Bristle disks... Do they work??? What for? I've decided to strip the roadster body myself... I've been using scotch-brite stripping discs but I get about a square foot out of them and then they're trashed... Looking for something a little heartier... Maybe Roloc?
Which colour/grit discs are you using? 3M makes a thin green grinding disc for heavier stuff as well as the scotch brite ones. Flatman
The 3M bristle discs work very well, but you have to be carefull on areas that will warp because they make the metal very hot if you work too slow.
Dude... for the amount of time (and money you'd spend on stripping disks/rolocs/sandpaper), you could have the body sandblasted. Unless transport to/from the sandblaster isn't an option... for about $65 bucks, you can get a siphon-feed sandblast setup (hose sticks right into a 5-gal bucket) connect it to a compressor and DIY. Kinda requires a compressor though... If that's a no-go, try a gel called 'Aircraft remover'. I was in the AF, and we never used it, but the old timers swore it's a must-have... or you could just use a rotary wire brush. That'd take forever though. We did use bristle discs (both the flat type and the kind that looks like a little round bed of plastic nails)... they're great for removing softer stuff... adhesives, dirt, and soft coatings... you could use 'em on paint & primer on metal that you DON'T want to gouge (aka, aluminum aircraft skin), but they do take a looong time on harder stuff... Good luck either way, dude.
They work good, but you're gonna go through a hell of a lot of discs to strip a car. I must a gone though 40 of the 2" brown ones removing mill scale from the tubing for my exhaust. And that was just at the joints.
I've had some advertures in learning how to strip on the cheap. I've used the wire wheels. They work well, but take for ever and you will go through 2 just to do one fat fender. I've tried the drill mounted scratch pad stuff. Waste of time and energy. What I've found best: Invest in a DA. Get a couple differant grit disks and experiment. All I know is that the DA made turned a 4+ hour job into a 1 1/2 hr job for me. Any area that you are concearned w/heat...I'd use the wire wheel. They don't heat the metal up much. Also....watch how long you are running the DA in one area. They do heat the metal up some, and you can cause some issues later if you go all Gung-ho in one set area.
I've stripped a car using a wire cup brush in a big 7" angle grinder...a lot of work, but it did the job and the primer laid down well on the brushed steel
We use these 3M roloc stripping wheels that fit on an air grinder or drill, work great and last a long time.
Sandblasting is out for a couple of reasons... One, this body has enough issues and adding potential warpage to the mix is just not the best idea... Two, right along with the other issues the body has, it's been worked a-lot... So work hardening could be an issue... And lastly, Austin is a wierd town... Finding reliable services is hit-and-miss... It's a Model-A roadster body... It's really not a whole lot of metal... And by the time I found a place, got it loaded up, hauled over and done, then hauled back, I could be done and on to something else, proabably a couplt times over. It probably will cost a little more of the supplies than to have someone do it, but if you factor in time off work and gas, it's probably not a whole hell of a lot more... Plus it's kinda fun to unravel the mystery of a old body.
I've tried a couple different brushes and they never seem to work for me. Is there a specific brand/abrasiveness you're using? This car has literally about an eigth inch of crappy, gummy black primer under the topcoat. It just smears with the brushes I have and gums up sanding disks. The scotch-brite cuts right through it though but just doesn't last very long.
I did my truck using paint stripper, then careful scraping with a razor blade, followed by a D/A with 220. The total cost for the stripper and sandpaper I used up was in the range of $15. Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
Use 6" 3M purple Strip-It discs on a Makita GV 5000 grinder but be sure to cut the backing plate of the GV 5000 down. I have been stripping bodies for the past 12 years using this method. Here is what two of us did this weekend. We used four discs to strip the body at a cost of $12 per disc. How much would this have cost for a chemical strip or media blasting, not to mention the risk of panel distortion through too much heat build up with media blasting. These discs run cool and we went through seven different paint jobs (each one a different color) and up to 7/16" of pretty uniform bondo to get to bare metal. The body had every paint job ever applied in 72 years including the original factory paint when new. The Strip It discs actually metal finish and condition steel bodies.
Forgot to mention: The next step in stripping the panel truck would be to have it plastic media blasted in the areas where it wasn't possible or practical to strip and sand. Having already done most of the outside, the media blasting bill with be less expensive. Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
BULLSHIT! A gallon of Stripper these days is $17-35. Abrasives are not cheap either. Do it right, find a blaster that knows his shit.
where can one find these purple 3-M disks at. I have looked around and have not been able to find them
Also forgot to mention: A reason why I did my truck with stripper first was to minimize the amount of (nasty) dust in my garage and house, and for that matter, my lungs. For me, the paint stripper was the best compromise. There's no heat, no warpage, no pitting, no enlarging tiny holes, and it's very inexpensive. Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
I stripped my coupe body and my panel truck body with one gallon of stripper. On the panel truck, I think I used about up around fifteen 220-grit 3M sanding discs. I bought several rolls of a hundred of them when they were on sale at Harbor Freight for around 20 bucks a roll. Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
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