Paint Stripping 101
 

I hope this information will be of use to many who are considering stripping their own paint finish. I realize there are many ways to strip a car finish. The method I share with you is what has work for me on many of my clients Porsche cars. The process is only as missy as you let it. There a few safety tips. 1. Always use a WELL ventilated area. 2. Use a proper chemical respirator. 3. Utilize a good pair of chemical resistant gloves. 4. Use eye protection. 5. Keep a bucket of water close by in the event you need to wipe off the paint stripper off eyes or hands.

Items you will be needing for the job are as follows:

1. PAINT REMOVER (I recommend AirCraft Remover) it works fast and very potent.
2. Heavy Duty RAZOR SCRAPER (Use only a new sharp blade) .
3. Chemical Resistant GLOVES.
4. RESPIRATOR with chemical rated filters (I recommend 3M cartridges) they work very well and last a long time.
5. METAL CONTAINER with handle.
6. Chemical resistant paint brush.
7. DUCK TAPE
8. Dual Action Air or Electric SANDER w/80 grit sand paper.
9. 4 inch METAL putty knife.

These are the tools needed not including the 4 inch putty knife and electric/air sander.
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Apply Duck Tape to all edges of the hood. This will prevent the stripper from getting on the backside of your panel/hood. Most hoods do not need the backside stripped. Do not make more work for yourself than needed.
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I keep my tools clean and in water. I soak them in water after every coat applied.
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Pour stripper into you metal container. FLOW on a think and generous coat. Brush only twice to spread the stripper. You are not painting so simply flow your material on. Let the stripper work into the paint for about 15-30 minutes. If your paint is lacquer, it may take more time before the paint starts to lift. Be patient with this stuff.
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Start scraping after the paint has lifted. It may be that not all the paint has lifted before you start. Push down on the blade and scrape only one way. Use a sharp blade at all times.
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Scrape only so far. Do not get ahead of yourself. Thereafter scrape the residue to the side and into a trash bucket or box. I use a putty knife for this. Keep things clean.
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Apply a second coat if needed. You will apply the stripper to those areas where the first application of the stripper did not bite into the paint. You may have to repeat over several time until all the paint is gone. Keep things clean.
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Once you are down to the metal, rinse the entire hood/panel with water and dish soap. This is very important. Repeat the rinsing making sure the all the stripper is gone. If residue is the stripper is left, this may cause problems when painting.
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Pull the Duck Tape off. Start sanding the edges of the hood down to bare metal. Make sure you also sand the outer edges.
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This is the finished product. Good luck!
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Great write up. Now how about one on filler and primer? My next 2 projects.

Great thread fhernand! It's thread's like these that make Pelican's technical forum invaluable. :)

Thanks. Hope it works for you. I will post futher threads on metal conditioning, bondo, primer, painting and buffing. Yes, we need more 101 threads on other subjects. Regards, Freddie

Freddie, this is a great thread. Please do more.

Also, if stripping a galvanized car, what are the issues?

Thanks. John H

Wow, very informative write up, Freddie. Makes me want to go out and do my hood! :D Is there any advantage over using aircraft stripper VS the electric drill with sanding wheel as we did with my car?

Great write up - one thing that seems to help is to cover the part being stripped with a sheet of plastic after applying the paint stripper. This stops the chemicals from evaporating/losing strength as you wait for the stripper to do its job.

I agree 100% to use the Aircraft stripper vs. ZipStrip, Ace Stripper, or even the Biodegradeable one from Eastwood ($$) which takes DAYS to finish one panel. I'm curious as to how you are goint to treat all that rust. If the panel was sand/bead blasted I would go right over the pitted metal with an inhibitor/cleaner, then Glasurit Epoxy Primer (2-3 coats) and start my bodywork on top of it. Seal the bondo with more epoxy, then heavy high-build primer, wet sand and go! Just curious what your plans are.. grind down to good metal?

If you grind off the paint on a galvanized car you also remove the galvanized layer. Not sure what year your car is (assume an 86 911? :D ) , but that is one reason to chemically strip..:)

Nice write-up.

I also prefer to "score" the paint with a razor blade prior to putting on the stripper. It allows the chemicals to penetrate much faster and will lift deeper into the paint. This is really important if you have multiple layers.

This pre-socre technique works especially well on undercoating but I find an aggressive wire brush on my grinder to be more effective (even if it is mo' dirty)

Thanks for a great article.
And thank you GaryR for answering my unasked question about what to do after you have stripped the part.
I am about to tackle this job but will have to take the stripped parts to a paint shop to have them sprayed with epoxy primer.
What time frame do I have between stripping and putting on primer?

Poorsha - do you plan on doing any of the priming/painting? Epoxy primer is no harder to work with than anything else (as long as you don't try to SAND it!), but you do need good ventilation, a GOOD mask (you DO NOT want to breathe this in!!) and a good HVLP gun is nice to have too. IMO the metal should "immediately" be coated after stripping to avoid even high humidity from starting the oxidation process. Another note, to answer a question that just came to me via PM - you spray the epoxy, several coats over bare metal, and wait 24 hours before doing body work. You do NOT sand the epoxy primer unless it sits for more than 5 days or you sprayed it like ceiling spackle somehow.. After 5-6 days all you really need to do is take a scrungee pad to it before primering of putting another coat of epoxy ovet it (to seal the body filler so you never get sinking).

Hope that answered you both... if someone has issue with what I have written PLEASE correct me, I only know what I was taught and what I have read (and of course this is the process I use).. :D

Good to see so much knowledge on the subject. I will post another thread on treating the metal, rust and expoxy primer application within the next few days. Regards, Freddie

whats with the gloves and mask? I did mine without any of that 'safety stuff'.
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... Of course, i was dizzy and had red rash/burning spots on my hands for a few days after i was finished,.

Rattlsnak, i did that too once and I'am not doing that anymore. ; )

If you are interested, I have now posted a new thread on "Metal Prep And Epoxy Prming". Regards, Freddie

Luvndasun, great comment I would also recommend covering the panel with plastic for more effective chemical penetration. Thanks

I have now posted the third thread on "Bondo And Primer Application 101" Enjoy.

How did we let this thread die? I'm starting to think about painting mine and was wondering, when do you have to strip, and when can you just paint over? Mine is a daily driver so I'm not looking for concours, but I want it to be nice. I'm not going to be doing the painting, but do plan on doing some of the prep work like pulling quarters, bumpers, hood, tail, etc.

Michael

Wow I was suprised to see this thread show up in my e-mail! It's been such a long time since I've been on here and posted. Freddie, how's it going? That paint job on my 911 still looks awesome! Bay Auto Body did a great job as well but they didn't take the "waveyness" out of the paint like you did. Anyone who wants a high quality classy paintjob, Freddie (fhernand) is the guy who will do the best job, imo.