I discovered after first assembling the shock struts that I couldn't disassemble them by hand. Since I decided I wanted to buff out the remaining fine sanding marks on the piston shaft I devised a simple jig out of scraps around the shop. The only issue was the 2x4 was kind of dirty so care was needed to not contaminate the shock strut innards.
The design is simple. A bolt retains one end of the strut. I installed the bolt, cut off the head, filed off the burrs and wrapped it in electrical tape to protect the strut. At the other end L-brackets are installed and a bolt with washer can then be used to force the cap out of the cylinder. The spring can then be removed. I sprayed some LPS3 lube into the cylinder and got Amanda to hold the strut while I worked the piston out using the bolt and washer to hold onto. Nathan helped with the second strut. So it still requires 2 people to disassemble, but at least it can be done.
