How did you strip the paint off your car?

[blue_leaf]

the title explains it

And please state any reasons of why you decided to go down that path.

[datto_240z]

Paint stripper!

I had to go right back to bare metal so it was the logical choise! I then used a random orbital sander to get rid of what the paint stripper didnt!

You may want to add bead/sand blast to that list too

[BD240Z]

I'm going to use a combination of paint stripper and media blasting on my latest project.

I'll use paint stripper on the large flat panels of the exterior body, I'll then use an orbital sander to get those panels to complete bare metal. I'll avoid seams, nooks, crannys, etc. where the stripper can hide.

I'll use the media blasting for everywhere else. I hope doing it this way will minimize any potential excess heat caused by blasting.

Good luck with your cars!

[AWC]

I used chemical stripper to get the majority of it off. Then I went back over the areas where patches of paint remained with a 3M Clean & Strip disc on my drill. Those work pretty good. Make sure you get ones with the metal arbor; I've recently picked some up that have a plastic arbor that breaks right off after one second of use (frustrating). Also, a wire wheel works well to remove old bondo.

[jackboxxx]

for really bad old paint

We use a product called: "Strip it dry" at the shop, works pretty fast, it comes out of the can in a jelly form and is pretty easy to apply, using some cheap paint brushes. its super strong so DONT get it on your bare skin...you will feel it burning within a few seconds..

Ive seen it eat through tennis shoes...so pay attn when applying it.

the key to using this stuff is preparing the area... like Bruce said avoid those nooks and crannies, if you miss cleaning up a little of that stuff, it could really mess up your paint job...we just Mask off the outside edges of whatever we are stripping, so we have a buffer zone so to speak, between the stripper and where we dont want it to go. once applied, let it do its thing for 30 minutes or so, then come back with a soft scraper like a "bondo" spatula, and a cardboard box, and scrape it off...into the box for easy disposal. after cleaning it off the work area, then go over the area with your

desired abrasives, then clean surface again with a final cleaner, (prep solvent of some sort) or alcohol wipes, then etch prime the area.

[theianmonster]

razor blade.

[Z Kid]

I got my shell dipped in a non acidic (basically I think it was like a big drum of brake fluid but not oily). There is no damage to the underlying metal, and the residue left behind will dry to a white powder that can just be blown off the car. It means that a few nooks and crannies will be hard to get paint back into, but overall it means that I know exactly what the base car is like. I think there are some pictures in my gallery of it how it came back.

Chris

[Zak's Z]

I have 3 layers of color on my '72, and I want to go to bare metal before I repaint. I tried rattle can paint stripper - DID NOTHING, I tried the 3M disc, it works well, but way too slow. I tried the wire wheel, same thing.

I got POR-STRIP and tried that. It worked great on the first layer. The paint flaked right off after 2 coats. I still have to go re-apply to the other layers, but I expext it to work on them too.

This is a pic of the door about 8 minutes after I sprayed 2 wet coats on.

[Nota280]

After many hours of chipping out the tar mats inside and taking a propane torch to the undercoating, I decided enough is enough. My Z was loaded on a trailer and taken to American Stripping in Sacramento. They specialize in media stripping all types of cars.

It may have cost $1000.00 but was worth every penny. They take pride in their work and do it right.

http://www.americanstrippingsacramento.com/home/

[a7dz]

John;

First question again as always is why are you stripping the paint? How much time and money are you looking at putting into this project. What are you building? A driver, a show car someplace in the middle. Is the car solid, what kind of rust repair needs to be done. Is the paint on it now sound, checked, or cracked?

Stripping the paint off is not always the best answer. If you remove it by using a DA sander you can see where the little damaged spots are that will need further attention later. Another plus is you get some of the lows to fill as you sand the paint off. You then can either leave the solid paint seal it and paint over it or continue to remove the rest of the paint after noting the lows and highs.

By the way the paint on mine had all the above listed conditions some place on it. Oh yeah i am just building a daily driver.

[c david]

http://homepage.mac.com/cdavidwilder/iMovieTheater6.html

cheers

cd

[beandip]

I dident strip. I used a DA and sanded and prepped . Some places needed to go to bare metal but not the whole car . If you can get down to good paint. There is no need to strip. This will save a hell of a lot of work. Gary