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

[CptTripps]

QUOTE (9146986 @ Mar 15 2005, 09:53 AM)

If you aren't dipping the car, and the VIN sticker in the doorjamb is OK, mask it off and be careful around it. It's been posted that you can get replacement doorjamb VIN stickers from Porsche. IIRC, it takes about six to eight weeks and is like $60 or something like that.

I'll mask it off and hope for the best.

Related: Is there any way to tell the EXACT DAY my car was made? I'd always had delusions of buying a 914 that was built the day I was born. 01/17/1975

[dmenche914]

Aircraft brand paint stripper works where Jasco fails to remove paint. Aircraft Brand is serius stuff (Jasco used to be good, but I think was re-formulated safer) I am surprised they sell it in crazy california, but you can pick it up at Kragens.

It will eat rubber, and plastic, so you will need many thick rubber gloves, change them often. Thin vinyl gloves offer little protection. The stuff eats paint like crazy, even tar undercoating. It will also eat your skin, and burn like fire on you, so safety glasses and skin protection are must, but it works great.

[CptTripps]

So the 3M Pads I bought with the drill attachment SUCK. Yeah, they'll get the paint off...but it takes FOREVER!

WHile at Lowes yesterday, I found the grinding-disk pads you were all talking about. BIG F$%KING DIFFERENCE! These things ROCK! BE SURE to buy the 'adaptor plate' before you just go buying disks!

For good measure, I did 2 doors, and 1/2 the hood with one disk. 5 should let you do the whole car. You'll have about $60 into everything, but it's WELL worth it. (Some Lowes have the adapter 'free' in a piggy-back package.)

I hooked mine up to my Milwaukee 10000rpm 4" grinder and it took 10min to do each door, and I was about 10min into the hood when my pad gave out. It DOES NOT grind into the metal any more than...say...300 grit sandpaper. It also leaves a real nice finish. Didn't heat up the metal any more than sanding would have. Dust was a bit heavy in areas that had filler in them, but that's to be expected.

I *WISH* I'd done the whole car this way. Would have made things MUCH easier. I'll have the whole car ready to go in about another hour of 'touch up' with these.

Pics to come...I'm being lazy right now.

[Gint]

QUOTE (CptTripps Posted: Mar 20 2005 @ 08:06 AM)

So the 3M Pads I bought with the drill attachment SUCK. Yeah, they'll get the paint off...but it takes FOREVER!

You got the wrong ones then. And a drill doesn't have the torque to get the job done anyway. You need to put the ones I was referring to on a electric grinder/sander/polisher and run them at a reasonably slow speed.

Oh, and,

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif)

[IronHillRestorations]

And you aren't getting the panel hot? If you get over zealous with any abrasive disc you'll warp the metal. Just a caution Bud.

It's easy to do, and you may not realize you've done any damage until it's too late, or when you go to start blocking things out and find enough waves to surf on.

[CptTripps]

QUOTE (9146986 @ Mar 20 2005, 12:17 PM)

And you aren't getting the panel hot? If you get over zealous with any abrasive disc you'll warp the metal. Just a caution Bud. It's easy to do, and you may not realize you've done any damage until it's too late, or when you go to start blocking things out and find enough waves to surf on.

I was worried about that too...I tested it a few times with my temp gun. Never got over over 96 degrees. I took a small movie of how I was doing it...while I was doing it....kinda dangerous now that I think about it.

I'm building the pics now to upload everything.

[CptTripps]

Here's a pic of the hood...half-way through the removal.

(IMG:http://www.hardman.org/pix/914_progress/914_progress-Images/92.jpg)

[CptTripps]

And here's the movie of me removing some paint with the disk...

http://www.hardman.org/pix/914_progress/91...es/MVI_5721.AVI
(6.5mb - Not for the bandwidth impared)

[Gint]

I can't get anything but audio out of that .avi clip.

How about a pic of the 3m disks you bought and whatever it was you ended up using.

[3liter914-6]

QUOTE (CptTripps @ Mar 15 2005, 12:06 PM)

Related: Is there any way to tell the EXACT DAY my car was made? I'd always had delusions of buying a 914 that was built the day I was born. 01/17/1975

Not from anything on the car, but you can send away for the Certificate of Authenticity. It should have the date of birth, and date of first sale.

[CptTripps]

QUOTE (Gint @ Mar 20 2005, 08:30 PM)

I can't get anything but audio out of that .avi clip. How about a pic of the 3m disks you bought and whatever it was you ended up using.

Yeah...I'm re-uploading it.

Here's the new link.

http://www.hardman.org/pix/914_progress/91...es/grinding.mov
(Still 6.6MB)

I didn't take any pics of the disks...I'll run out later and take a few. (Watching The Contender, then Deadwood.)

[thomasotten]

I started stripping paint on a door that turns out to have some bondo on it. I am trying not to disturb the bondo too much because it looks like they did a pretty good job. When I get all the paint off, I am going to spray sealer over the entire door. Do I have to do anything differently when sealing, since undoubtedly some of the paint stripper will have been absorbed by the bondo?

[914GT]

I'd sand the filler down far enough to eliminate any that could have been softened or may have absorbed stripper. Then this will require applying a fresh coat of filler or polyester putty to replace what was lost and then block sanding it flat. If you have bare metal use epoxy then 2k primer/surfacer if more sanding required. No bare metal than a sealer followed by the paint, or 2k primer/surfacer.

[CptTripps]

QUOTE (thomasotten @ Mar 22 2005, 02:44 PM)

I started stripping paint on a door that turns out to have some bondo on it. I am trying not to disturb the bondo too much because it looks like they did a pretty good job. When I get all the paint off, I am going to spray sealer over the entire door. Do I have to do anything differently when sealing, since undoubtedly some of the paint stripper will have been absorbed by the bondo?

That's what worred me. If I'd just done the disks from the start, I'd have left the bondo'd areas alone. I was nervous that the paint would re-activate some of the stripper.

Bottom line: I didn't want to take any chances!

[Allan]

Nice clip. Man I hated the forearm pump and burn I got from doing my fire-wall that way.

[J P Stein]

I used both the Aircraft stripper & discs similar to Gint's recommendation. It was a miserable job as I had 4-5 color coats to get off....which needed 2-3 applications of stripper.
A very few spots had just one color coat and needed one app.
Then I removed all else with the "rice cakes".
Etch primed, multiple hi-build coats.....sanding as I went, last sanding with 400 grit, then color.

It look like someone painted it in their garage (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif)

BTW,Used an air powered die grinder