Whats up fellas.

The only knife I really ever use (besides my edc)is my de-regulator. Now that we have been having blizzard like conditions here in north florida. (it did get down to 39 one night) I have have been using my de-reg for splitting wood. Wood that has already been split, but our tiny fireplace only takes small pieces. I have been beating on this thing with a 3 pound sledge and its works great. But, My coating is really wearing off. All of the texture is gone and the silver of the steel is starting to be the dominant color. I wipe it down with wd-40 every couple days. I dont need it to be pretty but I want to keep it in good condition. Should I just keep using it? Strip it? spray paint it? I have been thinking about buying a harbour freight belt sander to try my hand at stripping and sharpening. But I dont want to destroy my bussekin knives during the learning process. O.K. I have been rambling but what should I do about the de-reg coating?
Thanks, David