Best way to remove paint?

[pat123]

i was going to use a sand blaster but was wondering if that was the way to go or not?
Thanks Pat

[Tom Vogel]

Originally Posted by pat123

i was going to use a sand blaster but was wondering if that was the way to go or not?
Thanks Pat

No.... unless you are an expert. You will warp the body panels from the heat generated from the friction. (Only an experienced operator should SANDblast a body) Using soda would be good or media (shells)
If you are going to strip it yourself, I would offer the option of a good paint remover folowed by a pressure washer, (or a scraping with a credit card)
You will need to wash and neutrilize the stripper and then coat with an epoxy sealant.

[cdowns]

really depends what your taking paint off of

[mrein3]

3M makes a product that you put in your angle grinder. I believe it is called CleanNStrip. I used it on my truck. I have found that one "pad" lasts for one body panel. One door, one side of the hood, one fender. I haven't done the box yet. The disks are about $10 each and the "adapter" they sell is around $5. No warp. Removes everything including old bondo.

I don't work for 3M but it sure is a fine product for restoring old cars.

When you get the old paint off, if there is no surface rust, immediately wipe it with laquer thinner and spray it with epoxy primer. If you had surface rust, hit that with DuPont "Kwik Prep" or similer before you epoxy.

The picture is one I lifted from 3M's website. I have found this product at Menard's and Northern Tool. I think they are a buck cheaper at Northern.

I wear a respirator when I remove all that old paint. I have no idea what is in it but I'm guessing there is some lead.

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by mrein3

............When you get the old paint off, if there is no surface rust, immediately wipe it with laquer thinner and spray it with epoxy primer. If you had surface rust, hit that with DuPont "Kwik Prep" or similer before you epoxy.

The picture is one I lifted from 3M's website. I have found this product at Menard's and Northern Tool. I think they are a buck cheaper at Northern.

I wear a respirator when I remove all that old paint. I have no idea what is in it but I'm guessing there is some lead.

Good tip... I'll be looking for them when I strip my bed. Thanx.

[dave666693]

Originally Posted by mrein3

3M makes a product that you put in your angle grinder. I believe it is called CleanNStrip. I used it on my truck. I have found that one "pad" lasts for one body panel. One door, one side of the hood, one fender. I haven't done the box yet. The disks are about $10 each and the "adapter" they sell is around $5. No warp. Removes everything including old bondo.

I don't work for 3M but it sure is a fine product for restoring old cars.

When you get the old paint off, if there is no surface rust, immediately wipe it with laquer thinner and spray it with epoxy primer. If you had surface rust, hit that with DuPont "Kwik Prep" or similer before you epoxy.

The picture is one I lifted from 3M's website. I have found this product at Menard's and Northern Tool. I think they are a buck cheaper at Northern.

I wear a respirator when I remove all that old paint. I have no idea what is in it but I'm guessing there is some lead.

They sell these at Lowe's also. Works good!

[thirdstreettito]

It all depends on what you are taking paint off of. Wheels/chassis - bead blaster/wire wheel/whizzer. Body - soda blaster/whizzer/D-A sander, etc.

[Ace in the hole]

I used the norton brand equivalent called "rapid-strip". I got them at home depot and they work great.

[Spray-Bomb]

Those purple things do work good, but do watch out for getting the metal too hot

I stripped an entire truck with them, but was very cautious not to get the metal hot

And definitely wear you eye protection

[MrBeast]

Get what is called a tiger disk or a flapper disk, works great for taking paint out of cracks and crevises, and off of curved pannels.

[Aarons72s]

I have used both a siphon sand blaster and wire wheels in a angle grinder and die grinder. The wire wheels are really quick when you use them in those tools but you will have to wear face protection with them. As both of those tools spin the wheels faster than they are supposed to go. So they really throw ther wires. I use them to the majority of the work. I use the sand blaster to get into tight spaces. Now if you have a pressurized sand blaster you have to be real careful of overheating the metal, as others above me said.

[Dingfodgy]

I've used flap discs, wire wheels, stripper, sandblasting, etc. Soda blasting would most likely be the quickest and most trouble-free means of stipping the paint off of a vehicle....as long as you wash the CaCO2 residue off the bare steel with some good metal wash. But being as I am a poor white boy from the ghetto....I go to my local ACE and for 7 bucks, pick up a 20/pk of 60 grit PSA discs and get after it with my DA. Takes a little time and makes a bloody mess in the garage, but is effective and cheap for the majority of what needs stripped. For the crevices and otherwise inaccessible areas- I either use a knotted wire wheel on my grinder of do a little spot-blasting with a portable sand blast rig I have.

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by Dingfodgy

I've used flap discs, wire wheels, stripper, sandblasting, etc. Soda blasting would most likely be the quickest and most trouble-free means of stipping the paint off of a vehicle....as long as you wash the CaCO2 residue off the bare steel with some good metal wash. But being as I am a poor white boy from the ghetto....I go to my local ACE and for 7 bucks, pick up a 20/pk of 60 grit PSA discs and get after it with my DA. Takes a little time and makes a bloody mess in the garage, but is effective and cheap for the majority of what needs stripped. For the crevices and otherwise inaccessible areas- I either use a knotted wire wheel on my grinder of do a little spot-blasting with a portable sand blast rig I have.

I agree a DA is a good tool to use but this poor boy can't afford the air compressor to keep up with my DA. Before I grabbed a 3M clean and strip disk I was running 5 minutes and waiting 10-15 for the air compressor to catch up. Plus the DA spits out oil and water on to the body part you are working on so you have to deal with that too.

One note on the 3M product...
One time I had two doors and a fender on the saw horses for paint stripping. I had a couple of the 3M disks and went at it. I ended up getting my grinder too hot and melting one of the 110v wires. I repaired the wire and was quickly back in business but I did take a break every once in a while after that to let the tool cool down.

Another neat thing about the 3M system, you can get flap wheels and other attachments for your grinder when you buy the $5 adapter piece. Now I keep one grinder with a cut-off wheel and the other one with the 3M adapter installed. You can get 110v grinders for $15-$20. I wear hearing protection with the cheapies but it sure is nice to have two when you have a big job to do.