Best Paint Stripping Method?, ::: In the Garage ::: Options

[CptTripps]

I've searched and can only find 'Media Blasting Vs. Acid Dip' threads, so I'm hoping to get some feedback on 'Garage Stripping' methods. For those of us taking the car down to bare metal, and re-painting it in the garage/driveway/basement (long story) is there a 'best way' to get it all off before filler/primer?

I used one of those spongy wheel things attached to a drill last night on the pass-front fender and it took about an hour. I CAN'T think of doing the entire car like that. I'm not looking to punk-out on the time thing, but It'd take me a few weeks of evenings to do it with the wheel thingy.

Should I go get a bunch of 60-Grit sand disks and go at it on the grinder at a low speed? That seemed awefull abrasive.

Is chemical stripping better? I tried some Jasco that I had left over from another job and it curtled the re-spray off pretty quick, but didn't seem to phase the second coat.

For the trunks, I'm just going to rough it up and prime/paint. But the rest of the body needs to come down to the shiney stuff.

Ideas/Suggestions/Stories of Peril and Dispair?

[IronHillRestorations]

Doug, you are going to have fun sanding down all that bare metal so you don't have sanding scratches that come back.

We tape the seams, door gaps, etc with 1/2" masking tape, and use Aircraft Stripper. You don't have to worry about getting the panel too hot, or grinding off metal, or getting a bunch of dust everywhere. You do want to use a cartridge type respirator though.

The most important thing about using chemical stripper is to brush it on with one swipe, and don't touch it. That stuff stratifies immediately and if you brush over it, it doesn't work as well. Another thing that helps is to cover the area you've brushed with plastic film. It help force the solvents down into the paint. Brush it on and walk away for awhile, or work on another area, don't try to "help" the stripper work. The other nice thing about the stripper is it leaves a phospate coating, so you've got a little protection. We also put cardboard under the car to catch the sludge.

Unless you've got experience with torching paint off a 914, I wouldn't do that. It sounds like a great way to warp panels. But what do I know?

I wouldn't use any abrasive sanding discs beyond what Gint shows. We also use the 3M Bristle discs which come in four different grades and a few different sizes. They take the paint off but don't damage the parent metal. Any abrasive disc can cause heat warping though.

40 or 80 grit is fine on a 50's vintage Detriot body. There isn't that much metal in a 914. Unless you've got some major experience you can really do some damage with that. Besides if you grind it with 80 grit, then you've got 80 grit scratches to sand. I don't car what any body man says how great the new primer-fillers are. If you have 80 grit scratches before you paint it, eventually the filler and primer is going to shrink into those scratches, and you'll see them in the finish paint. It might take a year or two for all the solvents to bake out of the paint, but those scratches will come back to haunt you.

Using chemical strippers does provide some health and ecological challenges, but nothing I know leaves the panel as pristine conditon, and doesn't compromise the integrity.