I would really like to strip my car down to the bare metal and start over from there.... whats the best way of going about this... (im a beginner at everything) i just dont want to mess anything up.... its a 50 shoebox and i would like it to look like this, before i chop and paint it... itll need ALOT of work to look this clean, but thats what i want...
The BEST way....pay someone to do it! It a dirty, nasty messy job. Lots of options, media blasting, paint stripper, DAing, hand sanding, my current fav...paint stripper discs on a 4 1/2" grinder, even heard of guys using a single edge razor ro do a whole car. How much time you got? Can you make a mess where you are doing it? Dusty mess, or gooey mess? Consider your limitations before choosing a method!
I've gone the way of the 41/2" grinder with the stripping discs from the Depot. It truly is messy, and make some really fine dust, so make sure you wear a mask. And block out some time, because it isn't quick, but it is the best metal finish that my "piss hands" have ever produced.
what about "the dip"? i dont know alot about the stuff other than ive heard acouple people do it and we used it at work to strip powdercoat off a huge order of impliment stuff. worked great on that, but does it take care of rust?
Ive used paint stripper and Air Craft stripper wasnt bad, I believe Zip Strip was better and didn't NEARLY smell as bad. I just did the back half of my 51 Merc with 4 1/2" and while it was somewhat fast (sometimes the chemicals take more than one shot to get to clean metal) my hands were trembling for 45 minutes after I was done. Sucked.
9" 80 grit pads on a variable speed buffer/grinder. Did a wagon in about 8 hours. To get to the point of the example though, you're gonna spend some hand time with finer grits.
was the trembling a chemical induced reaction? some of this stuff does weird shit reaction wise and you really dont know what it is doin to ones body till it does it..
Haha, no I think I phrased that wrong. It was after stripping using the grinder. From the grinder vibrations for such a prolonged period of time. That and I smoked two joints before I stripped my car, and then I smoked two more!
haha! oaky doky! i try and read all the directions at least the ones i can understand , i have never seen one that said "may cause hands to tremble" thanks for clearing up the cause and effect and possible cure!
If it's rusty, I'd sandblast the rust spots first. No amount of sanding is going to clean out the rust. Then for the paint I like to use the 9" disks on the big whirlybird grinder, looks like a giant DA but it just spins, not sure what they're called. We always called it the "annihilator". Sandblasting is great on rusty stuff but the sand gets everywhere, to blast a whole car is really messy and it's easy to warp the sheetmetal if you're not careful. A full body dip is expensive and the car has to be 100% dismantled, I'd only do that as a last resort on something that's rusty on both sides of each panel. Regular paint stripper is messy too and you'll end up sanding and grinding afterwards anyway so I prefer to just sand it all off. Unionville, I'm amazed you could get any work done after burning through a couple of J's. Unless you consider "work" to be sitting on the couch watching cartoons and eating Cheetos.
This seem's like my best option so far guys... I have no sandblaster ( it doesnt look like there is rust nut hell its white ya never know....) I just wanna do something to her that will get me started, and i wanna do it right, once i get it down to metal what do i put on it to keep from rusting (primer ??) oh p.s. here is a pic of her right now.. P.s.s. that pic makes the paint look good..... I mean it doesnt look bad .. but it doesnt look good either....
Friend of mine had his 54' Ford P/U dripped. It was a show truck. He ended up trading for an old Porsche 912 because they had not neutralized all the drip. The paint was bubbling in critical areas so he got rid of the truck. I wanted to strip my truck. My parents, who were retired, would slather on the paint remover and go to town with razor blades. Funny, they said it was relaxing.........
Epoxy primer. PPG makes several different colors. Any body work can then be done. If you're gonna let it stay as the original picture, clear coat it if it doesn't need body work.
I use a gear driven DA with an 8" pad & 80 grit. relatively slow action on the pad, just sort of shaves away at the paint & the dust for the most part falls straight down to the floor around the car. High speed or straight rotarry action can glaze plug your paper too fast & just send all the shit into the air. when sanding paint, high speed doesn't always mean you're gonna get the job done faster. Nice steady controlled cutting is what you want, use "sharp" paper, don't be afraid to change out the paper when it's loaded or lost it's cutting ability, sanding with loaded or dull paper is wasted time. And after a complete down to metal car that pad is going to be junk, it aint gonna be flat no more & it will probably have some raggedy edges. wear a decent mask, not one of those white paper "dust masks" with the yellow rubber band, those are junk. and you also don't need the weight & restriction of a heavy vapor cartidge mask either, for sanding look for something like this with the particulate pancake filters, much lighter & nicer to wear so you will actually wear it & it is 100% effective for keeping the crap out of your lungs.
Here's how I started to strip my Model A... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246947&highlight=modified+murray Hope that helps.
If it's not rusty soda blasting is the only way to go, I do this for a living at A to Z Soda Blasting out here in California. We've had guys drive their cars in and at the end of the day they drive it home looking like brand new stamped sheetmetal. All you have to do is wash down the mess with water and watch it dissolve. Plus the bare metal won't flash rust for around 60 days afterwards so if your not in a hurry you have time to get funds or final body work.
I use Captain Lee's stripper. I follow this with a lacquer thinner clean up and then D A with 80 grit. If the car is going to sit for a while, I etch the entire car until I am ready to prime.
I'd recommend A Strip Center over on Highland Dr. I think the guy's name is Ron. If you sit down and talk with him, he'll cut you a deal. I got a car blasted there two years ago for next to nothing. They do great work. Here's the info: A Strip Center [SIZE=-1]2901 S Highland Dr # 9A Las Vegas, NV 89109 (702) 525-0540[/SIZE]
sooo I can just drive my car to a soda blasting place and they will do it no problem ?? then wash the mess off with water, before i go get bodywork done ? what does this normally cost ?
Like someone else said above...AIRCRAFT STRIPPER. I work at a paint store, and recently watched a body man use this. It works really good. Also you need to put Epoxy over the bare metal to keep it from rusting. The epoxy is self etching primer, that will bight into the bare metal, where other primers want. Remember Epoxy Primer is a non sanding primer. You can go with PPG DP expoxy, or if there is a place that offers the brand SHOPLINE. they have their own Epoxy primers also, and may save you some money!
Sorry, but epoxy is not self etching. It needs at least 400 grit for bit. Self etching primer has acid in it to etch the surface. This acid can have bad consequences with fillers. Also you can sand epoxy primer just fine, you just have to wait a couple of days for it to cure. I wouldn't use it for the sanding primer, use 2K there, but if you get nibs, runs, dry spray you can sand it so it's unseen on the topcoat.
What do you guys think about using this stuff... Gibbs Brand penetrant http://www.roadsters.com/gibbs/#how
Gibbs doesn't strip, it only protects and it is THE BEST in my opinion for protecting against rust on raw metal, if you're going to keep it that way for awhile. Fantastic stuff! It's expensive, but if you buy it in large quantities (which you need for a whole car that's going to be raw) then it pays off. Also works on Aluminum parts too. Just my .02...
Don't smoke while you are using chemical strippers. The by-products from combustion are fuckin scary . And wear a GOOD mask. Some people will pay $5k for paint but not a ton or two for proper protection.
my favorite is the paint stripper wheels on a 4 1/2" grinder. fast on original paint, but if you got layers itll take some time. i ususally get one panel per wheel. shich isnt too bad. i hate liquid stripper. its pretty bad for you too.
The Jalopy Journal
