What is the best way to strip the paint

[skeets 66]

I am redoing a 66 Charger that has about 3 different layers of paint and colors on the car,besides having it sandblasted that they want 3 arms,4 legs and my first born,,,what would be the best paint stripper to use to get this done and what primer should i use after it's done

Thanks guys
jd114@verizon.net
Jeff

[Lord Warlock]

stripping paint by hand is time consuming.  I've used aircraft stripper to take paint down to bare metal on the stealth I painted.  It comes in spray cans as well as gallon containers, although I found the spray cans to work better.  To tell the truth, I found that using a mini grinder and a 6 inch wire buffing wheel strips the paint much faster without warping the panels, and it takes multiple layers off faster than stripper does.  While you still have to do the edges by hand, it makes the larger panels go much faster. 

[Todd Wilson]

Some form of hand sander. Electric  or a DA Sander on air.   Its time comsuming but the only way to really do it. You will know your car pretty well after you do it.    CHemicals work but you have to be sure they are cleaned off. If the run into a nook or cranny and left un noticed it could run out later and cause you problems.  Sandblasting will warp sheet metal and leave pits. Using walnut shells to avoid pitting will leave a residue on the panels afterwards.


I used a DA Sander  and then 3m fiber wheels on a drill to hard to get places.   Use only the 3m wheels as they are softer and wont scratch.   I never had luck with a wire wheel. It didnt seem to work as fast as the DA with 40-80 grit paper and the 3m wheels.    This entire process will take time and you will hurt when doing it and when its over with so using the best things to do it to protect the car and make the process as speedy as possible is something you will want to do.  The average farm store   5hp 20 gallon air compressor will not run a DA for any length of time to get a car stripped. You will find yourself stopping and waiting on air more then you will be stripping paint.



Todd

[Lord Warlock]

I was using the stealth as a "canvas" to try out different paint ideas, and as the layers added up (3 stage poly paint) it got thicker than I wanted so decided to strip it all off and start over for the final coats.  Stripper tended to work ok for the clear coats but wouldn't cut thru more than 2 layers of paint at a time, which is why i ended up going with the wire wheel.  I was able to strip the entire body (except plastic panels) in about 3 days.  One thing to watch out for when doing this is to definitely wear eye protection, and some heavier pants than the thin cotton ones I wore, the wire wheel would occasionally let a strand loose which would fly around and pierce the leg, gets your attention real fast, and if it does that just think what it will do to your eyes.  I'm currently taking off some primer I put on the charger to keep it from rusting a few years ago to get it prepped for new single stage paint. 

I also use a variable speed orbital sander (6 inch discs) and 60-80 grit discs to sand down the final layers of primer to metal.  I'm finding some strange looking metal under the factory paint though, looks pitted like battery acid got on it, but it didn't show in the original paint.  My compressor isn't strong enough to maintain pressure for a DA sander, not strong enough to cut thru at least.  So have to use what sanders i have laying around.  Don't buy cheap sanders though, a good makita will outlast 3 black and deckers.  I suppose i could put sanding discs on the 9 inch700 rpm  buffer, but prefer to use that only for polishing once the paint is done. 

[BigBlockSam]

they'll sand blast a whole car for about $600. thats not bad. Rene

[eSJayDee]

Depends on how much you value your time.  I agree w/ Todd that a DA leaves the metal in the best shape, but it is slow.  The next best choice I think is 3M bristle disks.  Metal looks great and it's a MUCH faster process than a DA.  The downside is that they generate a fair amount of heat (not as bad as sandblasting);  the other downside is that they're EXPENSIVE & you'll need MANY of them.  I used 4 1/2" disks on my grinder & I would bet to do a whole car you'd need at least 20 disks (they're about $20 each).
My limited experience w/ chemical stripping is that it's messy, doesn't really save that much time (relative to bristle disks) & I'd be concerned about neutralizing them & getting them where you don't want them.

[Todd Wilson]

they'll sand blast a whole car for about $600. thats not bad. Rene

And you'll have pits and if the blaster isnt careful you'll have warped sheet metal from the heat generated.


Todd

[BigBlockSam]

And you'll have pits and if the blaster isn't careful you'll have warped sheet metal from the heat generated.

don't go to a guy that only does industrial sandblasting. my guy used a very fine sand on my car. the car came out beautiful no warpage. then you really know what condition the metal on your car is at.  Rene

[Todd Wilson]

And you'll have pits and if the blaster isn't careful you'll have warped sheet metal from the heat generated.

don't go to a guy that only does industrial sandblasting. my guy used a very fine sand on my car. the car came out beautiful no warpage. then you really know what condition the metal on your car is at.  Rene

Be sure all the sand is out of the car. Stuff flys all over. Lands in an odd ball place you dont know about and draws moisture. You figure out what happens next.


Todd

[derailed]

I thought it was on this sight but might have been a different one. Somone had mentioned blasting with baking soda and said it works well. Anyone tried this?

