so many body people have different opinions trying to see what will be best for my 55 ford...want to strip everything... so to blast or not to blast?
I would use soda , media , NO SAND unless it's the frame . I WOULD NEVER , EVER USE ANY LIQUID CHEMICAL REMOVER OF ANY KIND ! You ask why , well when you go and paint the car I will guarantee you will find a place that chemical remover was hiding in a small crack someplace and as you drove down the road on that nice mew shinny paint job , you will sell this long line going down the side of the car where that tiny few drops were hiding someplace and decided to come out ! I other words , you just ruined a beautiful paint job ! I actually am very low on money so my labor is the cheapest way to go . I was using a DA sanders and yes it was slow . I have a friend from the HAMB about mile from me that most have heard of on the main board . His name is Clark and has build some beautiful cars and paints cars very well too ! Anyway he showed me a very easy way to get old paint off with ONE HAND ! It was a razor blade ! Yes a razor blade . You just scratch the paint with the corner of the razor until you can get the are big enough to start pushing with the blade on a angle and keep going and changing directions and you will see how fast the paint comes off right down to the metal or factory primmer . Now you new a way to hold the blade like a paint s****er or gasket s****er that uses razor blades . Well they work but where out fast . I did find a better one to use . In your local Lowe's there is a 3" or 3.5" blade s****er that has a very nice rubber handle and the blades are a lot thicker . You get about 4 or 6 in a pack for around $6 . All in all the car cost me about a week at about 4 to 5 hours a day . Maybe one was about 3 hours . Anyway if you want a cheap way to gt the paint off that was the best tip or trick a great car guy could have ever shown me . Saved me a lot of time and tons of money . Clark did say with you only using one hand , the other hand was left for a cold beer ! OH , BTW , there was at least 4 different coats of paint on the car of mine . Now I am fixing all the F--ups that the last owners did trying to hide all the rust and problems ! Yes I have all on pictures and I will put on a build folders this summer so everyone can see what I went through and the things people come up with to hold body trim on a car when they have no clips to use ! Anyway that is my choices of what to use to remove paint from an old car . Jim
Yeah, mine was taken down with rolocks, DAs, and die grinders. There was a bunch of material on my car too, and I mean a bunch. It is labor intensive, but you know what you're getting into.
Yep , well worth the work on doing it yourself . It's just that much more prude that you put into your car ! Jim
Retro Jim good point about using just one hand, but also that leaves one hand out of the mix with the razor blade to apply bandages if needed! I have alot of surface rust on my '55 and will be using Rust Mort to convert the rust.
An old time customizer, George West, told me about using razor blades to strip paint! I stripped 4 different colors from my 53 Ford and it was a lot easier than sanding. Just remember to wear eye protection!
YES , I forgot to tell you about the eye protecting . The paint chips fly every where and I mean they will end up in places you forgot about . I wore rubber gloves and a long sleeve shirt and sealed the sleeves to the gloves . I also wore a denim apron and goggles with a face shield . Also where a beanie hat or the hairnet ones they use in food places to cover you head . If you are sweating that paint chips will stick to your shin . I know it sounds like over kill but you will understand when you start s****ing . As for the rusted areas just do all the places you can with the razor blade then use 40 or 60 grit on an air or electric DA sander . Will save you lots of money . If you have money to burn then use whatever method you want to use . But I am telling you the honest truth about the razor blade . But get the one at Lowe's in their tool department and 2 packs of refills and you won't spend $20 to s**** a car down ! That is my best suggestions about doing a car with a razor blade ! Jim
well since the interior and doors and jams are full of curves and fold overs what should I do for that...
Retro Jim, this is interesting. What a great idea. Started tearing the front clip on my '56. Totally $..T! The last owner, or whomever, just sprayed undercoating on everything in the engine compartment. Wonder if the razor blade idea would work on undercoating? Have a great day Steve
I had a little trouble in the curved areas under the taillights and headlights but it still is easier thn sanding. And I forgot that you have to use care anyplace that you know there is bondo from previous body work so you know don't gouge it to deep. It's been over 20 years since I stripped mine and at 69 years of age its hard to remember everything.
