Taking down to clean metal

showcrop

Well-known Member
Yesterday I started on a '67 roadster that I haven't had on the road in 12 years. The paint has tiny bubble all over it that were not there before. I am anticipating taking it all down to bare metal as I expect that the little bubbles are from rust under the original primer. The car was repainted at least twice before I got it. My question is what should I get for an electric tool to remove all of the paint at a fairly good rate?
 

Just a suggestion, because I am not a professional or anything, but a sander is a sander. Pretty much any sander you might find that is powered with compressed air is also available in electric versions. I own a Makita 1/4 sheet palm sander, and have used it quite often on my old tractors.
 
I have used a random orbit palm sander. They take off paint fairly quickly. You would need a heavy grit disc to start with. You should also move from place to place regularly to avoid heating the metal to much. I don't know how thick the metal is on your roadster, but you should be careful. you don't want to get it hot enough to warp the sheet metal. I did see some one modify a electric car buffer to stip a car. They mounted like an 8" flexible pad to the buffer and used heavy duty sanding pads. It just ate the paint off the car and since it was turning so slow it didn't warp any of the sheet metal.
 
Need to watch out with whatever you use as not to build up too much heat and warp a panel. Some places use baking soda in a blaster to remove paint also.
 
Just remember, any sander/grinder markes you impart in that sheet metal will need "filled" back in or will show through your final shiny paint job. It may look nice and clean/shiny but it isn't straight anymore and unfortunately it takes shiny paint to bring out the mistake. If you don't media blast then next best would be to chemical strip 90% and then use orbital sander to get the last 10%. While you are at it you will undoubtedly find all the dents/bondo and other historic repairs done before you. make sure and mark their location as some will be very minute and you will overlook them until , again, that shiny paint reminds you.You have a LOT of work ahead.
 
Watch a few dozen Chip Foose overhaul episodes on TV and see what you might be in for. They use a bunch experts and make it look easy but at least over several shows you see the steps taken in prep for a good flat surface. You can also see what can be found what seems to be fair paint.
 

The reason for my post was my question not "what am I getting into". From the three tractors that I have done as well as various partial jobs I have learned a lot but I would like to be sure that I am making use of available technology in order to minimize the labor and speed it up as much as possible. For instance I have learned that chemical paint remover is way to slow even though it is dust free.
 
A pneumatically driven dual action sander is best if your compressor can keep up with it. Otherwise an electric random orbital does ok,just not as robust as the da.
 
Ok, then an electric DA with a pad that takes the self stick discs. The loop things don't last all that long and they cost more. You can get a wide range of grits from way course to 1500 fine.
 
When I worked at a restoration shop, I had the "pleasure" of sandblasting a 1940s Dodge panel truck (not with fancy "media" -- owner was a cheapskate so we used playsand. Yes, I know about the risk of silicosis and I took steps to mitigate it). When I was done sandblasting, we went over flat areas with 40- then 80-grit sandpaper on a DA sander, using wire brushes on a drill in tight spots. The high-build primer we used filled the 80-grit scratches completely.

On my own projects, and more in line with the question you asked, I've had good luck with various stripper discs that are made to fit electric drills and angle grinders. Be careful, though, because some types are more aggressive than others. There is one now (made by 3M, I think) that is comprised of rubbery "fingers" on a backing, with an abrasive embedded in the rubber. It seems to work well in videos I've seen.
 
Sorry , and you are right, I re-read your post and it was a pretty easy two word answer (shown below so won't repeat it). We usually aren't privy to a poster's past achievements and aptitude so sometimes we overstep so to speak. I guess you are well aware of the scope of the project. RB
 
I would first try a single edge razor blade and shave the old finish off. Get several different blade holders , blades, and a soft paintbrush.
My method starts with a clean car, blades dull quick with dirt. Start on a flat panel ,vary the angle of attack til you find the sweet spot. I have stripped many cars this way. It is inexpensive, quiet, cleaner . I don't like the noise, dust, vibration of power tools. Once in a while I find an old finish I can peel to bare metal in one pass,working in different directions, sometimes turning the blade over helps.
Wear eye protection , paint flakes in the eyes are possible. I brush the loose stuff to the floor to vacuum .
 
We do restorations at my shop. I use a company that media
blasts to clean the vehicle to bare metal. Aluminum oxide is a
good agressive media, it will clean out any rust pockets. Soda
blasting is good if the vehicle is rust free.
 

I've used a palm sander on my old cars, and they work well, although sometimes not as fast as I would like. I also use a detail sander for corners and channels that my fingers don't fit into. Saves getting a sore index finger, from sanding corners and channels with sandpaper wrapped around it.

Plastic or dustless wet blasting would be nice, but so far I haven't wanted to spend the money.

I recently found out that some of the flapper discs can be very aggressive, and actually thinned out the metal more than I wanted on my 442. The flapper disc was actually more aggressive than my grinding wheel, when I compared the 2.
 

In the "what should I use" department, I have a suggestion.

I use a Dendix (British made) 5" diameter wire wheel. It is a nice 1" thick, dense wheel made for a bench grinder but I use it on my Mikita grinder.

When you need a lighter touch, you use the sides of the wheel and the ends of the wires, wide edge of the wheel when you need to be aggressive.

I used to always use GEM 116 (I think it was) cup brushes on my grinder because they had .020 wire but the Makita brushes are pitiful wire gage wise -- even wood on a big barn I stripped to paint, burned out a Mikita brush way too quickly.

My bench grinder wheels cover a large working area when the side of the wheel is being used and they are very pressure controllable AND last a very long time.

Showcrop . . . as i recall, you are totally familiar with the knotted wire cup brushes, but you might find this wire wheel method, faster and more sensitive to your current needs.

Of course it requires the requisite caution because you have to remove the grinder guard. :wink:

cheers,
T
 

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