I you use a crown race cutter to remove the paint, be sure to remove the paint from the steerer tube first. The crown race tolerance is very tight as you know and if there is a paint/clear coat buildup on one side of the steerer, you might remove paint and steel from one side while removing nothing from the other. I hope I explained that clearly enough. Basically, the steerer tube determines the center of the circle being cut and paint buildup can move the circle. It was most likely cut with no paint the first time so cut it with no paint the second time.