i'd say it would probably have been a little easier to strip the entire rim when not built up because you wouldn't have to worry about nipples and spokes getting in your way. you could just spray that **** everywhere and let it do its work. however, that would mean more scrubbing. so all in all, maybe the ease of application would balance out the work for the amount of area needed to be scrubbed?

i didn't have to worry about scrubbing around each and every nipple (which would suck) because i just did the walls. otherwise i would have torn that **** apart, gone to town with the oven cleaner and steel wool, and tried my hand at wheel building after i was done stripping, hehe.