The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Too Much Paint!!!

Hello All,

I want to start some body work on my 63 Short/Step and I was hoping for some great (as always) advice. My truck must have like 10 coats of old paint on it!! It's so thick I can actually pull chips off it off with my fingernails. I think the past owners just added more crappy paint again and again.

I'm limited at this point in my life on tools and gadgets. The only real useful tools I have right now are grinders with wire wheels. I've been looking for a nice shop compressor and some good air tools but to get started, this is what I've got. Is it ok to go after the body with a wire wheel or are they're tricks to getting this old paint off? I'll start sanding later but right now, I have to get most of this crappy paint off. I know you all have some tricks for me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

Vic---California

Be sure to give it a good bath afterward if you use a chemical stripper. Any stripper left in the cracks will not be friendly to any fillers and/or coatings you put back on.

Thanks guys!! I knew I could count on you.

Vic

Whenever using chemical stripper, mask off all "gaps" this will eliminate the mess of having to cleanup inside doors and fenders ect!

I use paint remover and razor blades in a holder. Have done my last few cars this way. Pick up a pack of razer blades from HFT and a gallon or remover and go to town.

Will "Aircraft Remover" get body filler too, or is that the place for something mechanical? I know I've got a few places with filler on them already. Thanks,
Scott

It will loosen/lift it up along the edges. You'll definitly will have to re-work the body filler. The other option is to mask off any areas that have body filler.

I had four layers to deal with and found the chem strip and razor with an empty paint can to dump the strips that come off worked well to get it down to two layers.
I rarely had it lift three but that was ok I wanted to take the original layers off with the grinder using 36 and 60 to take off 80% or so and then 80 to clean it up and ready it for primer prep. If you have 10 layers be prepared to have a few goes at it.
I wonder if preheating the panel with say a heating blanket would help the chem action work through more layers of paint.
I tried covering it up with a saran wrap but didn't see much difference but if applied fairly thick and covered it might work deeper.
I'll be watching to see what your experience is as my bed is coming up... but with all that said I'm starting to think that for time and labor a media blaster is my eventual answer (I think I can borrow a friends)
Have fun which ever way you choose.

I believe that you will find the chemical strippers messy and difficult to clean up after.

I have been EXTREMELY pleased with the poly carbide discs on a 4.5" angle grinder. Just wear a good mask to protect your lungs and eye protection. 3M makes one called a Sandblaster and Harbor Freight has their version item# 94017 is 4.5" and 94016 is 4". I would not bother with the ones that go on a drill because the drill speed is too slow. I'd say each disc will strip 40 square feet of sheet metal as long as you don't catch it on rough edges too much.

It's like you are ERASING the paint, and they are very gentle on the metal.

The 3M version is sold at Walmart stores - it's purple. Get the one for a grinder, not a drill.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...1TquZFIO4twfv-vTQBg&ved=0CHgQ8wIwAQ#

Harbor Freight sells their version for $5.

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-half-inch-nylon-abrasive-wheel-94017.html

My results:

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt269/fastboatman29212/65%20Chevy%20C10/DSCN0746.jpg

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt269/fastboatman29212/65%20Chevy%20C10/DSCN0758.jpg

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt269/fastboatman29212/65%20Chevy%20C10/DSCN0753.jpg

Lugnutz,how long does a wheel last ? How much can a guy get done with one disc ?


Tim

I stripped the outside of one of my stepside fenders down to bare metal in 75 minutes, so i think it works very efficiently.

I think you can get 30 - 40 square feet from each wheel. That is - if you work on smooth panel areas and keep away from sharp edges that might chip off bits of the abrasive wheel surface. At first I used the wheel at a 45 degree angle but soon learned that it lasts longer with more even wear if used at 10 - 15 degrees. Don't get me wrong, I do use it right up to the edges of all surfaces - keeping in mind which direction the grinder is rotating. Of course, tight areas like inside corners can't be reached and you will need to use chemicals or hand sand there.

In my opinion, it is by far the easiest way to strip paint and is very economical. If you already have a grinder, the investment is very small to just give it a try.

Sand/glass beading is the way to go. It does cost a little but is well worth it. It gets all the paint and rust off and also gets in the cracks. Any stripper or remover is WAY to much work for half the result!! U are only kidding yourself doing it by hand.

I have used every method of paint removal discussed thus far and IMO they all have their place.

When I stripped the stepside bed on my '65 I used Norton Rapid Strip Discs on my 4-1/2" angle grinder. They are available at Home Depot. I used 10 discs and as I recall they were about $9 each.

Like every other paint removal method it is a dirty job so plan on doing the work outside! I used a respirator and a full face shield and was covered with filth.... just sayin.

See post #37 of my build thread for a photo: http://talk.classicparts.com/showthread.php?t=13928&page=3

I did have to use my media-blaster though on the steps and the tailgate due to rust pits. The strip discs won't get into the rust pits. As a matter of fact pits and sharp edges shred the strip discs.

See post #41 of my build thread for a photo: http://talk.classicparts.com/showthread.php?t=13928&page=3

IMO the best method is media blasting (unless you are dealing with thin fragile components), it removes the paint, rust and body filler and leaves a good surface texture for the primer to adhere to.

Hope this helps.

John

I agree that media blasting is great. As for me, I have no place to do it. So, I do what I can myself, and the rest will get farmed out to people who media blast. In the end I hope to save myself some money because I did MOST, but not all, of the work to strip the metal clean.

Hot Rod John, I'm curious if there is much difference time wise between the sanding disks and media getting down to bare metal.
6 of 1 - 1/2 a dozen of the other or what?

It depends on the quality of the equipment you are using. I have an 80 lb capacity pressuried media blaster I use with my shop compressor. The Norton strip discs are quicker.

Back when I sandblasted my Model A I rented a commercial style blaster. Basically a v-8 engine, 4 cylinders as a compressor, 4 as the motor to drive the compressor. It stripped quicker than the Norton discs.

Thanks hot rod that is a good comparison. My friend has a heavy duty blaster, but I think I'll try the disks out, they will be safer on the metal and then use a smaller blaster to clean up the tight spots disks won't reach.