aircraft stripper is great stuff, but it is very caustic, and the chemicals used in it have to be disposed of properly. this is nasty stuff. i prefer to mechanically strip with a DA sander and 80 grit sandpaper, then switch to 180 grit to smooth the metal, then primer it, smaller parts i use a media blaster, however if you want to strip it chemically theres some precautions you should follow to avoid injuries to yourself or problems with your bodywork and paint later
to begin with, this stuff is straight up nasty. it will eat plastics, fiberglass, body filler, rubber, and your skin, so cover up your hands with more than just latex gloves, as it will eat those in a flash. get some cheap chemical resistant gloves that you can throw away. wear a face shield or at the very least safety goggles, avoid safety glasses as this stuff can splash underneath and get into your eyes. however if safety glasses are all you have they are better than nothing, (USE THEM).
also aircraft stripper can be left behind in small rust pits in the body sheetmetal when stripping the car body. sometimes like when you have rust pits under chrome trim and such. if the stripper is not thoroughly neutralized, and removed from these pitted areas, within weeks or months after your new paint job is on, the paint will start to bubble off in these areas, if you didnt remove or neutralize all the stripper. if you apply stripper in an area on the body you thought was smooth metal, and you come across a previous body filler repair, dont try to "save it" remove all the filler as the stripper has now contaminated it, this area will bubble up under new paint if you try to save the old filler repair.
after you have clean stripped a panel use lots of soapy water and a scrub brush to scrub and flush all the excess stripper from the panel, then use a mixture of baking soda and water to scrub the panel to neutralize what stripper the soap and water missed, the baking soda is key to this step. then rinse the panel with water again and thoroughly dry. at this time prime the panel quickly to prevent flash rust from starting.
i use this stuff as an aircraft structural mechanic quite often. i actually hate it. if left on aluminum this stuff will eventually eat it. this is why we use all the precautions. plus if any dry stripper is left behind it will over time cause new paint to bubble as it reacts with it. we dont strip paint completely off of our aircraft by sanding as the skins are anodized under the primer, and we dont want this coating damaged. only time we use a sander on our aircraft is when we do a scuff and repaint where the paint isnt completely removed prior to repainting. all the hazards and issues with aircraft stripper is probably why i prefer to sand strip to bare metal the old paint on any car body im redoing.
as far as using the chemical stripper the other posts probably have that covered, a big box of steel wool on a steel car body also works along with plastic scrapers for getting the old paint off.
hope this helps
matt
