Is burning out the barrels actually necessary?

Dear rocket scientists,
I have another pre build topic for my first RMH.
I’m not decided yet wether it’s better to have it all in one thread or rather several with identifiable captions. So far I’m leaning towards getting the biggest questions out of the way and then starting a thread about the actual design and build.
The question is wether burning out the barrel (for example with the pocket rocket technique) is actually necessary?!
I just opened 2 barrels with the angle grinder and wanted to burn them to get rid of the paint.
I tried the angle grinder with a wire brush and the paint on the outside easily flakes off. So I’m wondering if it’s actually necessary to burn them out (messy, extra work, unclear instructions) or if I can just brush the outside and leave the inside to burn out in the rmh later.

Thanks in advance, I’ve never known a place where so many knowledgeable and kind people hang out as here. I wish Permies would exist offline, I’d move there in a heartbeat.

Actually, I just saw the “scavenger hunt”. You have to start 25 topics. So I guess I’ll start a couple separate ones before starting the main build one.
I wonder if that’s actually what was in mind when setting 25 topics and only 100 posts as a requirement. Usually in forums they want you to add on or reply to topics and not start another one for every little thing…

Hi Benjamin;
Nothing wrong with using a grinder and wire brush, it's harder but gets the job done. Wear a dust mask!
Forget the pocket rocket burn idea.
Open one end of the barrel like you have and use it for a few hours as a trash wood burner.
A wire brush helps, and after a  few hours, the paint is gone except the bottom six inches or so.
Now tip your barrel on its side with the open end propped up, light a small wood fire at the bottom, and roll the barrel as the paint comes loose.
A long wooden handle wire brush (welding brush) works much better than a grinder to speed paint removal.

i would not normally find myself disagreeing with Thomas but, in this case I am a fan of using a wire wizzer, much cleaner and faster from my experience.

Thank you both for your answers.

Thomas, good point about the mask.

Fox, that's exactly the brush I got today and was amazed by how quick and easy it worked. Thanks for the video.
Did you try to brush the inside too or just burned it out?

I cut off the lid and wiped the inside with a rag and then used the barrel in place, you can see what happens in the video!
Next time I will spend more time cleaning the inside.

So I went and tried to burn out the barrel that I had gotten most of the paint off with the brush already.
Covered the barrel in paper and clay slip

Burned it till the outside caught fire. Quite a big mess.

I think I only got it up to temperature in a couple of spots

I guess I'll have to give it another go.

I went at it with the wire brush again and I think I'm ok with the result. Here it is after some linseed oil:


Also went ahead and burned another barrel, without anything covering it. Quite the nasty fumes... I'm not really happy with the method.


I'll try to find someone that does sandblasting. Has anyone tried doing some home sand blasting?