I heard blasting your car vs. stripping it with chemical can warp your panels resulting in more body work is this true? Im almost at that point of engine removal and getting the engine bay done but curious as to when to strip the body should I blast it or use some aircraft paint remover?
Media blasting is better, no warping but might be a bit more expensive. If you use air craft stripper make sure and stay away from the seams. Should be washed/rinsed real good with water afterwards. If you don't get all the stripper off it could bleed through at a later time.
Sand blasting creats heat while blasting the panels. Thats why its much better to media blast. Around here we use soda. Sand it only used for heavy steel and rusted areas.
Soda is probably the way to go. In the latest Car Craft they did a budget minded repaint, and they stripped the car using a DA sander. Cheaper I'm sure - but much more time and frustration.
Just to be clear, the term "media" describes anything you put through a pressure blaster: aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, sand, glass beads, walnut shells, plastic beads, soda, etc. Soda and plastic are probably the most appropriate for removing body paint.
Aircraft Stripper [ brand name of it, autozone] Just works so fast. [burns like hell on your sink in 2sec] I used it to strip my firebird to bare metal and the paint just jumps off the car in 3 sec. Really, thin light coat and it just curles up and falls off. Not like other strippers you find at home centers that take 2-3 coats and never get it all off. Its amazing stuff. A $20 jug of it iwll be more then plenty.
Thanks, I think Ill go the $20 route. Ill make sure to wash it 2-3 times as the thought of left over stripper doesnt sound too god. Thanks:beer
Be prepared though, bare metal will rust up in about 12sec after you wash the car off well, you will see it form right before your eyes. Need some stuff like muric acid dulted 25% acid 75% water and spray it down to keep it rust free. Just let the acid mix dry, don't wash off or you start all over with new rust. easiest way to find it is in the patio section of lowes, find Bear concreat etch n rust remover. Not gonna be with the other Bear products in the paint section, hidden off alone in garden n patio stuff.
The part about the rust is easy. With the car being soda blasted and as long as no one touches the metal it will stay stripped clean.
The soda leaves a small film on the metal and it would protect it as long as noone touches it. That film has protected many of cars around here when we have had 80% humid days. Once you sand over the metal its gone and then you have to protect the metal asap.
I had mine blasted with crushed glass and have absloutely no warping. Its not like the old play sand and black beauty. Its worth it, trust me!
I found the Klean Strip brand Stripper from Hone Depot to be way better than the Aircraft stuff that I think is crap. I bought the Klean Strip in a gel and used a brush to paint it on. The Aircraft stuff could not budg the 40 year old Black GM paint and primer. Klean Strip Gel took it right off. Difference of opinion? You bet.
Media is better, just find someone good. Good blasters will know not to blast through weak panels and stay off of roofs and such as not to warp them. Chem is also good but getting rid of the residue can suck. Sand is outdated now.
My idea was to strip it with aircraft remover and then day after shoot it with a primer sealer. Will one day jack it up if I dont seal it right away?Im in california btw.
I had mine blasted once I got it off the frame. If you have a good blaster, he will know how to blast everything off without warping the panels. I think it's a little like welding. You have to move and do a little in each area at a time. You don't just sit there and blast, there is a thought process to it. The paint shop I used will DA the car and send it to the blaster to get the nooks and crannies. That seems to work well and it keeps the blaster bill down.
My 4 cents on stripping paint. 1. SAND blasting even by a pro (ask me how I know) will DESTROY a panel if done improperly. I don't mean "Damn I have more body work" I mean "&%^$ THE PANEL IS RUINED AND I HAVE TO REPLACE IT" kinda damage. I had a "pro" whom I had taken many "heavy" parts to over the years do a 1928 Buick door for me, "Just lightly" I requested being it was going to be for a display and would never see the light of day anyway. Just clean it up I told him, it was DESTROYED! It isn't from heat, think about it, the air blowing on the surface with the sand actually cools the metal. It is all about "compressive mechanicalism" or something like that. It is basically millions of tiny hammers hitting the metal and stretching the surface of it making the surface larger than the back of the panel, and it warps. Plastic media, soda, they are all options that are much more forgiving. Soda is an acid and is recommended AGAINST by many paint manufacturers. Yes it can be neutralized and all is good, but holy crap can you screw up soda blasting, and screw up BIG TIME, so many paint manufacturers will recommend against it. I remember a 55 Chevy that a co-worker of mine was dealing with. The complete paint job peeled off like a friggin decal! Anything that won't damage the metal, won't strip rust either. Plastic media is so forgiving you can leave the chrome and glass in the car! It leaves the metal looking like a brand new piece of steel, it literally looks like it was sitting in the factory before it was primed! Very cool stuff, but it won't touch rust AT ALL, NOTHING. Chemical, doing this at home is really a pretty good way to go. Duct tape the seams so nothing gets in! It is MESSSSSSSSYYYYYY, and you MUST protect yourself from the fumes with good air movement. Using it requires a number of basic rules for success. One is, scratch the surface of the paint with very coarse sand paper (36) prior to applying the stripper to help it get thru the paint film. Second, pour some on, and brush it out ONE direction and DON'T stroke it back and forth like you are painting a house. ONE stroke in ONE direction covering the surface and leave the damn thing alone! The gases in the stuff are one of the things that attack the paint. You want to USE them not open up the surface by back stroking letting those gases all out. You can even cover the area with a sheet of plastic film to keep it in. Sanding the paint off with an 8" orbital sander is one of my favorite ways to go if I would strip at home. Cut it with some 40, breaking thru good, but NOT hitting the metal. Then switch to 80 taking it almost all off then switch to 120 to finish it off. DO NOT hit the body lines hard as you will damage them. But without a doubt the most important thing I would recommend from personal experiance, when stripping a car a home, do ONE panel at a time! Do ONE panel (ok maybe two if you KNOW you can handle it) and sand it off nice and get it into epoxy primer. Then move onto the next panel. There are few things you could ever do that are less overwhelming than looking at a bare metal car in the garage! Do one panel at a time, getting it into epoxy primer and you can work at a comfortable pace. But please, don't "sandblast" ANY panel, I have read way too many threads over the years with people searching for help on how to fix panels warped by sandblasting. I am not exaggerating, it DESTROYS panels. Brian
Brian, good post. I agree with using as least amount of chems or blasting. Sanding the paint off with an 8" orbital sander is one of my favorite ways to go if I would strip at home. Cut it with some 40, breaking thru good, but NOT hitting the metal. Then switch to 80 taking it almost all off then switch to 120 to finish it off. DO NOT hit the body lines hard as you will damage them. But without a doubt the most important thing I would recommend from personal experiance, when stripping a car a home, do ONE panel at a time! Do ONE panel (ok maybe two if you KNOW you can handle it) and sand it off nice and get it into epoxy primer. Then move onto the next panel. There are few things you could ever do that are less overwhelming than looking at a bare metal car in the garage! Do one panel at a time, getting it into epoxy primer and you can work at a comfortable pace. But please, don't "sandblast" ANY panel, I have read way too many threads over the years with people searching for help on how to fix panels warped by sandblasting. I am not exaggerating, it DESTROYS panels. I will be using a DA for the most part. Although the insides of the front fenders will require a little sand blasting. Not the inside of the panels themselves, the dog leg side. Not a smooth surface. Thanks Joe
Since we are on the topic, what should I expect to spend for plastic blasting or soda blasting of a 67 gs convertible? Tom
