Chemical Paint Stripper Suggestions

[nealf]

Hi I have a project for the next 4 months, a '72 Bavaria. I wanted to strip the car to metal. It has the original paint with primer on top and then a finish coat of very bad paint on top of that. I was looking for suggestions for a chemical stripper that I could use in the driveway of my house during the winter months. I did not want to create a huge mess. Does it need heat and or sunshine to activate or could I do this at night? Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

nealf
'73 2002
'70 2800CS
'72 Bavaria

 

[MichaelP]

I did a down-to-bare-metal stripper job on my coupe this past summer. With my brother helping out, it took about three days to take down three or four successive layers of paint and primer. Oh yeah, and bondo.

If you can, try to leave the factory primer on there, as there's no primer you can apply that will work as well, and exposing bare metal to the air is never a good idea. Also, the factory primer is really tough to strip. In my coupe's case the primer was compromised so much that it seemed to make more sense to start over.

Any aircraft grade stripper meant for vertical surfaces from the hardware store will work fine. I used a brand labeled Jasco. Do your stripping outside (nasty fumes) and buy gloves that are labeled for the purpose. Do it in the shade, as heat/sun will dry the stripper too fast. Lay it on thick with a brush and let it work for 10 to 15 minutes, and then use a scraper to remove the still slightly wet stripper. Don't let the stripper dry. Sometimes, more than one paint/primer layer will come up at one pass, though usually not. The best tool for peeling the paint up in long strips is one of those scapers that takes single edge razor blades:
[Broken External Image]:http://www.hardwareandtools.com/images/P/6731020.jpg


It shouldn't make much of a mess, as you can only work on about one panel at a time -- so the stripper doesn't dry. If you do end up stripping it down to bare metal, get some epoxy or acid etch primer on there right away. A bare panel will start to rust immediately.

 

[Bill Riblett]

Michael pretty well covered it except for these points:
First, the strippers work better when it is warm, so this time of the year (winter) you want to do it on 'warm' days.

Second, when you brush the stripper on, try to minimize going back over places you have already covered with the brush. This apparently disturbs the chemical reaction. At the same time, you want to slop on as thick a coat of stripper as you can.

You may have to go to an autobody and paint supply store to find it. The brand I have used is Talstrip, by Marhyde.

Finally, from everything I have been reading, you want to use epoxy primer and not acid etch primer, for much better corrosion resistance.

 

[MichaelP]

Michael pretty well covered it except for these points:
First, the strippers work better when it is warm, so this time of the year (winter) you want to do it on 'warm' days.

True. For some reason I was thinking nealf was in the Carolinas. I see now he's in Philly. Brr. Below 50 degrees F, the stripper won't really kick in, and besides - primer shouldn't be applied below 65 or 70 degrees.

Second, when you brush the stripper on, try to minimize going back over places you have already covered with the brush. This apparently disturbs the chemical reaction. At the same time, you want to slop on as thick a coat of stripper as you can.

Use a fat, soft brush, and use it more like a mop. 'Slop' or glob are good descriptors.

Finally, from everything I have been reading, you want to use epoxy primer and not acid etch primer, for much better corrosion resistance.

I dunno. I've had a hard time with epoxy primer. It will provide better adhesion than acid etch, but it's a PITA to use for the non-professional. It's really hard to get a nice flat build outside of a shop environment, especially on vertical surfaces, and doesn't sand easily. The old body guy I go to for advice swears by U-Pol Acid#8. It's expensive, but he uses it on all his restorations. It lays down nicely, dries fast and hard to the surface, takes any type of paint without buckling, and is less finicky about temperature and humidity.
[Broken External Image]:http://www.tcpglobal.com/images/UPOL8.jpg
Like everything else, surface prep before primer is important. Grease and wax remover followed by liberal tack cloth-age allows the acid etch to adhere well. Or so I'm told... time will tell.

 

[coupeguy]

Aircraft Stripper is the best, and of course the most caustic, so use good rubber gloves that it wont eat. It will eat your hands, eyes, anything else flesh it touches. Save the aggrivation and have it media blasted. Aircraft Stripper is only available at auto paint stores AFAIK.

 

[AndyM]

Yeah, good info. I use the same technique for stripping paint. Then if I go to bare metal I use a metal etch solution followed by a cleaner. Then a coat of epoxy primer. It gives a nice, strong base coat, but isn't made to be sanded (like Michael said, it just doesn't work). Follow that up with high-build primer. Also, any filler or glazing should be to bare metal before the epoxy primer is sprayed. I've used self-etching primers with mixed results.

 

[skk]

Kleen Strip Rust Encapsulator

Anybody tried this? On the label it says: "dries to a sandable primer-like finish." It generally
turns black as it dries. Is it ok to lay down conventional primer on top of this stuff? Also,
are there new considerations for primer wrt. the new water-based paints that are required
in California?

Stuart Kreitman
Palo Alto, CA