The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop paint stripping/sanding

we have decided to go w/ sanding as the way to get most of the old paint off the '51. we do not yet have a compressor so are looking for an electric grinder/sander to start the process. i understand that we need a tool that we can dial down to 1000 rpm or so to fend off warping/deep gouging. what other characteristics would be necessary/useful to look for? any rec's on actual tools?? thanks guys

BIX paint stripper available at Home Depot worked really well on my truck. avoid using a drill with sanding pad, gouges are impossible to avoid with those.

I used a bunch of diferent fiber pads and wheels to do My cab and doors now I am doing the fenders and grill , I got most of mine from ace or home depot 3M makes them so does kylox I think thats how you spell it , get the orange ones in kylox and the black ones in 3M or the grey in the ACE brand, some of them look like wire wheels but have a fiber brush also they make pads that have stud for a drill or at ace they had ones that screwed onto my 4 in angle grinder but it is var. speed so I could run slow ,got to keep the heat low as You are removing the paint as low as You can I keep moving around alot .


Have fun, Pete

I beleive you mean Nylox. Exellent for corners and tight spots. However, for large flat areas, 3M makes a 5" striping bad that works best. It looks like a very agressive Scotch Brite pad, and can be found in both the sandpaper and power sander areas at most hardware stores. They make very short work of paint removal, it'll also take off any filler hidden under the paint, but not so fast that you won't find it.

I have tried everything suggested so far plus a few others. I am in the process of stripping my third vehicle using these types of materials. They all have areas that they work better in than anything else. The thing I have used that is by far the best for most areas is a Norton Rapid Strip disc. Been a lot of favorable comments on this list about them- you can find them with a search. They come configured for many types power units. I am using the 4 1/2 inch discs on a grinder. They make a 7" one that is supposed to work even faster. They also make sizes for a "Paint Eater" and drill mounts etc. These strip paint, rust, whatever as fast as new sandpaper but you will go thru many packs of sandpaper for every disc you wear out. The best part is no gouging or heavy scratches- just nice shiny metal.

Chuck

Thanks everybody for the great advice. Can't wait to get at that truck!

Picked up the Norton Rapid strip disc today and tried it out on one of the fenders. Ohh, yeah! Grinds right on through to bare metal, perfect.

*Another Question* Could this paint contain lead? It certainly seems old enough. We don't want to take any chances with this stuff.

When in doubt, a good repirator is a good investment.

I meant respirator!

These have been used in Germany for some time and they are available here in the US. They are really amazing. MBX makes them and they are marketed under various names. http://www.monti-tools.com/e_video.php