Hey guys, whats the best way to get paint stripped off a Ford Model A fordor, we want to go into sand blasting, but we can hearing horror stories of warping the metal. We are considering walnut blasting, but now im hearing stories of oily residue? advice?
a model A i doubt you could warp the metal on one with sand blasting but a good rule of thumb is on big flat open metal areas blast on angle and keep moving if the panel is curved its usually pretty safe to just blast away 80 grit on a DA works good , chemical stripper works great plastic media is the way to go or dipping
The way I stripped my '41 Ford)factory paint) was to use "Strip-eze semi-paste". Taped off all seams, applied and waited about 15 min. and the paint sheeted off down to bare metal with a razor blade. Did seams with sander and by hand. Washed it numerous times and cleaned with solvent to remove any residue. Paint has been on for 14 yrs with no problems
it's really a matter of preference. I like media blasting and have had good luck with sylica blends, but walnut works too. a good sandblaster can do it and not warp the panels, but there's that risk. if rust isn't an issue there's soda. I have a freind at a high end shop who won't do anything but acid dip. this one always make me nervous though. if you don't get it totally neutralized it will come back to haunt you in the seams in particular. pick your poison.
Aircraft remover, you can buy it at autozone or anyplace. Brush it on and wait till it bubbles and use a new paints****er or razor, I have done it numerous times and professionally painted them afterwords no problems. You will be amazed how easy it works.
use a hard plastic s****er.....no gouges if it has lead.....you will have to sand it if you sandblast it....Is it rusty or are you just removing paint?? soda or dry ice will remove just the paint.
Media blasting. We have blasted a lot of model As with no issues. This is a 39 chevy we just finished and put back together for a show so people can see up close that with the right people/shop its safe Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
i would use aircraft stripper if your just trying to get paint off, if you got rust i would go with media blast.
I have had good luck with a single edge razor blade if the paint is thick enough to peel off. It will remove the easy to get to places and not as messy as a chemical stripper. Then you can finish up the hard to get to spots with paint remover or sand paper or blasting. Some cars I have stripped this way just peel off in sheets. Don't try it on a Vette though..
Edges and rust areas are easy to sandblast without warping and hard to sand off with a DA. Big, open flat areas are easy to sand off with a DA without risking warpage. That's how I do it, although if the paint is several layers thick then I'd consider the chemical stripper option.
Install very powerful engine, drive faster than the paint can hold on! Or media blast plastic or walnut shell works for me.
usually the best way I've found to get the paint off is to think you like it & your going to leave it just the way you found it. When i have done this , on the first test drive you can see the paint blowing off in sheets behind it.----------------sandblast it at an angle
had my old anglia media blasted...sat in bare metal in my ba*****t for 2 years....didnt rust and you could see the ink stamp on the p***enger door from the steel company in england from 48....
As far as sandblasting his last sentence says it all. It's all about WHO is doing it. I stopped by one of the local sandblaster/powder coaters last week to ask about having my Model A frame sand blasted and then asked about sheet metal because I will want to blast my 48 when I get the body welded together. The gal that run's the place's comment was "I only have one guy I trust to do automotive sheet metal and he does all the blasting on it". It doesn't matter what method you use or have used, if it isn't done right you can end up with a bigger mess than you started out with. A DA sander in the wrong hands can make a mess just like a sand blaster in unskilled hands. Soda blasting or walnut shell or other mild media blasting would probably be the best for a car that didn't have rust. Paint stripper or DA sander for one that you aren't going to take all the way apart. My Model A will have to be dipped as it is all rust and no paint. That's been the plan since I bought it though.
The Jalopy Journal
