Paint stripping - your experiences here please!

[Neil Davies]

I've been reading Marc Beullers thread on his 51 and Danny Gabbard mentioned about not using sand to blast with. Over on Restowagenuk.com, Trent is having all sorts of problems after having his car dipped and e-coated. I need to remove a load of paint and bondo from the back end of my Karmann cab project and have been looking into soda blasting it myself. DKK Fred blasted his Flat Four BRMs, which looked pretty cool.

So I thought it would be a good idea to put a thread together about using the different methods for getting back to bare metal - anyone care to share?

[fredy66]

on my old bus i went for paint stripper on can
lots of work but the result is as good as you do it

[Neil Davies]

on my old bus i went for paint stripper on can
lots of work but the result is as good as you do it

I've used that before, Nitromors or a cheaper brand called Mangers (not Magners cider!). Best stuff I found was Syn-Strip, which I got in a 5 litre tub from my local paint supplier. Problem is it's messy and not that reliable.

[fredy66]

on my old bus i went for paint stripper on can
lots of work but the result is as good as you do it

I've used that before, Nitromors or a cheaper brand called Mangers (not Magners cider!). Best stuff I found was Syn-Strip, which I got in a 5 litre tub from my local paint supplier. Problem is it's messy and not that reliable.

yes i used the nitromors. messy oooo yes but now problems

found this  one

http://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/for-cars.html

[Rocket Ron]

I 've used star strip bought from a paint suppiers and its a generic brand of product like nitromors.

just be a bit carefull, as it burns like f@#K if you get it on your skin

I found the best way was o put on two coats allowing he first to dry then take off the remaining with a rotary wire bush

[jamiep_jamiep]

Personally I think there's nothing better for cleaning paint and filler away than the twisted wire wheels that fit 4" grinders. They don't damage the metal and last a while too.

Noisy though, and creates plenty of dust, but cuts through just about any wag on the body.

I've been down the nitromors route, but it doesn't really attack anything more than one or two layers at a time. Also have a friend who ended up scrapping their car due to sand blasting warping every panel.

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

I have always used Aircraft stripper made by Kleen Strip is is Messy but a few cheap drop cloth's laid down first take care of that I use masking tape to tape over all the seams the key is not to rush the stripper let it do the work I do a panel at a time use a plastic scraper to remore the old bubbled paint you might have to recoat some areas wipe down with lacquer thinner or acetone peal the tape off of the seams and sand the edges and seams  the reason for taping the seams is to kept the stripper out of the seams if done without tapping you could have some leftover residue that will ruin your new paint job  if you use Paint stripper and you run in to Bondo or Body filler it will all have to be removed..

[Zach Gomulka]

Nothing wrong with sanding down the flat panels with a D/A, then having the rest blasted... other than sand always finding its way out of every nook and cranny...

[danny gabbard]

In my time doing metal work things have changed in the years. Now when I start a project, First locate all rust and bondo and remove. I take a propane torch and heat the back side of metal in question about 7-8 inch area at a time, Wait till slite blistering and take puttey knife that I have ground a curve into and round corners, just so It does not dig in, And now remove the bondo. This way It keeps the dust down and It doest look like a snow storm in my shop.Now I go around and cut all metal off that needs repaired And start soaking all the sheams with metalprep, Its a acid that start eating on the red iron you see as rust. Now off to the blaster. Soda is real nice for cars that need just paint removed. Wallnut with a little glass bead is a little more aggresive and will get rid of some deep pitting. If I have any real deep rust, I lay paper towels on the areas and pore the metal prep in to the paper towel and keep it soaked for a few days this keeps the stuff from going on the floor. That will get the rust to kind of brake loose so the blaster will not have to use a lot of preasure to blast the area. I also strip all large flat panels with aircraft stripper so blaster all so will not need to use alot of preasure to blast. Thats were the blaster will get into trouble. And never use sand, Like what was mentioned, It shot peens the surface and makes it real hard. When I am metalfinishing something I use a vixon file to slide over surface and that will let me locate all my highs and lows and then work to that. Well if the surface is hard the file just slides and does not cut into surface and makes my job very hard. Now if you are doing a mig and bondo type repair do not worry about what I have wrote on surface harding. I hope that helps with anybodies project. If any body has any question feel free to ask. Hopefully this summer I might start haveing shop class's on Beginer welding and rust patch panel repair and fab in my shop.

[danny gabbard]

I have always used Aircraft stripper made by Kleen Strip is is Messy but a few cheap drop cloth's laid down first take care of that I use masking tape to tape over all the seams the key is not to rush the stripper let it do the work I do a panel at a time use a plastic scraper to remore the old bubbled paint you might have to recoat some areas wipe down with lacquer thinner or acetone peal the tape off of the seams and sand the edges and seams  the reason for taping the seams is to kept the stripper out of the seams if done without tapping you could have some leftover residue that will ruin your new paint job  if you use Paint stripper and you run in to Bondo or Body filler it will all have to be removed..

Water will brake down the paint striper in the seams, Give'r a bath.

[Speed-Randy]

so are you saying "run a bar of soap over it and send her over?"

[danny gabbard]

That and wash all the fun parts twice!

[kingsburgphil]

Forty years ago we used one of these on F4 Phantoms to remove paint and corrosion. It worked well on
small areas without a lot of mess or prep. It might be an alternative to the "fire hose" method employed
by most sandblasters? [ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ] The junior dry honer blasts and vacs at the same time.

