Paint strippers that is...... I'm starting my first restoration project ( 64 Electra ) and need some advice on the best way to remove rust and old paint. I plan on working on this throughout the winter in my garage. I picked up a high speed air sander yesterday but after trying it out, I determined my small compressor isn't up to the task. Here are some options I'm considering. Buy a new larger compressor - probably around $300 ( ouch ) Buy a small 5-gallon sandblaster - on-sale for $80 right now Use chemical strippers ( i'm thinking it's too messy ) What have you used, and what do you recommend? Any and all advice is appreciated.
Do not sand blast The POR 15 (http://www.por15.com/) folks make a nice stripper, it is messy but also the cheapest. Do a search there are some good ideas on ways to use strippers and reduce the mess.
Take a look at the message board on www.autobodystore.com for the latest stripping ideas. Fastest way is to use grinding disks, 36-80 grit, on a 7 to 9 inch electric grinder. But go easy, just take the majority of the paint off, and finish with a DA sander with 80-180 grit. This IS messy....you'll have paint dust everywhere (does it have lead in it??) Chemical strippers work pretty well...If it's the original laquer paint, it'll just soften it (then scrape off), and won't remove the primer too well. Use a couple of applications, and be patient! I've CAREFULLY sandblasted panels, with good results, but I also ruined a good hood by blasting it. :ball: You could have the body professionally media blasted, but it'll cost $400-700....results will be spectacular! What kind of air sander?? A 6" DA (dual Action) sander is what you need...
This is the sander I got.... http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...L&pid=00919965000&subcat=Automotive+Air+Tools I had the DA sander in my hand but the description on it said for 'finishing' projects..... I need to remove rust and cracked paint so i thought I needed this one. Either way, it sounds like I need a bigger compressor to effectively use either tool. As suggested, I'll look into the chemical strippers too.....
I've been reading the info on the POR-15 site.... sounds exactly like what I need for the wheel wells, pan, etc. I was wondering though.... can you use it on the body of the car? I have lots of surface rust and a couple of holes that I need to fix. Should I completely sand off the rust and then apply por-15 before adding filler?
Don't use POR-15 on the exterior body panels, it's not designed for that. It will work well in fenderwells, and floors. 'Zero-Rust' is another paint well suited for this. Many like it better than POR-15. For exterior body panels with rust, they should be thoroughly sanded, and treated with a metal conditioner to neutralize the rust. Picklex is a good product for this. An epoxy primer is then applied, and any bondo is applied OVER the epoxy primer. Visit the message board at http://www.autobodystore.com/cgi-bin/config.pl?index There's also a 'classroom' section here, with all the procedures: http://www.autobodystore.com/basics.htm The section on stripping: http://www.autobodystore.com/strip_&_paint.htm It's the best autobody site I've found... check it out! Just post back here and let us know what you learned!
OOHHHHH paint strippers!! I used to know a couple of strippers, but I stay out of those types of places now. Makes my wife a little pissed off you see. Sorry I couldn't help, Paul
Dan...what did you end up doing? I live just a few miles away (Burnsville), and am getting ready to remove the paint from our '71 Skylark (original plus two pretty poor color changes). I'd be interested in your approach & the results!! Thanks, Jay
tal paint stripper Hello, I just finished stripping my entire car (71 skylark) I used a stripper called tal strip here is the link http://www.bondo-online.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=235 works like a charm. my car had been painted 3-4 times on hte passenger side. use this product and you wont need to sand much at all. not near as messy and I expected either. It took about 20 minutes for the hood. I have attached a couple of pics to help out. you can get this at any body paint shop. I hope this helps
That Sears grinder won't work too well anyway as it will only use the outer edge of whatever paper/disc you put on there. When people refer to a DA they mean a sander that has a pad that is smooth and uninterrupted across the WHOLE FACE OF THE PAD/SANDPAPER---these are easier on the underlying body metal and won't create the heat that the Sears one you pic'd might. Generally, this is what I am talking about: http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/AP-300SP.html These type sanders don't have the fitting protruding through the middle of the pad and changing the paper is as easy as peeling off the old one and slapping on a new one. Something like this with 80 grit pads might be the ticket! Someone mentioned POR--POR also sells paint stripper that is what the earlier responder meant when he said to use POR stripper. If you don't want to worry about the rust reappearing again then eliminate it by cutting it out as opposed to painting over it with some sort of rust treatment--you are rolling the dice when you do this--especially on the outer body surfaces. Don't sandblast it. And if you haven't figured it out yet---it's going to be a mess no matter what method you choose! :TU:
I stripped my '65 GS (which had lots of surface rust mixed in with the paint) with an Ingersoll-Rand 6" pad D/A sander and 36 grit stick on paper (yes, 36 grit--you have to special order it at the autobody supply store). I use about half a box doing it. Me and a buddy using two identical sanders at the same time did the main body shell in one long day (I have a really large compressor that will run two sanders at once). This is the only thing that will work if you have alot of surface rust. You will be sanding into the next millenium if you try to do it with 80 grit. Once you get it all cleaned down with the 36, you will need to go back over the whole car and smooth the metal back out with 80 grit. I took all my fenders/doors/hood/trunk to a guy and had them plastic media blasted--cost me about $400 to have it done, but well work it. He also sandblasted the rust around the edges and on the inner structure of them for me. As someone else already said, sandblasting on the flat metal surfaces relieves the surface tension in the metal and warps it all over the place--I ruined a perfect '65 trunk lid about 5 years ago trying that! It ended up in a dumpster when I was done. Here is my car after stripping with the 36 grit, then going back over it with 80 grit:
Body carriers Hey Brian , not to hijack the thread but how hard was it to make that body carrier to turn the body over? thanks
I don't know--I borrowed it from a friend that had it. It doesn't belong to him either--another guy and his dad built it to restore a '70 Mustang Boss 302 on, then his dad died several years after they finished the car, so he got out of messing with cars and the guy I borrowed it from ended up with it. I just had to cut off the front mounting plates, move them up, weld them back on, and drill some new holes. It worked great for what I did with it. I gave it back when I was done.