I grapped a blade and tried it...doesnt seem to work well after 3 s****es...it took one layer off but would leave primer on and couldnt go any further...seems more PIA than a sander..lol
TRoper , well personally I would take a wide metal paint s****er and while the engine is out , I would take it outside and take a small bottle torch and start burning it off . Just make sure you have the fire extinguisher with me . You could use a good heat gun which would be safer to soften up the undercoating and the s**** it off that way . But maybe a good razor blade would work . Haven't tried that yet so who knows what will happen until you try it ! Jim
55 Fairlane . That primer you are hitting is from the factory ! It feels almost like a rubber paint mix . When you get to that , use a DA sander with 40 or 80 grit paper . I had the same trouble on the roof of my 55 Fairlane but if you work at it you will get the hang of it . It took me about an hour or so before I figured out just the right angle to get it to work . Also don't try to s****e it to straight . Move the razor to a slight angle and it will work easier . Then on the next run where you just s****ed turn the razor in another angle . You just need to figure out the best way your paints like to come off . You also need a sharp razor too . If you are using those small single blade razor blades they dull super fast . Go to Lowe's and get the one I described to you before . If you send me your home email address , I will take a picture of the tool I used and send it to you . I have tons of trouble posting pictures on here some times . Jim
Carnut 341 , I had the same trouble under my tail lights too , but I just kept going at it in different angles and just kept going at it until I got it all done . It's a lot cheaper than paying someone to shoot your car down to get the paint off plus you won't be trying to get all the media they used from all the little hiding places that the media just found a place to hide in until you go to paint it . Then it all comes out of there hiding places real fast ! Isn't rebuilding a cl***ic car/trick so damn much fun ? A friend of mine has a 69 Mustang convertible that 3 of us are helping him restore . Well he just took out the back seat and guess what we found ? There must have been at least 20+ lbs of freaking sand all under the seat ! Have no idea on how it got there either . What a mess but oh well he has to clean that all out anyway ! So much joy , isn't it ? Jim
If you plan to dis***emble your car, a combination of soda and sand blasting would make sense - it doesn't have to be an either-or decision. Soda makes best sense for exterior sheet metal, jambs and tender stuff like dash, window frames and inner panels. Sand blasting can easily over-heat and/or peen sheet metal, making it harder to work and, in a worst case, warping it to the point it cannot be repaired. I've seen this happen. But for the frame, bottom side of the floor and inner floor where rust is present, sand blasting is the best choice. Soda blasting or plastic media blasting does not remove rust. If you are not going to dis***emble the car, but rather just remove the exterior paint to prepare for body work and a repaint, soda blasting is the way to go. Unlike sand blasting, it is safe around trim and gl***. You can tape the openings in the body off to preserve the inner surfaces so that only the exterior is done. I have used aircraft stripper on cars and, while messy, it is effective. But...once all the paint and bondo has been stripped away, you've got to be very careful to neutralize the stripper by washing the car very, very thoroughly. Then sanding the bare metal surfaces with a DA sander and using metal prep on the bare metal is absolutely necessary before you even think about laying down new etching-type primer. So, it's not which method is better, it is which method best suits your goals. Hope this helps.
Yeah im basically taking everything out of the car..windows interior etc...dont know how I might do under body yet since im in a small garage and cant keep anything in the driveway. I will see what all I can do myself to save money
On the underside , I would jack the car up and get some big jack stand to put under the frame . That way you can get under the car safely ! You can also jack the car up and use those metal drive up ramp stands and when the car is high enough just put under the tires . They work great like that and don't get into your way like jack stand do under the frame . If you don't have the stand PLEASE don't do what many do and use concrete blocks ! Use the correct safety stand or just save your money to by some . Just a thought . Jim
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