Paint strippers and Primers

[Richeee]

Hi.   Got to the point now on my 13/60 resto, with automatic conversion, that im goint to start work on the bulkhead and rear tub removing paint and cutting out rusty bits etc. Fitting to the chassis and making sure everything alligns.

Got a couple of questions which are liable to produce a myriad of opinions.

I have used wire wheel on a grinder on some of the areas but reluctant to use on visible panels like wings etc in case of surface damage.   Been using some screwfix 'no nonesense' paint stripper but not really effective.    Which paint strippers do others recomend.?   Or how do others remove the old paint and crud.?

Also was looking in the club shop at the paint , but the product details dont appear to say if cellulose. Think it is.    Being a farmers boy and worked on buildings for most of my life my primer of choice is normally red oxide .   At present ive started using a red QAD red zinc phosphate primer.   Is this ok for later use of the shops paint. ?  Or would rattle can etch primer be better. ?  Could be primer for a year or so in a domestic garage. So need something that protects before its professionally painted on the top half. The bottom half , underneath, i will do myself.

 

 

[Josef]

Another mechanical option are these sort of poly strip discs which’re good at taking off paint and rust (and filler, and fibreglass…) without harming the metal. 

There’s also the option of shipping everything off to be sandblasted of course.

[Paul H]

The Club Shop sells Cellulose

Paul

[Richeee]

4 minutes ago, Josef said:

Another mechanical option are these sort of poly strip discs which’re good at taking off paint and rust (and filler, and fibreglass…) without harming the metal. 

There’s also the option of shipping everything off to be sandblasted of course.

Hi.    Have considered these but never tried them.    I am worried about creating too much heat to distort the surface.   The only way will be to try them. Will get hold of some.   

Thanks 

[NonMember]

I've never encountered any heat distortion with those strip discs. Very little heat generated, in my experience. Plenty of dust, though, so wear a mask and have a vacuum to hand.

[Paul H]

I used Bilthamber Electrox to good effect their hi build primers aerosol are good but expensive 

Paul

 

[RogerH]

1 hour ago, Richeee said:

Hi.   Got to the point now on my 13/60 resto, with automatic conversion, that im goint to start work on the bulkhead and rear tub removing paint and cutting out rusty bits etc. Fitting to the chassis and making sure everything alligns.

Got a couple of questions which are liable to produce a myriad of opinions.

I have used wire wheel on a grinder on some of the areas but reluctant to use on visible panels like wings etc in case of surface damage.   Been using some screwfix 'no nonesense' paint stripper but not really effective.    Which paint strippers do others recomend.?   Or how do others remove the old paint and crud.?

Also was looking in the club shop at the paint , but the product details dont appear to say if cellulose. Think it is.    Being a farmers boy and worked on buildings for most of my life my primer of choice is normally red oxide .   At present ive started using a red QAD red zinc phosphate primer.   Is this ok for later use of the shops paint. ?  Or would rattle can etch primer be better. ?  Could be primer for a year or so in a domestic garage. So need something that protects before its professionally painted on the top half. The bottom half , underneath, i will do myself.

 

 

Hi Rich,

I used StarChem Synstrip PS-50.  This works. Do NOT get it on your skin - it works.

My last 5L can cost apprx £30.  it is now in excess of £90 wow- what happened there.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384381203784?hash=item597ee7b548:g:mtkAAOSwSIRgU7uq

Whatever stripper you use cover the area with news paper after application. This reduces evaporation and intensifies the effect.

Roger

[Colin Lindsay]

Paint stripper can get into seams and be a devil to clean out afterwards, so be careful where you apply it. I prefer sanding pads or for awkward corners small wire brush attachments for the drill. 

[JohnD]

For mechanical stripping a large job, an expensive tool may be justified.   SnapOn's "CrugThug" is outstandingly good!    There are cheaper versions from other makers, Eastwood's 'Contour', Dynabrade.

[Badwolf]

Starchem Synstrip for me along with the stripping discs. Do not use the metal stripping discs, they go through metal as well.

This looks a good deal.... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203829133279

These are the type of stripping discs... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284260144391 shop around for the best deal and size for your angle grinder. They work very well but, yes, dust, debris and noise, but very effective. Take care when you get near to the end of their life in case they break up.

 

[Richeee]

Thanks everyone for their input.    Have purchased a jps half fit mask with replaceable filters.  

Ordered some poly discs as they seem to get the thumbs up from every body.   

I can see a vaiety of measures will be required.      

Thanks

[chrishawley]

A  number of thoughts, as briefly as possible.

• Wire wheels: Ok, but with caution. A lot depends of power of the angle grinder and diameter of the disc. Small wheel on a low powered grinder generally does no harm but a large wheel on, say, a 800w tool can score up, or even go through, delicate metal unwittingly. The optimal tool for large, mostly flat, panel areas is the Dual Action (DA) sander with 80 grit discs for paint removal/first prep.

• Paint stripper: Ebay has some Strip Away Pro at £46. This shoudn't really be for sale direct to consumer since it contains dicholromethane which was put under restrictions a few year back. But it works like a 'proper' paint stripper should. Toxic though, and due precautions are required in its use.

• Base coating: 'Red oxide' itself (i.e the lead containing stuff) was banned years ago. So many other options that it's hard to say what's best objectively. But (assuming truly clean metal) etch primer would never be wrong, followed by 2-pack primer filler. For myself I often use Bondaprimer as base if any residual corrosion is suspected. Very good corrosion control but at the expense of slight less good adhesion where 2k primer is concerned.

BUT... paint shops can sometimes be very picky about what they are prepared to spray on to and will insist on using materials from one manufacturers paint system only. I think some paint shops might regard QAD as an 'unknown' an insist on stripping it off. Alternatively a ratlle can etch like ProXL would be regarded as a common standard which would be unlikely to raise any objections.

• A vehicle that's going to be standing for a long while can be a difficult matter due to picking up water and contaminants over time.  For myself I'd brush coat (slather) with Bondaprimer (QAD may be equivalent) and then bright strip the panels immediately before refinishing starts in earnest.