[daytonalo]

One of my clients does soda blasting , the end result is unbelievable , but you still have to sandblast any rust . Like Rene said , I sandblast all of my projects with triple o sand . any chimp can do it without warpage , except for any flat panel like hood and decklid , very , very , very , low pressure and attack from an angle never at a 90 attack .  Larry

[shawnmd]

Depends on how much you value your time.  I agree w/ Todd that a DA leaves the metal in the best shape, but it is slow.  The next best choice I think is 3M bristle disks.  Metal looks great and it's a MUCH faster process than a DA.  The downside is that they generate a fair amount of heat (not as bad as sandblasting);  the other downside is that they're EXPENSIVE & you'll need MANY of them.  I used 4 1/2" disks on my grinder & I would bet to do a whole car you'd need at least 20 disks (they're about $20 each).
My limited experience w/ chemical stripping is that it's messy, doesn't really save that much time (relative to bristle disks) & I'd be concerned about neutralizing them & getting them where you don't want them.

esJyDee, which bristle disks are the best for use with a small 4" or 4.5" grinder or drill?  I am removing all paint in the engine bay and the front fenders.  I was looking at the bristle disks and there are so many different types and sizes?

[eSJayDee]

esJyDee, which bristle disks are the best for use with a small 4" or 4.5" grinder or drill?  I am removing all paint in the engine bay and the front fenders.  I was looking at the bristle disks and there are so many different types and sizes?

I used these on a 4 1/2 grinder

http://cgi.ebay.com/3M-SCOTCHBRITE-BRISTLE-DISCS-4-1-2-DIA-2-GRITS_W0QQitemZ160033566755QQihZ006QQcategoryZ58197QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I didn't really notice any appreciable difference in speed or finished surface between the 50 or 80 grits.  These things screw right on a standard grinder.  I liked the idea of these better than the Roloc type things as the only thing that I would have to accomodate those would be my drill.
My drill spins at ~1700rpm, my grinder 11000 w/ a larger diameter.  You do the math.
The disks will work great on the fenders.  You'll probably have some difficulty getting in & around the various contours in the engine compartment.  In those places, you might have to resort to something like the 2" or 3" Roloc things (which of course means getting a Roloc mandrel) or those plastic wire mesh type things for a drill.

I haven't tried the radial type, but those might be good for tight places, too.

Good luck & have fun.

Sorry I don't have a part # for you.  I think I saved my last disk (very little left of it), but I can't find it.
I've bought from that guy on ebay & it was the best price I was able to find.

[Lord Warlock]

Regarding the blasting, what size compressor are you using?  And air pressure while blasting.  I have an old sandblasting kit from craftsman, has probably a 25 lb hopper but with the 25 gallon 3.5 horse compressor it would only do a small area, such as the size of a quarter at a time, and it seemed to take forever compared to using stripping wheels.  When I worked offshore we used 200lb hoppers filled every 10 minutes or so and much more powerful compressors and equipment.  I can't see using industrial type blasters on autos though, as they'd probably eat right thru the panels.  It seemed to do the trick for suspension pieces and whatnot but it was too slow for me on the panels themselves.  Maybe the sand I used was too fine a cut. 

I've been stripping the paint off the front end of the charger for the past couple of days, mainly because I'd used it as a workbench when mixing paints etc when painting a different car, and have been removing the overspray and spills off the surface.  I've got the tops of both fenders done and about half the hood so far.  All using the wire wheels and cups since they seem to do the job but i can see these other wheels may do a quicker job of it.  My car only has 1 layer of paint on it, (origninal paint and primer) although I've primered one side after I stripped it down a year or so ago just to keep it from rusting after the stripping. 

To tell the truth, I really don't see a reason to strip all the paint off since the factory primer (red oxide it looks like) and very thin factory paint seem to do a good job sealing still, I plan on stripping the areas around any dings and where any rust shows (small pitting rust not panel rot) just to make sure the surface is right and doesn't have underlaying problems and give bite to the surface of any finishing bondo.  But the top and areas around each wheel opening will have to be done just to make sure there isn't rust lurking where it shouldn't be. 

[Todd Wilson]

To tell the truth, I really don't see a reason to strip all the paint off since the factory primer (red oxide it looks like) and very thin factory paint seem to do a good job sealing still, I plan on stripping the areas around any dings and where any rust shows (small pitting rust not panel rot) just to make sure the surface is right and doesn't have underlaying problems and give bite to the surface of any finishing bondo.  But the top and areas around each wheel opening will have to be done just to make sure there isn't rust lurking where it shouldn't be. 

Thats all fine if you are going to use a cheap paint and dont care about the finish and longevity.    The prices of good paints are very expensive and I would not want to spend the $$$ for good quality paints and then paint back over old paint. My old paint on my 71 had little spots all over it where the paint was coming off it.  35+ years and lots of $$$$ to do it now I would think it would be the best thing to strip the car down to metal.


