How to strip paint from a car in 2.5 hours

[jpnovak]

It seems that my paint experiment 5 years ago has come to an end. I really liked the satin finish on the ST but the TX sun had turned my clear yellow and it was starting to peel. This meant it was time to start stripping paint. Since it failed, it all had to come off. I was not excited about the prospect of stripping POR15 products. From my experience, when properly installed this stuff is incredibly stout and difficult to remove. I admit that 5 years later there were no rock chips across the front despite numerous Hill Country excursions and multiple track outings. too bad the clear failed, I am a believer.

If you are still reading, I know you are still asking... "How do you strip POR15 and how do you do it in 2.5 hours." I am glad you asked. Let's start with saying that I have a 2.5 year old son. The thought of using dichloromethane based chemical strippers was about my only option but not a good one due to potential exposure to my ever present helper. The choice of mechanical abrasion with the DA/Grinder was not much better due to the amount of dust. I didn't want to completely disassemble the car for full media blasting and the cost makes this unattractive.

Time to take advantage of a new tool. Make sure your friends have something you can borrow that outputs a bit more energy than you really need.

Take one of these:



Make it go to "eleven":


And start washing... About 2 hours later you end up with clean metal and fiberglass with no damage to the lights, lenses, mirrors, glass or any other part on the car.

In reality, this pressure washer puts out about 5500 psi and has a 300F diesel heater. Nothing like super heated steam to get things going. In reality, I was just taking advantage of my chemistry background. This is not much different than using a heat gun to soften the paint and scrape it off. I just added a little extra "scraping power".

The best part is that tomorrow when the ground dries I can just rake up the paint flakes and dispose of them as normal garbage! Here are my results.













Now I need to disassemble, block the surface, prep, shoot epoxy and have it ready for the painter in another two weeks.

[NY65912]

Nice job. It sure beats stripper and DAing like I did way back on my 356.

[BrokeMyCar]

///Did you have to take off the glass?

edited, just saw the comment about how the glass was ok!

[tcar]

Do you have a 'before' picture handy?

[johndglynn]

Top work Jamie, you're a class act mate

What colour next?

[jmshepard]

JP,
This seems way too easy.
Is there any downside to this technique?
Jim S.

[EarlyPorsche]

Why would there be any downsides? As long as you rub a oily rag or something (not sure exactly what, but I would guess just a light coating of something lightly oily would do) to prevent rusting over quickly, you are on your way to success. I may have to do this because prep is more expensive than paint.

Using your method I could strip and prepare my car in the same day. Then just roll it into the body shop for paint. Plus you can strip it and then pull glass in the end not before so you don't get dust inside.

[Embraer]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

Why would there be any downsides? As long as you rub a oily rag or something (not sure exactly what, but I would guess just a light coating of something lightly oily would do) to prevent rusting over quickly, you are on your way to success. I may have to do this because prep is more expensive than paint.

Using your method I could strip and prepare my car in the same day. Then just roll it into the body shop for paint. Plus you can strip it and then pull glass in the end not before so you don't get dust inside.

Eeeks! I'd be careful with any "oily" substances applied. Back when I ran a body shop, I'd gringe when I'd see canisters of silicone wipes in the trunk of people's cars. ....Beware the fisheye!!

[Fishcop]

Nice work Jamie - I've often looked at the big Karcher we have at work and wondered if it would make a good stripper

You need to disclose the new colour!

[mjshira]

hye, dude, good stuff! when did you get Lindsey's?

[Jay Auskin]

Why paint it? It looks great!

[RWebb]

Very nice! Barton Springs will be very happy with your choice of methods...

[jpnovak]

I did not take out the glass. It will be coming out later this week so that the edges can be cleaned up. Really, glass is so easy to take out why wouldn't you do this when repainting... The process of stripping paint usually generates lots of dust. I think the body work is even worse. the glass will stay in until its ready to shoot. this will keep the interior somewhat clean and weather tight. This car resides outside.

While the bodywork is being finished there will likely be some flash rust. In this case, mechanical abrasion works well using a scotchbrite pad in the grinder. This cleaning will be followed by a wipedown with an etching surface prep and quickly coated with epoxy. These steps will be a long weekend of work to get finished.

John, I have thought about changing the color. If you ask my son, He will say, "orange, yes, Daddy, Orange Porsha". (He does know its 2 syllables). Likely it will be silver again with a little twist.

James, the Lindsey's have always been on the car. They are recycled from BB1. Although, if there is money left after painting and the top-end job to fix a broken headstud those 8.5" Minilites in the garage will finally get some rubber.

Jay, the thought has crossed my mind many times. I suppose gray epoxy would fit the purpose well.

Randy, And I will continue to thank Barton Springs for keeping me cool all summer.

[Wickd89]

Really awesome. Do the professionals do it this way?? Seems like a great option..

[mjshira]

Originally Posted by jpnovak

I did not take out the glass. It will be coming out later this week so that the edges can be cleaned up. Really, glass is so easy to take out why wouldn't you do this when repainting... The process of stripping paint usually generates lots of dust. I think the body work is even worse. the glass will stay in until its ready to shoot. this will keep the interior somewhat clean and weather tight. This car resides outside.

While the bodywork is being finished there will likely be some flash rust. In this case, mechanical abrasion works well using a scotchbrite pad in the grinder. This cleaning will be followed by a wipedown with an etching surface prep and quickly coated with epoxy. These steps will be a long weekend of work to get finished.

John, I have thought about changing the color. If you ask my son, He will say, "orange, yes, Daddy, Orange Porsha". (He does know its 2 syllables). Likely it will be silver again with a little twist.

James, the Lindsey's have always been on the car. They are recycled from BB1. Although, if there is money left after painting and the top-end job to fix a broken headstud those 8.5" Minilites in the garage will finally get some rubber.

Jay, the thought has crossed my mind many times. I suppose gray epoxy would fit the purpose well.

Randy, And I will continue to thank Barton Springs for keeping me cool all summer.

thanks right, I remember now, cool! that car would look awesome with mini's!

[911pcars]

Seems like a good way to remove most of the paint. Probably saved yourself manyl hours and avoided hazardous waste. However, there's paint under all the trimwork still installed. After removing trim and glass (including door and window frames, weatherstripping, door handles, mirror, signal housings, wipers headlight and aux. ligh assemblies, etc., you'll probably have to resort to reg. methods to prep the now-exposed surfaces. I don't think you want any surprises. If you change color, you'll need to address the jambs and undersides of deck and trunk lids. Hidden areas can hide corrosion and need to be repaired, and existing paint sanded and/or feathered out to the surrounding sheet metal.

You probably realize there's much work to do before reaching the primer stage, but it'll be worth it in the end.

Best wishes,
Sherwood

[PatrickB]

Did you buy, rent, or borrow that pressure washer? With those performance numbers, that machine can be quite pricey!! Careful around the lenses though, I've seen similar parts get cut in half very easily.

[richemj]

Nice approach Jamie. Orange isn't too bad of a suggestion. If you went that route, which shade? Continental is always a good choice, but after seeing Bob's Tangerine 'E at the Rally last month, its a new favorite.

Looking forward to seeing progress.

[9dreizig]

So what is that thing ? I heated pressure washer?

[M.D. Holloway]

I might have to pay me a visit up here in Norde Tejas to wet blast my targa!