stripping my truck

[jpkerley]

i plan on changing the color of my truck, what is the cheapest easiest way to strip it and what can i spray it with to keep it from rusting until i can get it painted Thanks. Its going to be a daily driver and I have good cheap help.

[redhead69]

If you own a compressor I would use a DA sander. Do you need to take it down to bare metal? If so I would use a self etching primer first, then a sandable sealer/primer of some sort. Theres alot of variables here and you might be better off in the Paint/body forum..

[shifty]

there are also dipping options, keep something mind:

cheapest is rarely ever easiest. you could spend no money, but spend several days sanding with a DA or using a paint stripper to remove the paint...or you could spend a little cash and a fraction of the time with a sandblaster (make sure you ask for tips on this first)...or you could spend no time at all and a few more bucks than a sandblaster and have the thing soda dipped or acid dipped, then dipped in a zinc bath of some sort (or whatever). i think those are the three big options.

you may want to post this topic (or a mod might move it) over in the auto body forum. Take a quick gander at the entire forums list - there are a lot of sub-forums that are not specific to our year of trucks.

[Coleman]

My $.02 worth. I'm stripping one of my projects now. I started sandblasting and found it just too messy. I'm now using a "Full Cable Twist Wire Wheel" that fits on my angle grinder. The thing strips the paint right down to the bare metal in no time. The wheel costs ~14 at lowes, you might want to give it a try before you move onto other options. Its seems to be working for me.

[shifty]

they have these things called "flapwheels" that work really well for stripping large body panels fast. it looks like a turbine, but the fingers are pieces of sandpaper. very handy for clearing all kinds of stuff.

[weasle]

Originally Posted by Coleman

My $.02 worth. I'm stripping one of my projects now. I started sandblasting and found it just too messy. I'm now using a "Full Cable Twist Wire Wheel" that fits on my angle grinder. The thing strips the paint right down to the bare metal in no time. The wheel costs ~14 at lowes, you might want to give it a try before you move onto other options. Its seems to be working for me.

That Full Cable Twist Wire Wheel looks real abrassive. It didn't mess your sheetmetal up any?

[jimmydean]

There was an infomecial a while back for the paint stripper that was like a flap wheel only it used metal bars about 18 gauge or so. It looked cheesy, but it worked well. It went on a drill and took pain off without leaving marks in the metal.

Might be able to find one online at "as seen on tv" or something.

[shortymac83]

I've used chemical stripper before with good results, but I wouldn't use it on body panels where it can get trapped inside and screw up your new paint job. Fenders, header panels and hoods work well with it.

[wolfthing2000]

Whatever you do don't even think SAND BLAST! All that is is a zillion little hammers pounding and stretching the metal= BIG DISASTER!!!!
Obviously, unless the truck is completely dismantled, you won't be acid dipping.
Chemical and a thing callsed the stripper or sandblaster or something of that sort at lowes. Like a dis sander to fit on your angle grinder . It looks kinda like a hard sponge, purple colored. Works great. Mine required some kinda quick change mounting feature, but i modified it and rin it just like a disc sander.

Works better than anything I have ever tried!

[paintpyro]

Im using a Craftsman 7 inch sander/polisher w/80 grit sanding disks. I feather the throttle as not to grind too much, and will coat everything with an epoxy primer after.

[ohmsc10]

I use discs that look like 3M scotchbrite pads. You can get 4" discs at lowes called SANDBLASTER. They come in sets of 3. Work very well on a grinder.

[Billla]

Originally Posted by wolfthing2000

Whatever you do don't even think SAND BLAST! All that is is a zillion little hammers pounding and stretching the metal= BIG DISASTER!!!!

I've had many, many cars and parts media blasted with great results. I agree that getting a commercial sandblaster and just going for it is going to destroy anything...but plastic media, properly applied, leaves a beautiful finish and does a great job of cleaning stuff.

[cstanley]

any swirling problems with the disks?

[CoolRide]

I JUST stripped my 67 and I used "flapper discs" from Wal-mart I used about five of them, worked real good. Put them on my 4 & 1/2" angle grinder.

Took about 15 hours probably. I have a sandblaster but I knew this would be quicker and cleaner, and cheaper.


CR

[kevncar]

I've been using the "Sandblaster" wheel sold at lowe's that wolfthing2000 mentioned. I've only used it on my frame and some other misc susp. parts. But it works good and I have heard some people say they think they could do a whole vehicle with one. I think it might be possible.

[hogrocket]

I just got my 70 K20 back from the sandblasters. It was a commercial outfit with 30 years plus experience. They charged 800.00 to sandblast the whole thing to bare metal (including the bed and door jams) and primer it. I stripped all the trim, bumpers and lights off and they did the masking. It came out great. The key to not warping the metal is pressure adjustment and experience. I don't think I woild try it with some of the newer models (thinner metal). After I finish the paint I will submit some before and after pics. Matt