Todd

[Lord Warlock]

I wouldn't say the paint I'm using is cheap, it isn't lacquer, but dupont single stage polyurethane enamel, matching the factory color-cost wise it cost more a gallon than House of Kolor Polyurethane cost me.  The primer is Y2k Polyurethane enamel primer which i had good experience with when using HOK before.  I was told by several long time painters that painting over the factory coating (after all the imperfections are worked out or fixed),  Isn't usually a problem unless there is rot to deal with.  My car has no peeling paint on it, nor does it have any rust to worry about (been garaged for 28 years) someone before me tried unsuccessfully to buff the paint using a buffer and cut thru the sharp edges on the hood and fenders.  The painters i talked to indicated that if the car had been repainted it would be worth it to strip the paint since one coat may be covering problems not seen before.  Like some bondo I found under what i considered the factory paint on the top of the right front fender, I took it off because the damaged area under it was less than 2 inches long, well done but had 5 inches wide or more to hide it, I can do it in far less than that. 

I don't use cheap paints, I don't skimp on materials usually going with brand name in most cases.  Plan on doing whatever the car needs to be done right though, with 4 small dings in the driver door, I'll probably have to strip most if not all the door panel.  I've already stripped the whole right side to metal, plus the front fenders and hood (mostly) I plan on stripping all the flat surfaces such as the tops of the fenders doors and tail

Longevity is more the goal than show ability.  The car isn't a show queen, just a survivor going thru a facelift.  It isn't going to be sold to anyone till after i'm dead and then I won't care anymore so not shooting for highball barrett jackson quality.  It should look good enough to take to a show, but not so perfect that i'm afraid to drive it.  Pretty much the only shows it will go to are club gatherings and maybe once or twice a national gathering.       

[daytonalo]

If the sandblast q was for me , I have two compressors , 7.5 horse and a diesel tow behind 185 . I use a 300 pound pressure pot .
                                                                                                                       Larry

[Lord Warlock]

Nice rig, pays to have the tools to do the job.  If I had that I'd probably opt for blasting it.  whats a little sand in your eye eh?  I wasn't happy with the rate I had with my craftsman blaster. It just didn't have the power like i'd seen offshore.  The car already seems to have plenty of sand under it anyway...one dirt road on the paper route for a year, can't seem to get it all off. 

[Drop Top]

I have all my cars striped with Plastic Media. Bakeing soda and sand blasting is also available here. I can get the entire car striped for around $400 with plastic That includes engine bay and trunk areas. Another $100 and I can get the under body and pass. compartment done also. Unlike Bakeing soda I don't have to wash the car afterwords with vinager. Plastic dosn't leave any residue like nut shells and wont worp like sand. If plastic is available in your area I highly sugjest using it. The only draw back is you have to get all of the plastic out of all the corners before you put your finle layer of paint on the car. You said it only has one layer of paint so it wont be that bad. If you must strip your car by hand. To do it right and without much of a headake. Your going to need a good D/A sander and a good air compressure. Lock the D/A so it grinds. Use 36 grit and grind away from any body lines. In the areas that you can't get with the D/A use a Strip and Clean disk from 3M. the Strip and Clean disk will not loose metal wires and stick you in the skin. I can strip a compleat car in less then a days time in this manor, as long as ther is no more then 2 layers of paint. This method works really well for spot repaires. But its hard to strip the whole car inside and out like this. Its really hard to beat Plastic Media for a good compleat job. The only better way is dipping your car. But with that the car must come compleatly apart so it can be submerged in the acid. I don't like useing the cemical strippers on anything but very small pieces.

[daytonalo]

Hey Larry .that great for a rust free car , but my bank only lets me buy rusty junk ! That is why I use sand !

[Lord Warlock]

Since i don't have any sandblasting equipment, and only have time on my hands instead of money, I've been stripping the body of my charger for the past two weeks.  In my case I used chemical stripper (aircraft stripper) and wire wheels.  My situation is unique though, the car only has the factory paint, very little rust to worry about (southern car).  The primary reason for the strip was to make sure there was no hidden rust anywhere on the body.  The car had been worked on about 10 years ago, and a primer coat added afterwards to keep it from rusting.  In my experience, the stripper seems to peel off the primer, but doesn't soak thru the underlying paint so a second strip is necessary.  When applied to the factory paint, most times it strips to bare metal but other times it only gets the top layer of paint off and doesn't strip off the old factory primer completely.  Which necessitates grinding off the remainder with the wire wheels and sanders.  After about 5 days of working the body I have both sides stripped, all trim removed, and am now focusing on the top and trunklid.  Getting the factory primer off is the hardest part so far. 

I've ordered some POR 15 products to treat the roof (under the future vinyl top) and will have to do some patchwork on the left rear quarter panel - I have a few pinholes but no major rustout anywhere.  I plan on starting with the sander today to start cleaning up the surface.  Appreciate the tip on working away from body lines, that should come in handy.