paint prep

OleRed66 · Post by **OleRed66** » Sat May 26, 2007 11:44 am

I'd like to strip down to bare metal and prep for paint. What are some suggestions on how to take all the paint off and get down to bare metal?? Any fairly quick ways?? Any suggestions will help thanks

`Mic

Mitt Romney in '08

steven · Post by **steven** » Sat May 26, 2007 1:06 pm

Sand it, or put stripper on. I like sanding for big areas, stripper for hard to reach.

I like to use stripper everywhere if possible. Reason being is that it doesnt remove any metal, like sanding would.

A caution you might take while sanding:

Dont get it hot! It WILL warp your sheetmetal, and make it look like crap!

These are just my

Cageman · Post by **Cageman** » Sun May 27, 2007 12:51 am

Does anyone soda blast down there, that is the sweet way to do it.

motomatt383 · Post by **motomatt383** » Sun May 27, 2007 5:11 am

media (soda) blasting would be my 1st choice, if its possible. if not sand it or stripper. each has its pro's & cons.

matt

Panelbeater02 · Post by **Panelbeater02** » Sun May 27, 2007 5:47 am

motomatt383 wrote:media (soda) blasting would be my 1st choice, if its possible. if not sand it or stripper. each has its pro's & cons.

matt

If you are not going to take off the body panels, use masking tape to seal the seams .you would have about 1/4 inch overlap on each side of the seam. Apply Aircraft Stripper and scrape off when bubbled up. Repeat as needed. Rinse with water hose, this neutralizes the stripper. Allow to dry completely. Remove tape from seams, use DA sander with 80 grit to sand each panel and remove paint left at panel edges.
You can do a panel at a time, or, whole truck. Make sure you are ready with Self- etch primer, or, Epoxy Primer, after cleaning with wax and grease remover, since bare metal will have surface rust in about 20 minutes, you can't see it either. Use rubber gloves, and do not touch bare metal with bare hands.
A lot of people say stripper is too messy, each to his own, I have used this method for a long time and it works for me.
Panelbeater

dodgegrrrrrrl · Post by **dodgegrrrrrrl** » Sun May 27, 2007 1:22 pm

walnut shell blasting is good for this old brittle paint too. It will strip paint and rust but being softer than the metal it just sort of polishes it where the metal is good. It will also peel out the old bondo

OleRed66 · Post by **OleRed66** » Sun May 27, 2007 6:50 pm

thanks guys, I'm trying to get rid of a really bad paint job that my uncle did on my '66. So I appreciate the comments, never have heard of walnut shell blasting, thats a new one, nor have I heard of soda blasting. what is that??

`Mic

Mitt Romney in '08

Panelbeater02 · Post by **Panelbeater02** » Mon May 28, 2007 4:08 am

OleRed66 wrote:thanks guys, I'm trying to get rid of a really bad paint job that my uncle did on my '66. So I appreciate the comments, never have heard of walnut shell blasting, thats a new one, nor have I heard of soda blasting. what is that??

`Mic

Mitt Romney in '08

It uses a pressure tank like a pressurized sand blaster, but you fill it with industrial grade baking soda. It has a water valve on the end of the nozzle that rinses as it blasts, you can do right next to glass and chrome with no problems, and it can be rinsed into the drain and you wont make the EPA mad! It will not remove rust spots, use sand or shells for those areas. I have also used plastic beads to strip plastic bumpers.
It all falls under the term Media Blasting. Sand is the most aggressive and will damage body panels. Glass beads,plastic beads, shells, are some of the different media used.
I would use the Aircraft Stripper, and a inexpensive hand held sand blaster for the edges of panels with rust. Eastwood has a good selection.

http://www.eastwood.com

Panelbeater

soopernaut · Post by **soopernaut** » Tue May 29, 2007 11:22 am

I have heard that soda blasting and some of the other forms of media blasting can leave behind residue that you'll be trying to get rid of years later. It gets in all the cracks and crevices and is hard to remove.

It might cost more but chemical dipping or dipping in an electrically charged solution are probably the quickest ways of doing it. You have to remove all the non metal items to dip a vehicle though.

OleRed66 · Post by **OleRed66** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:18 am

so I got some stripper, and started. After about ten applications, I finally got down to the primer. Holy crap I got so tired of scrubbing it with my plastic scraper, I got the metal one out and started working on it. I'm so not impressed with my uncles painting ability. And he is a so called professional?? I don't know what kind of primer he used, it is 1/8-1/4 inch thick!!! I think it's time I invested in a sander and I'll sand the thing down. I got about a square foot to bare metal after 4 hours of working on it. Tough going, but thanks for all your suggestions.