Best method to strip paint?

destrux

destrux

Active Member
May 19, 2010
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PA
I had to strip my bumpers... I tried paint stripper, it was expensive, stinky, and sucked for auto paint. I ended up sanding them. A wet sanding sponge worked well with all the odd corners and curves. Still sucked and took hours and hours.
 
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supramk3speed

New Member
Dec 4, 2008
305
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Texas
I used 80 grit for most of the car and then 40 grit for the bottom sections of the doors and fenders because they were coated with an anti chip coating . I used a variable speed 7inch Polisher, buffer, sander. It has a much larger surface area, a D/A will take forever to strip with. Be careful not to overheat the panels or else you will cause warpage.

---------- Post added at 08:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 AM ----------

Oh! And DO NOT strip plastic parts, you WILL damage them if you 80 grit them. just sand the plastic peaces using 320 or something close to that and be careful not to sand into the plastic. Its not the end of the world if you go through a little bit with 320, basically just sand them for the paint to have something to stick to and anywhere paint is flaking sand that away and DO NOT sand edges unless by hand being careful not to sand through. Use a scotch brite for the edges and any hard to reach areas, unless it is metal that you are stripping.
 
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supramk3speed

New Member
Dec 4, 2008
305
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Texas
Sand, unless it has an amazing amount of paint flaking off of it, it will be much easier to sand. I wouldn't strip it unless i was planning on doing a color change.
 
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supramk3speed

New Member
Dec 4, 2008
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Texas
Oh i see, you were saying stripping with paint striper or by sanding. I would sand, its hard work but i can't stand the time it takes for the paint stripper to do its magic and I can't stand the nasty chemical smell.

---------- Post added at 08:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:49 AM ----------

Yeah, black to satin black isn't a huge color change so i wouldn't go through the hassle of stripping it all down. Unless you have a lot of dents and you plan on fixing them.
 
Compton74

Compton74

New Member
Oct 8, 2008
355
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Long Beach
i used this stuff called aircraft remover from autozone. Its like 7 bucks a can and worked pretty damn well. Go grab a can 7 bucks isnt that bad even if it doesnt work for you.
 
mk3_7m

mk3_7m

Member
Jul 21, 2007
536
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melbourne
well if you prefer the chemical way jasco paint remover will take it to the metal. Time will vary depending on the type of paint how many coats was applied. And wear gloves too because it can burn your hands.
 
mk3_7m

mk3_7m

Member
Jul 21, 2007
536
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melbourne
Wouldn't recommend it. rubber gloves I was wearing was melting after a while not enough to penetrate though, but the gloves had melted-looking spots on them.
 
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KMinAF

Old Man
Sep 15, 2006
291
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0
American Fork, UT
Isn't chemical stripper a lot more work in the end since now you have to remove all trim so that it isn't damaged by the chemicals, clean and prep the bare steel (any chemical residue left in seams and crevices can and will seep out eventually), apply etching primer, sand, prime, sand, fill, sand, sand, sand and the car must remain indoors to prevent moisture creating surface rust?
 
Poodles

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
16,757
0
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42
Fort Worth, TX
Going down to bare metal isn't a good thing. Getting paint to stick to the metal again is a pain, it's much easier to spray over a well sanded originally painted surface.
 
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