Paint removal products..

[calling911]

I have searched and read and I am not sure which way to go.. I bought a gallon of aircraft paitn remover.. I figure it will be handy in some places.. but I am having trouble choosing an abrasive product to do the majority of paint removal.. can someone recommend a specific product on a website?

I have a angle grinder and also a 6" buffer.. and also a DA but my air compressor will not keep up with the DA.. the others are electric.. I am inclined to use the buffer since the speed is adjustable..

sand paper discs? 60 grit? 40 grit? or some other media.. I just want to buy this stuff and be done with it but I keep second guessing myself.. its going to be done in my garage.. so I am trying to limit the mess..

I also heard of a razor blade method but cant find specifics.. liek technique and what kind of tool? The paint comes off with a sharp chisel ok.. but not always..

advise?

[ghnat]

Subscribing - good timing...

[Hugh R]

I've found that you just keep painting on paint remover and keep scraping away the layers. The ones with Methylene Chloride and Toluene work the best. Good ventilation and rubber gloves which will dissolve.

[MikeDL]

I recently stripped my entire car of paint using a large razorblade tipped paint scraper and a hot air gun. It worked perfectly, with no mess or fumes. It takes some practice to get the angle of the razor right (pretty flat), and you have to give the hot air time (20-30 seconds) to heat the metal and soften the paint, but I was amazed at how clean the results were.

This door took about 40 minutes to get done.

I have stripped previous cars using aircraft stripper and I would never do it again due to the fumes, not to mention the chemical residue that you have to clean perfectly before paint.

The razor (with spare blades) cost $5 and the hot air gun $25. If you try it this way and have problems PM me.

[poorsha]

Can you show a pic of the tool?
Where did you get it?
Thanks.

[MikeDL]

I got this at Home Depot (I'm sure Lowes, Sears, or any other hardware store with a good paint department will carry similar ones). The important part is that it have a replaceable razor blade and a comfortable handle.

[Willem Fick]

I used aircraft stripper and scraper, in combination with a wire cup-brush on my angle grinder. First removed as much paint as possible using the stripper/scraper, and then removed the very stubborn bits with the cup-brush, after allowing the stripper to dry out.

The secret with stripper is to allow it to not dry out for as long as possible, so for small parts I put some into a steel bucket, covered it with some water, and dunked the parts in there, suspended with pieces of wire.

Though you are advised to rinse parts with water once the paint comes off, I had more success with a petrol soaked rag, followed by a water based degreaser.

[sfmlaw17]

I tried chemical stripping, a grinder (bad idea) and razor blade. The best solution that I came up with was a Gator Grit, 4-1/2", Angle Grinder, Paint & Rust Stripper. It fits on your angle grinder and strips like nobody's business. Works great and is fast. It won't gouge the metal at all and can be primed over easily. I would never use anything else now. I stipped the whole car to bare metal with these. You can get them at Lowe's for drill bit attachment or grinder. I didn't like the drill bit attached much, but it did help in some tight spaces.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

If you have a galvanized car, anything abrasive you do that's more aggressive than, say, a putty knife, will remove the galvanizing. You've just ruined your shell, in a sense.

[calling911]

Originally posted by Formerly Steve Wilkinson
If you have a galvanized car, anything abrasive you do that's more aggressive than, say, a putty knife, will remove the galvanizing. You've just ruined your shell, in a sense.

No galv.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Steve, Seems like these flat razor scrapers would do the same thing. Inevitably (for me at least!) if you hold it at slightly the wrong angle you're going to cut little divots out of the galv and the metal below necessitating filler, albeit a small amount.

A related find by me during my house restoration: A product called B12 Chemtool Fuel Injector Cleaner (its probably just toluene) will lift the paint off almost anything. I soaked 75 year old heat registers with gobs of old paint in it and the paint lifted off in sheets. The newer latex came off in like a minute or two. The 70 year old, good old fashioned high lead conent enamels came off in an hour or two. I have used it on my rear latch assemby. It had been painted over by a PO and I didn't want to take off the factory cad plating by using an abrasive. Worked like a charm.

P.S. Use those cheap aluminum turkey pans from the grocery store and reuse the product a couple of times by running it through a sieve asap after it takes the paint off. Its available out here at OSH in the automotive department in pints and gallons.

[calling911]

Originally posted by Dan in Pasadena
Steve, Seems like these flat razor scrapers would do the same thing. Inevitably (for me at least!) if you hold it at slightly the wrong angle you're going to cut little divots out of the galv and the metal below necessitating filler, albeit a small amount.

A related find by me during my house restoration: A product called B12 Chemtool Fuel Injector Cleaner (its probably just toluene) will lift the paint off almost anything. I soaked 75 year old heat registers with gobs of old paint in it and the paint lifted off in sheets. The newer latex came off in like a minute or two. The 70 year old, good old fashioned high lead conent enamels came off in an hour or two. I have used it on my rear latch assemby. It had been painted over by a PO and I didn't want to take off the factory cad plating by using an abrasive. Worked like a charm.

P.S. Use those cheap aluminum turkey pans from the grocery store and reuse the product a couple of times by running it through a sieve asap after it takes the paint off. Its available out here at OSH in the automotive department in pints and gallons.

I hope you have one hell of a respirator else when you hit 50 you're gonna regret it.

[bbaer6676]

I used aircraft stripper, heat gun, scraping blade and wire wheel on angle grinder. Just make sure that you have good ventilation

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally posted by calling911
I hope you have one hell of a respirator else when you hit 50 you're gonna regret it.

Uh.................I'm 52........................and I already DO regret most of that!

I'm not sure what you're referring to? I wasn't proposing using the B12 Chemtool or Toluene (if that's what it is) for the entire car! Of course you'd gas yourself, not to mention you could just HAVE it stripped for the cost of that stuff per gallon.

I offered the suggestion that it is a good, fast way of removing paint with little or no abrasive, especially on things that should not have been painted in the first place like hood and trunk latches, etc.

[calling911]

Originally posted by Dan in Pasadena
Uh.................I'm 52........................and I already DO regret most of that!

I'm not sure what you're referring to? I wasn't proposing using the B12 Chemtool or Toluene (if that's what it is) for the entire car! Of course you'd gas yourself, not to mention you could just HAVE it stripped for the cost of that stuff per gallon.

I offered the suggestion that it is a good, fast way of removing paint with little or no abrasive, especially on things that should not have been painted in the first place like hood and trunk latches, etc.

Oh I am sorry.. I see small parts only..

I used a wire wheel today.. on my 4.5" grinder.. seemed to work pretty damn well.. but kicks up tons of dust of course.. I dont know what to do.. going to try the razor blade.. maybe a combination will work.

[rw7810]

The fellow who runs this forum (auto body) recommends a Makita Buffer with 80 grit paper.

http://autobodystore.com/forum/index.php

This is also a go how to site:

http://www.mckennasgarage.com/xke/index.htm