best way to strip car to bare metal for restoration ?

[rov911]

I am planing to restore my 911 soon ,i asked some shops about the process of restoring the car specially stripping it to bare metal .. here is there answers.
1- paint remover. ( porsche specialist )
2- heat oven stripping. ( porsche restoration shop )
3- dry body sanding. ( porsche dealer )
please tell me wich one is the best way and why ? or if u have any other ways please explain it .

[rw7810]

I did mine this past fall. Ended up using all of those. The stripper is extremely messy. The dry sanding (80 grit on a Makita variable low speed) is dusty, but the most efficient especially with muiltiple coats to remove. The 3M black fiborous but hard looking stripping disks would well too.

seach here for other advice: http://www.autobodystore.com/forum/index.php

[3.2 CAB]

What year is it? It would make a difference to me on the stripping methods if it has the galvanized tub. Tony.

[rov911]

my car is 1973 ,i have seen a car that was stripped to bare metal wating for new parts at the dealer ship and they did it with dry sanding it has been sitting there bare metal for three months now with no rust at all , they say thats because they dont use water or wet sanding ?

[9dreizig]

what about a 4th or 5th method ?? map torch and razorblade?? OR spend the $500 and have it media blasted?

[rov911]

I dont mind media blasting if its the best method. but the porsche restoration specialist say the way he'll do it is heat oven stripping wich i dont like because i have read that it's bad for the car body especially the roof and door gaps. since iam doing complete restoration i want the car to look like the day it left the factory

[tmsautoart]

Aircraft stripper works very well and really not that messy.

[rennch]

+1 on the aircraft stripper. It took me about $60 and 8 hours. I did it easily in a weekend. If you check out my thread, it's about halfway down this page: Check out the new project 69'er

You can also check out the sticky thread by Freddy Hernandez at the top of the paint and bodywork forum.

[sballard]

Is a wire wheel too abbrasive for paint removal?

[jpnovak]

Here is my method. High pressure steam.

How to strip paint from a car in 2.5 hours

[MikeDL]

Razor blade on a wallpaper scraper with an electric heat gun worked great for me once I got the hang of it. No fumes or dust.

[9dreizig]

I just ran a test on my bumper with the map torch and razor blade. Works really well , takes it right down to the factory primer quickly and all you need is a broom and dustpan to clean up!!

[Tim K]

Originally Posted by 9dreizig

I just ran a test on my bumper with the map torch and razor blade. Works really well , takes it right down to the factory primer quickly and all you need is a broom and dustpan to clean up!!

Please wear a mask. And post pics!

Tim K

[9dreizig]

Originally Posted by Tim K

Please wear a mask. And post pics!

Tim K

Here's about ten minutes work. No need for a mask as there's no fumes or dust!!

Since this is just going to be my track car my plan is to go through the car quarter panel by quarter panel ( as I learn to paint!!). The color is easy to match I think I can get away with it!! Can't look any worse than it does now.

[TimT]

Redi-Strip

Dip it, Dip it good,
You must Dip it

trying for that Devo riff lol

[MikeDL]

Once you get the hang of it, you can get a larger area warm and strip off 12 inch long strips an inch or so wide. Very helpful on the bigger panels.

[Wcb4]

I used four different methods to strip to bare metal. I mainly used the heat gun and 2 inch wide scraper. I tried a lot of different heat guns. I found that the hottest one was the Blue Point by Snap -on. I know, the price was almost twice of the others but I could really tell the difference in the out temp. The scrapper, I found that one with a bit of flex worked the best.

The Wurth tool that is for removing the Schutz. Worked great on the bigger open areas. Hard to get in the nook and crannies. That is where the heat and scraper worked the best. Using the heat gun and scraper worked as fast. It was a convince and less mussel thing. I just had the tool on hand.

The third was on all painted surfaces that did not use Schutz. Aircraft paint remover. The Jet Strip brand worked the best. About 1 1/2 gal used. In some spots the car had three layers of paint.

I enjoyed the time that striping the car this way took. I really got to know the car. And a lot of insight on how different Porsche did things. Also gives time to think which you want to go with the car.

Oh yes the forth type of removal. Soda Blasting. The first estimate for the soda blasting was for about $2000.00. I spent less than $200.00 on tools and materials. I took the car in for blasting and the charge was only $350.00. So I saved myself about $1500.00. And got to really know my car.

Now the car sits at the Body shop waiting for the metal work. After the panels get replaced. I will pick it up and finish the body and paint my self

[9dreizig]

update, I pulled my bumper and finished stripping it in about 1 1/2 hrs night before last.. I'm now a true believer in the map torch/razorblade method!!

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by Wcb4

SNIP
Soda Blasting. The first estimate for the soda blasting was for about $2000.00. I spent less than $200.00 on tools and materials. I took the car in for blasting and the charge was only $350.00. So I saved myself about $1500.00. And got to really know my car.

Soda blasting is the preferred method, AFAIK. It's not commonly available, so you may have to go out of your area. Something about how the particles of soda break up the paint and have no negative effect on the metal...

[fhernand]

Aircraft paint remover is the best way to get down to the metal without distorting. Take one panel at item. Use duck tape to tape over the gaps between panels......the tape will hold the remover from dripping into your jams. Strip the panel without removing the tape. Lastly, remove the duck tape and use a grinder on 80 grit to remove paint that was under the duck tape. The key is one panel at a time. Paint remover method does not have to be messy. It's actually fun if you don't let it overwhelm you. Best wishes. Freddie