Paint removal

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 4:53 pm
I'm starting to work on a 65 Galaxie 500. The paint that is on it is all cracked and blistering. I took a da to it with 80 grit to see what was going on. I counted 11 layers of material on it. I figure the best way to respray is to take it to metal. My question is what is the best/easiest way to do this? Thanks for any and all answers.
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 5:08 pm
aircraft remover or media blast?


Blasting it will be super time consuming.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 8:17 pm
Get a decent heat gun and one of these:
http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/lisle-r ... Ahc68P8HAQ

The trick it to get the paint soft enough for the razor to penetrate and get under the paint. Keep the heat directed at the area right in front of the razor blade and you will be able to strip off 12-14" pieces. This works well with thick paint build up and goes much faster than sanding.

I stripped this truck and used a shop vac to pick up the paint chips:
Image
1968 Coronet R/T


ACTS 16:31



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PostPosted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 11:16 am
Thanks for the replies. I really don't want to use aircraft stripper. That is some nasty stuff. Media blasting is a good idea but, I figure with the glass and car still together would be hard. I'm gonna try the heat gun and razor blade. If there are any other ideas I would appreciate them.



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PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2014 9:12 pm
I'm no pro but this method has worked for me. If you have a buffer such as a Makita or Milwaukee, use a 8" pad and 80 grit psa paper. Actually, you may want to use 40 grit to remove that many layers (I have never used 40 before but have read it works good). Just remember to keep the RPMs to 1000 or less so you don't generate too much heat and cause warp-age.

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2014 10:33 pm
The razor scraper will be the safest and easiest method, if you can get it to work. If the blades keep breaking or the paint is too tough, I would resort to chemical stripping. It's messy, but it can be very effective. Just be sure to rough the paint up with 36 - 60 grit first. Mask off the seams and door gaps. Apply the paint stripper and cover it with plastic sheeting to avoid evaporation. It really isn't too bad as long as you do it outdoors and use protection. If you do it in the garage, put a fan on and leave the door wide open. The fumes are very toxic. Lay plastic sheeting or news paper on the ground, wad it up and throw it away when done.

An 8" sander is also very effective, but you have to be careful of not only the heat, but gouging the metal. Rotary removes material a lot more rapidly than a DA, and generates a lot of heat in the process. You could get it close with the 8" sander and switch over to a regular DA.



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PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:28 pm
Thanks for all the input. I'm using the heat gun method and it's working awesome.

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