The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Paint and rust removal

I opted for a hands-on approach to paint and rust removal. This may be old news but one thing I discovered works incredibly well. Black and Decker makes a composite fiber disc with a loosely woven resin and fiber abrasive about 3/4 inch thick which attaches to your typical 4 1/2 inch 10,000 RPM hand grinder. It flies through paint. Rust is obviously a little slower but the metal is left shiny and not "abused" like sandpaper or a grinder would do. A little pricey at $9 each but I can do a fender both sides with one pad.

I've been singing the praises of these things ever since I used my first one. Not very good on deep rust but they tear through paint and don't remove any metal.

Is this what you are referring to? What grit(s) do you recommend for original paint removal (minimal rust)?

Thanks, Tim

Sorry. I was mistaken about the brand. I found them at Lowes Building Products. In the tool dept. The package is red and brown Gator Grit Brand Silicone Carbide Paint and Rust Remover No. 9483. I also tried the aluminum oxide discs but the sparks fly and it cuts into the sheet metal. Hope that helps.

Hey Dan, thanks for the info I'm going to have to go to Lowes and try one. I have some Battleship gray in my cab and on the doors that is killing me trying to get it off. Its something that was sprayed over the original and just gums up any thing I try to take it off with. I sure hope this does the trick, I wish I knew what kind of paint it was so I know what not to spray back on it.

Try Norton Rapid Strip made to fit right angle grinders. The 7" diameter size was $12 at the local hardware store. They remove paint quickly and leave the metal shiny with minimal scratching. If I can do one fender with this pad, it is a whole bunch cheaper than taking stuff to the media blaster.

3M has had these for years. They work really well for paint stripping and rust removal
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...LECIE20SOG5_nid=GS7VPDJV3FbeQ77PFG0DBGgl
You should be able to find them at your FLAPS.

Wally,
I was going to post the same thing. 3M has some of the best products.

Thanks

Dennis

Sorry about digging up dead threads...

How do you think this compares to a steel wire wheel? My angle grinder is the dewalt 18v cordless with about 6500 rpm. Would you suggest a corded grinder? I have both paint and rust to remove.

There are probably places you will need the wire wheel. The 3M product described is vastly superior in the places you can use it- which is almost everywhere. You will be amazed at how well it works and the way it leaves the metal. No experience with the cordless grinders.
Chuck

Oh ok, I did not see the link to the product before. Yes we have them at work and I hear great things about them. I guess when the time comes I will try several different products like the ones mentioned in this thread.

Thanks!

Switching to a corded grinder, will be like night and day. Cordless is more convenient, but the plain old grinder has much higher rpms, and way more power. I have a 4" Makita that I bought years and years ago, I routinely run it until its so hot its not comfortable to hold, then let it cool off. Its amazing how long they last, if you just check the brushes now and again. You can always get s sweet deal buying at a garage sale too, just buy something that's a "good" brand, and that you can get parts (brushes) for.

[quote=Rebel I have some Battleship gray in my cab and on the doors that is killing me trying to get it off. Its something that was sprayed over the original and just gums up any thing I try to take it off with. [/quote]

I ran into a similar situation and found that using a chemical stripper and a razor blade worked great removing the outer layer of 'gummy' paint leaving the original paint or even down to primer still to grind off, which was fine as they didn't gum up my paper. I used 36 grit on my angle grinder to remove most of the original paint and then dropped to 80 grit from the primer down to metal.

good luck with the project