substrate so that it remains within a target range within the target range the stripping reaction is accelerated without damaging the substrate or create a risk of fire the invention can strip coatings from surfaces of common metals used for parts fabrication without corrosion or other damage to the metal the process of the invention is not labor intensive and requires only minimally trained personnel hydrogen peroxide decomposes to water and dioxygen o 2 either under uv light or by heat the in situ generation of o 2 creates gas pockets within the coating itself and at the coating substrate boundary the induction period associated with the coating debonding dislodging process is associated with the rather slow diffusion of the o 2 from the boundary to within the coating matrix itself the gas pockets ultimately reach dimensions that are sufficient to exert an outward pressure on the coating and in a manner that serves to dislodge the coating from the substrate the aqueous strip medium used in the invention contains a peroxide as active ingredient preferably hydrogen peroxide other known peroxides that could be used include perborates peroxiphosphates and persulphates but these are not preferred because of cost considerations and the environmental effects of additional byproducts created the concentration of peroxide can be varied from 5 to 50 wt as needed this amount range is effective without wasting material to reduce fumes that may affect the operator carrying out the process a range of 5 to 30 wt of the peroxide is preferred the hydrogen peroxide is sold typically in the form of an aqueous solution that is further diluted by the additional ingredients described below a second essential ingredient especially when the strip medium is applied as a spray is an agent effective for enhancing interfacial mixing.