Fastest way to strip paint

[72dartjz]

Good evening everyone. I am starting to dismantle the car and getting ready to strip the paint. So I know there are cheaper and more expensive ways but I am looking for the fastest solution. I have looked into the Cooper's stripper the stuff appears to work amazingly. The old tried and true aircraft stripper though the newer formula isn't near as good as the old stuff. Media blasting which I have done in the past on other builds but it took some time but the end result was really clean and ready. I have thought about sanding with one of the drum stripping tools from either harbor freight or Eastwood. Cost isn't a huge concern but more speed for time restraints.
I was throwing around the idea of glass beads or trying the plastic media for blasting as I have a large industrial compressor, sand blaster and the space to accommodate blasting. Just want people's actual real world experience with this as I never stripped laqueur before and from what I am told it's horrible to sand as it just comes to everything fast hence why I was thinking media blasting but I am open to ideas and suggestions. Appreciate all responses and look forward to hearing from you guys.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Professional media blasting. Hire it out. You'll get a good job fast.

 

[72dartjz]

Professional media blasting. Hire it out. You'll get a good job fast.

Problem is there isn't many options around me for full car blasting. Parts they will do but most don't have the facility to do whole cars. Sure I can drive hours away but at what cost vs doing in house. Like I said it's not the money that's a problem it's time. I didn't want to waste 4 weeks stripping if there is a faster way to get good results. I agree drop it off call me when it's done but unfortunately not much in my area.

 

[melcardona]

Good evening everyone. I am starting to dismantle the car and getting ready to strip the paint. So I know there are cheaper and more expensive ways but I am looking for the fastest solution. I have looked into the Cooper's stripper the stuff appears to work amazingly. The old tried and true aircraft stripper though the newer formula isn't near as good as the old stuff. Media blasting which I have done in the past on other builds but it took some time but the end result was really clean and ready. I have thought about sanding with one of the drum stripping tools from either harbor freight or Eastwood. Cost isn't a huge concern but more speed for time restraints.
I was throwing around the idea of glass beads or trying the plastic media for blasting as I have a large industrial compressor, sand blaster and the space to accommodate blasting. Just want people's actual real world experience with this as I never stripped laqueur before and from what I am told it's horrible to sand as it just comes to everything fast hence why I was thinking media blasting but I am open to ideas and suggestions. Appreciate all responses and look forward to hearing from you guys.

very good questions..........most the time i vapor blast the entire rig....but every car is diff....... many ol painters have told me in the past..if the old paint is good still solid.....120 it...epoxy it.....high build if you like.......put on color........well thats what i did this time...i wont out live any of my last 4 builds....incl there paint jobs....

 

[dadsbee]

Razor blade and a DA. Stripped my entire Bee in an afternoon... save the blasting for underneath.

 

[Tanker]

I stripped my Duster using a sharp inch and a half wide chisel. The paint was so brittle it came off in tiny little pieces as fast as I could push the chisel.

 

[dadsbee]

Ditto... OE and two paint jobs later it just shattered off with a razor blade.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Problem is there isn't many options around me for full car blasting. Parts they will do but most don't have the facility to do whole cars. Sure I can drive hours away but at what cost vs doing in house. Like I said it's not the money that's a problem it's time. I didn't want to waste 4 weeks stripping if there is a faster way to get good results. I agree drop it off call me when it's done but unfortunately not much in my area.

Well, you did ask for "the fastest way" without tellin us in the original post you had no access. I'll put it like this. Our local guy can have one completely done in about three hours if it's stripped and on a rotisserie. Doors, fenders, hood, trunk lid and all. Even doing those separately. That's the key though, finding someone who is good and does it professionally.

I used to not care too much about the effects on the environment. But not that I'm older and "a little" less stupid, I wouldn't recommend chemical stripping. Besides, it's just like you say. The government has deballed all the good stuff anyway. Which leaves the methods @dadsbee discussed. It works. It's a bit more effort, but it works.

 

[matthon]

sanding with one of the drum stripping tools from either harbor freight

I used this method, worked very well.
Depends on condition of the car.

Mine was sanded, primer, sanded, DA scratch marks all over, primered, primered, bondo, pitted rust, original paint.
The DA wouldn't scratch the surface.

 

[Syleng1]

Media blast works well. This is my 66’ on the chicken turner.
But- just because a person offers the service- does not mean they do it right.
Over heating and stretching the metal because the operator does not get thin metal is highly susceptible to damage from the pressure will cause you more headaches than hand Sanding yourself.

Go buy a flat roller sander like from harbor freight and sand as often as you can. Inside the car or underneath - by the time you get to that point- you may want to enter muscle building contest or pass it off by then to a blaster. There are plenty of mobile blasters around you just need to ask (car shows and meets) and marketplace in fake book has plenty.

I’m in the middle of a full sized van hand sanding right now (2 coats of bad paint but metal is clean) and my sand blaster pictured in the photo above closed his shop due to health reasons.
I hate it. Slow as heck and I cannot stay focused because it is so boring.
Just an FYI
Syleng1

 

[72dartjz]

Razor blade and a DA. Stripped my entire Bee in an afternoon... save the blasting for underneath.
View attachment 1716491195View attachment 1716491196

I'm going to give this a try and see how it comes off. Nothing to loose so thanks for the tip. Really appreciate it

 

[72dartjz]

I stripped my Duster using a sharp inch and a half wide chisel. The paint was so brittle it came off in tiny little pieces as fast as I could push the chisel.