[andy M.]

I use stuff called Napier which is a hydrogen peroxide based paint stripper, it works really well on multiple layers of paint and filler and doesn't leave the nasty residue behind that nitromors type strippers do, in fact we've banned nitromors from the hangar because of the problems it causes.  We wrap the patient in plastic sheeting after application and leave it over night, and hey presto, when you peel off the plastic the paint goes with it!

Andy

[beetletom]

I use stuff called Napier which is a hydrogen peroxide based paint stripper, it works really well on multiple layers of paint and filler and doesn't leave the nasty residue behind that nitromors type strippers do, in fact we've banned nitromors from the hangar because of the problems it causes.  We wrap the patient in plastic sheeting after application and leave it over night, and hey presto, when you peel off the plastic the paint goes with it!

Andy

was just about to suggest this! a friend taught me this a while ago

paint stripper, and wrap it in plastic , keeps it moist and doesnt dry out!

[Dereck]

Great thread, I've just stripped the front quaters on my Bug. Started off with the tried & trusted wire wheel/face-off disc. Due to the amount of filler that was present it was getting very dusty. So I broke out the heat gun and gently heated the paint up. This allowed me to just peel the paint & filler of in big strips.
Check out the photos on my Project 66 blog here http://www.wackyracers.posterous.com

[marc1951]

I'm certainly no expert on this subject but I've done a few cars and I may not know what is right but I know what works for me.  if the car is a total restore I take every bolt off the car and have it media blasted. The place I take it to does antique cars, race cars, show cars.......and my cars. The media is strong enough to remove all the paint, bondo and uncover all kinds of nasty surprises that just sanding or chemical paint removal would not reveal. I assume from what I'm reading here from people who know more than I on the subject, that my blaster guy must be using the right stuff as I've experienced no after effects.
My current project, the '51 split, has several shoddy repairs done in it's past that I was not aware of until blasting and could have caused me grief in the future.
The down side to media blasting is it's cost. Each of the last 2 cars I had done cost in the neighborhood of $1000 ($85 an hour). Another reason for not media blasting is if I know the history of the car and know it's sound and/or want to save the headliner (I hate doing headliners) or previous bodywork known to be good, etc.
I once chemically stripped a bug that had so many different layers of paint that the car weighed 26 pounds lighter when I was done......what a mess, but it was going to be a race car and didn't warrant media blasting.



Marc

[bodgit]

I took the majority of the paint off my Oval with nitromors and then had the shell dipped and coated at Surface Processing.

What problems was the guy on restowagen having? I haven't found any problems with mine so far.

Matt

[danny gabbard]

Something else, When you get something wallnut shell blasted, Make sure to clean metal real good with thinner. It can leave slight oil film

[Pas]

I had my car media blasted,garnet was used on the large panels (doors/roof)  to prevent distortion.The results, I think, were very good and uncovered some problem areas that may not have been found using other methods.

The price for the blasting and spraying in red oxide was very good also, considering the numbers of hours it saved.
 

[Lids]

I took the majority of the paint off my Oval with nitromors and then had the shell dipped and coated at Surface Processing.

What problems was the guy on restowagen having? I haven't found any problems with mine so far.

Matt

Paint reactions, rust coming through the seams.  The car is awesome, but what a headache.

[Neil Davies]

Wow, some really good responses, thanks guys! At the moment, I think I'll try the chemical stripper with plastic method, but I'll have to get it blasted somewhere too. The spot blaster that Phil posted looks good, and I think my dad has a spot blast gun. Might pop up to the cash and carry and get a few kilos of baking soda... Surface Processing would be ideal (assuming no problems), especial as they're only a couple of miles from where I live, but it is expensive, and I need to strip the bits of car before I chop the panels out that I want to keep!

I think it would be a good idea to keep this thread fairly active so that anyone who is doing any paint stripping can post pictures and a little report on how it was done and how they found it in terms of cost, mess, quality of work, and even recommend equipment and companies. What do you reckon?

[Dave Galassi]

I've had two cars walnut shell blasted and highly recommend it, but with a caveat.  On the first one, I had the entire car done.  On the second, I had them leave the seams alone.  I think there is merit to leaving the original paint in the seams and not disturbing that "seal". 
The walnut shell blasting did not warp, distort or pit the metal.  My cars did not have rust issues, but with a car with rust issues, I would spot blast these areas separately, as the shell blasting does not remove heavy rust or thick bondo.

[dannyboy]

i found poly abrasive discs to be the fastest way to remove paint i stripped a vert decklid in 20 mins back to shiney metal they remove loads fast and dont get hot
ive never come across them before but bought a job lot of a 1000 for not a lot so decided to take a gamble on them  if you want to try a few neil let me know ill let you have a few for what they cost me 

[Adele AW]

Neil,

We had our car Media blasted and it came out fine. We had it done in Coventry at Marrawise. It cost £100 and that included it being painted in primer before being returned.

No issues, no regrets

Adele

[Neil Davies]

Right, come to a decision. I'm using heat (very gently!) to remove filler and paint from the areas I know there are spot welds or that i need to get to, unfortunately from the front rather than the back as per Danny's recommendation. Then once the car is all welded up, I'm going to get it media blasted - Marawise seems to be a good choice (thanks Adele!). I looked into the aircraft stripper but the paint the car is in looks just horrible and I don't know how well it would react.