what have I gotten myself into...

[Jims50chrysler]

I have stripped cars before and don't remember it being so much work...put the stripper on wait for it to do its thing...scrape with a puddy knife then repeat..now run the dual action sander over it to remove anything that is left, man this is taking longer than expected but it has to be done I had some funkey things happening under the paint (rust) and I don't want to see it come out in the new paint.

on the bright side I got time on my side and not much cash....kinda the perfect job even though it sucks

Jim

[BobT-47P15]

Stripper On.......Stripper Off. Kind of like the Karate Kid. Only more work.

Looks like progress is being made.

[dezeldoc]

The new "environmentally friendly" stripper isn't worth a hill o' beans! put it on real thick and keep it out of the sun but keep the metal warm and it will soften up, it won't bubble up and fall off like the old stuff used to.

[Jims50chrysler]

I tried a couple different kinds of stripper the one was thinner than the other the thick stuff did not go as far but would cling to a vertical surface the thin stuff you could hear tearing up the old paint from the other side of the garage.

Speaking of environmentally friendly I found out that Brasso has been blacklisted and will be off the market by next year....home depot has already stopped stalking it as part of the we are greener than you campaign.

Jim

[dezeldoc]

Yep the greenies will kill everything eventually!

[BobT-47P15]

I guess those people never use these products they're killling off.

[randroid]

Gents,

I'm in the same position as Jims50; I've got a lot of coats of paint to remove from a large surface area and it has had me pondering the Zen of why we do this in the first place. We want to put an old hunk of iron back on the road and we take pride in doing whatever we can by ourselves. I have never, nor have I ever heard anyone else, criticize another person for having the paint stripped by someone else and\or having the paint done by someone else. There are some of us, though, who have some bug up our collective butt that drives us to do everything within our means to do whatever we can by ourselves. Except for the actual machining of the engine in my '48 P-15 I have done everything by myself, and now I want to finish it off by giving her the beauty she wore as a child. Okay, the Zen part is tied in there somewhere, but I have only so many years left to complete this job and still drive it for a while so I'm looking at paint removers with a vengeance.

What I've found is aircraft stripper at $40\gallon is more cost-effective than the really stinky flammable stuff sold at Wally World for $18\gallon. Using the same care with the expensive stuff as you would with cheapo-cheapo (Quick trivia question; Who used that as their record label?) remover and it works so much faster and thoroughly that you'll never look back. Keep it out of the direct sun, let it do all the work, and go for it.

I generally wear thick household gloves when using it because any of them will burn a hole in your arm if you let them. A very course stainless 'Brillo Pad' removes what a scraper can't reach and the aircraft remover is water soluble so hit it with the scrubby and soapy water and you're good to go. These are general statements because this is already too wordy but the aircraft stuff is well worth the investment.

-Randy

(I also got a new full-face shield for the job.)

[Don Coatney]

When I lived in Buffalo the best strippers could be found across the Peace Bridge in Canada:cool:

[Plymouthy Adams]

But Don..did you try to "redress" these girls?

[P-12 Tommy]

Gents,

I'm in the same position as Jims50; I've got a lot of coats of paint to remove from a large surface area and it has had me pondering the Zen of why we do this in the first place. We want to put an old hunk of iron back on the road and we take pride in doing whatever we can by ourselves. I have never, nor have I ever heard anyone else, criticize another person for having the paint stripped by someone else and\or having the paint done by someone else. There are some of us, though, who have some bug up our collective butt that drives us to do everything within our means to do whatever we can by ourselves. Except for the actual machining of the engine in my '48 P-15 I have done everything by myself, and now I want to finish it off by giving her the beauty she wore as a child. Okay, the Zen part is tied in there somewhere, but I have only so many years left to complete this job and still drive it for a while so I'm looking at paint removers with a vengeance.

What I've found is aircraft stripper at $40\gallon is more cost-effective than the really stinky flammable stuff sold at Wally World for $18\gallon. Using the same care with the expensive stuff as you would with cheapo-cheapo (Quick trivia question; Who used that as their record label?) remover and it works so much faster and thoroughly that you'll never look back. Keep it out of the direct sun, let it do all the work, and go for it.