View attachment 1716491213

Seems to be a common theme you don't hear to much about is this razor/chisel trick to just scrap it right off. Very cool and going to give this a try

 

[72dartjz]

Well, you did ask for "the fastest way" without tellin us in the original post you had no access. I'll put it like this. Our local guy can have one completely done in about three hours if it's stripped and on a rotisserie. Doors, fenders, hood, trunk lid and all. Even doing those separately. That's the key though, finding someone who is good and does it professionally.

I used to not care too much about the effects on the environment. But not that I'm older and "a little" less stupid, I wouldn't recommend chemical stripping. Besides, it's just like you say. The government has deballed all the good stuff anyway. Which leaves the methods @dadsbee discussed. It works. It's a bit more effort, but it works.

I apologize I did leave that out about no one near me offering full blasting services. I'm not a fan of the chemical strippers anymore either I was burned by my far share many years ago and it didn't matter if you wore gloves or not as the vapors burned right thru.

 

[72dartjz]

View attachment 1716491236Media blast works well. This is my 66’ on the chicken turner.
But- just because a person offers the service- does not mean they do it right.
Over heating and stretching the metal because the operator does not get thin metal is highly susceptible to damage from the pressure will cause you more headaches than hand Sanding yourself.

Go buy a flat roller sander like from harbor freight and sand as often as you can. Inside the car or underneath - by the time you get to that point- you may want to enter muscle building contest or pass it off by then to a blaster. There are plenty of mobile blasters around you just need to ask (car shows and meets) and marketplace in fake book has plenty.

I’m in the middle of a full sized van hand sanding right now (2 coats of bad paint but metal is clean) and my sand blaster pictured in the photo above closed his shop due to health reasons.
I hate it. Slow as heck and I cannot stay focused because it is so boring.
Just an FYI
Syleng1

Yeah I was scared of it taking awhile on the drum sander but if it works it works. I'm going to try the razor trick this week when I'm at the shop and see if it scrapes or not. If not then I will either drum sand it or just go real slow and try some different medias and see. I know about heating it up as I have done a few restos before but they were newer base coat clear coat painted cars. It wasn't to bad blasting and it made short work of it in spots I needed it.

 

[1MeanA]

I like these 3m discs. Others will say 36 grit on rotary. I used a couple rounds of paint stripper with a scraper then the 3M disc to finish it. If you have a big compressor you could do the hard to reach areas with #7 sand or crushed glass (stores aren't allowed to sell sand around here unless you want to risk general purpose play sand).

 

[HPP]

I've seen posts about starting the stripping with a 36 grit disc. Man, using something that course would scare the crap outta me. I have four repaints and four primer coats on my car and something that course still sounds intimidating. Using 80 grit, I can strip by layer to see what's under each coat. I prefer this because it seems each coat of paint had damage repairs and I can address them as I go down layers. It may take me a bit longer than starting with 36, but I also won't be damaging any metal in those high spots that pop up on occasion.

 

[JDMopar]

I've stripped 4 cars to bare metal, so here's how I go about it. I have learned on each one and gotten better at it every time. Never, EVER media blast outer body panels....NEVER. It will warp the crap out of them. The last one I did was a 71 Challenger. I bought some disc's similar to the one in post 15 above. The car had original paint + 2 repaints. It took one disc per panel, and it went quickly. After getting it down to bare metal, I DA'd them with 80 grit to smooth them out, and primed them with Epoxy primer. After all outer panels were stripped and primed, I took the shell of the car to a media blaster and he stripped the door jambs, engine compartment and trunk to bare metal. It takes several hours to get sand out of the bottoms of the quarters and out of the frame rails....and you will never get it all.

I used Aircraft stripper on cars prior. It worked well, but is messy and stinky as hell. If you get it on your skin, it burns like you stuck your arm to the surface of the sun! I am working on a 65 Barracuda right now, so I bought one of the drum sanders from Harbor Freight. So far, I've stripped the left front fender. It took 10 minutes from 3 coats of paint to bare metal. My plan is the same as the Challenger. Strip the outer panels, prime them with epoxy and then take the shell to the blaster dude and get the engine compartment, trunk, door jambs and floor pans done. At that point, I will quote my friend Kenneth Case when the nasty part of a job was done and rebuilding began. He always smiles and says "We got her goin our way now!"

Hope this helps some.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

I usually paint strip the outside sheet metal with paint srripper. The cheap stuff from Lowes. Brush 2 foot areas in one direction then let sit. scrape it with a new razor scraper . Change blade frequently or you'll get deep scratches. After most of the paint is removed to primer I brush on a heavy coat in areas and steel wool. then wash with cheap thinner

I blast the rockers with crushed glass, NOT SAND or ALUMINUM OXIDE , The engine compartment, Chassis where desired, and inside the trunk. and areas I want to strip, but never blast the outside or inside of the roof, quarters or the body parts. They warp very easy. The Crushed glass gives the smoothest finish with less heat produced.

When done you will see anywhere the car had the original sheet metal groundo on. . The car pictured below was all original paint and still had grinder marks before paint.

I had cars that sat that sat for years in trailers that had the outside paint stripped the only rusted where the were sanded . or touched with bare hands.
I found this method to be a much cleaner job and less primer to cover all the feather edged paint spots. Crisper lines and much less material to cover all the sanding bumps and heat warps. This car the rockers were blasted after it twas paint stripped. to clean the rockers and lower seam. and behind the bumper. Some are totally stripped and the complete body is done the same way. When done this way you see what you actually are starting with. anyy previuos repairs are evident

 

[MobileCustoms]

have you done a google search in your area for "mobile dustless media blasting"? Looks like you live near Buffalo, NY. There's gotta be people offering it around there, I would think.

 

[1MeanA]

I definitely agree that it takes a number of different methods to strip a car. I used crushed glass on the lower portions and stripper/stripping pads on the rest.

 

[Heywodja]

What about one of these?