, in the process of repainting my kitchen, ive noticed the main gas pipe is a mess. Like, so much, its horrible, when i started it had almost a centimetre thick mass of paint all around it, utterly filthy, its just been repainted over and over and over, i won't stand for it. The area is hard to reach, but not hard to see, its plainly visible in the corner of the kitchen

I'm currently in the process of stripping the paint, using chemical paint stripper to turn it into flaky mush, and then scouring that off. Maybe down to the metal, at least down to a relatively smooth layer that i can start painting over. But the problem is, its a little inacessible. About half of it is flush with the wall and completely out of reach, ill never be able to paint that. But for the rest, its obstructed by other pipes and bits of woodwork around it. I've already cut my hands a few times trying to use a wire wool pad for the purpose, and my detail sander can't fit in there to make contact

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend more suitable tools. on a budget, i can;t really afford a 500 quid fancy orbital precision sander.

Something like a long handled scrubbing brush might be okay, except that all the ones ive found are not sturdy enough, nor rough enough at the head, the force i need to apply breaks the shaft of them.
My ideal would be some kind of jointed tool that i can twist and rotate into complex angles, and then screw in to fix its shape rigid so i can use it to apply force, with a head of sandpaper, steel wool or metal bristles

does such a thing exist?

 

[Wayners]

Got a picture to help?

 

[Nanako]

https://imgur.com/IxlzbxT

https://imgur.com/hUnsL3L

https://imgur.com/2MghanD

https://imgur.com/ZuPn1Lm

https://imgur.com/VjDpMC4

 

[Nanako]

the pipe at the back is the main problem, but theres another pipe infront of it, a handle, and lots of complex geometry that i cant easily access

 

[sparkwright]

What you really need is a cupboard around the pipes and meter.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Box it all in! Insert a door, so the meter, and valve can be quickly and easily accessed.

 

[Nanako]

What you really need is a cupboard around the pipes and meter.

that sounds like a nice idea, ive already thought of it, and probably will do so in future!

But right now, covering it all up with woodwork is outside the reach of my time, my tools, my budget, and my skills.
For now, cleaning off this pipe and painting it the same green i'm doing the walls seems like the simplest option

 

[sparkwright]

Just a matter of scraping and sanding, and priming any bare metal. Just be careful not to damage any pipework.

 

[robinbanks]

Tub of ready mixed filler to fill the walls, heck even spread it onto the ugly part of the pipe and smooth it when it sets, would be easier?

Not sure what you had in mind budget wise but boxing that in in plasterboard such that the meter is still on show would be a few hours for a newbie and around 15 quid in materials/tools, begging a scrap of plasterboard and some wood batten off cuts from any local building site/skip/facebook

 

[sparkwright]

I think less work would be involved if the cupboard was made with ply, rather than plasterboard.
B&Queue will even cut the ply to size for you.