I generally wear thick household gloves when using it because any of them will burn a hole in your arm if you let them. A very course stainless 'Brillo Pad' removes what a scraper can't reach and the aircraft remover is water soluble so hit it with the scrubby and soapy water and you're good to go. These are general statements because this is already too wordy but the aircraft stuff is well worth the investment.

-Randy

(I also got a new full-face shield for the job.)

Randy, you hit the nail on the head! When I was in the Air Force in the early 70's as a jet mechanic, we used that real thick crap to strip the paint off the engine stands. Worked wonders.

[Jims50chrysler]

I asked the guy at the counter what the differnce was between the aircraft stripper and the other stuff on the shelf and he said you would use the aircraft stripper on aluminum? so I saved $20.00 on buying the other stuff..I am not dissapointed with the performance, I think no matter what stripper you use it is still a tedious task....unless they are Don's strippers.

I will post the names later today of the products that I am using.

Jim

[greg g]

I used a product called BIX from Home Despot. There are two kinds the brush on and the spray on. I used the spray on and it worked very well. Comes with hand spray bottle, you apply it let is sit and then scrape if off. The funny thing is if you agitate it and break the surface it stops working.

Instead of scraping, go to your local restaurant supply house. Ask them for what is called a kurly kate. They are a ball of stainless steel strands. Looks like steel wool on steroids. When in the curvey places they work pretty well and won't leave a gouge in the metal if you get a bit over enthusiastic.

[Bingster]

What about residue in cracks and stuff affecting paint later on? I've heard some people say to sand it all off. Frankly, I'm not sure which way to go except my car is in somebody's garage and sanding would be a dust problem as oppossed to stripping.

[randroid]

Bingster,

In the places where I've gotten it down to bare metal there are obvious sander swirls. Since they are beneath the original primer they must be factory, so sanding is certainly an option. I'd try some sanding but I can't find a pad to fit my polisher\grinder. It would be faster but I'm also afraid of gouging holes in the metal while learning how to do it.

-Randy

[dezeldoc]

What ever you do make sure you don't leave any paint on that has had stripper on it as it will react with the primer and paint when you go to recoat it. any body seams or what not fold the sandpaper in half and stuff it into the crack and sand it out. when i strip a car i use 2-3 layers of masking tape and paper on the areas that i don't want to strip, such as the grated cowl vent, door, hood, deck lid, drip rails and body seams basically any thing that is going to be a pain to get the stripper in or out of, sanding these spots is much eaiser! if i don't want to strip the door jambs i will tape over the gap(as mentioned above) and leave a 1/2" of paint on each side of it then sand it off with a DA. also sand the whole car with a DA when you are done to give the primer some tooth to bite into.

[knighthawk]

I use a Scotch pad in a cut off tool,(die grinder doesn't have enough power , and is too fast ), takes it off almost as fast as you can move it without burning or gouging it.

[norrism1]

When I lived in Buffalo the best strippers could be found across the Peace Bridge in Canada:cool:

Sundowners, been there and done that!!

[Frank Elder]

I asked the guy at the counter what the differnce was between the aircraft stripper and the other stuff on the shelf and he said you would use the aircraft stripper on aluminum? so I saved $20.00 on buying the other stuff..I am not dissapointed with the performance, I think no matter what stripper you use it is still a tedious task....unless they are Don's strippers.

I will post the names later today of the products that I am using.

Jim

Jim as an ex-naval aircraft mechanic I can tell you that A/C stripper is the real deal, it doesn't know or care that the metal isn't on an aircraft.

Paint is paint and this stuff will take it down to parade rest!

Rest assured that aluminum or steel, it will get the job done quicker and better than auto stripper, although I really would like to see an auto stripper:eek:

[dezeldoc]

although I really would like to see an auto stripper:eek:

Isn't that one of those things you always get in your e-mail along with the invite for the little blue pill!

[Frank Elder]

Comes with a stiff neck if you don't swallar proper:rolleyes:

[Jims50chrysler]

Here are the paint strippers that I am using

Jim

[Frank Elder]

Can't read anything on these pics, If it doesn't say aircraft stripper it is diluted:eek: