best cost effective ways for stripping paint on the car?

[Turbo Habanero]

Just looking for best ways to go about taking off the paint on my car so i can redo the paint job.

I believe the previous owner used some type of house paint and just sprayed it over the original paint..

 

[destrux]

 

[Avicii]

sand paper and go to town! the grain of the paper i would like to know also, and also destrux how did you get your car to look like that.

 

[tfhorst]

I am going to say a mix between stripper and sandpaper, this is a ok wright up. and here is a good little sander. i would like to know how you got the look of your car too.

 

[Typhoon]

Knock it back with 80 grit on an orbital sander, then step back to 120 then 180, finish with 240 just as you are back to the metal. Avoid stripper unless you are removing whole panels, too easy for it to go wrong.

 

[ifyouaint1sturlast]

I love the paint stripper from AutoZone. If you get the non-spray can you can just use a paint brush and brush it over the areas you want stripped. It will bubble up and you can wipe the paint clean off the metal. I've personally used this method with a pressure washer and got pretty great results.

 

[Canuckrz]

I'd avoid having to take the whole car back down to the metal if at all possible, however obviously you dont want any of that house paint left for when you respray so its a bit of a tricky thing. As for grits when I did mine I went 180, 320, then 400 wetsand iirc. Also used a grey scuff pad after for all the tight areas.

 

[Turbo Habanero]

Thanks for all the reply guys

 

[Turbo Habanero]

Also what do you recommend for getting rid of surface rust

 

[te72]

Knock it back with 80 grit on an orbital sander, then step back to 120 then 180, finish with 240 just as you are back to the metal. Avoid stripper unless you are removing whole panels, too easy for it to go wrong.

Never gave that much thought, but I only ever kept paint stripper in my car for that asshole I used to work with that liked to park within inches of your drivers side door on purpose.

Although, the brush idea sounds like an alright idea so long as you were careful with it. Would suck to get it in a crevice somewhere you can't easily get to and cause rust to form... what's wrong with taking it down to bare metal? Watched my brother do that with his Impala quite a lot. Few minutes with a welder, grinder, and sand paper, you'd never know that there had been a spot of rust or a dent there.

 

[hvyman]

Air power > hand power.

 

[IJ.]

I use 36 grit on a long board to scar up the top coat then a coat of stripper, non enviro follow up was take it to the local carwash and hit it with the pressure washer afterwards :evil2: (this was the bare shell for the 240z project)

There was green paint and stripper ALL over the place when I finished! :runaway:

 

[te72]

I use 36 grit on a long board to scar up the top coat then a coat of stripper, non enviro follow up was take it to the local carwash and hit it with the pressure washer afterwards :evil2: (this was the bare shell for the 240z project)

There was green paint and stripper ALL over the place when I finished! :runaway:

Man, why did I never think of the board trick? Seems so obvious now that you mention it...

And just have to point out, that 40 years have passed, and Nissan has YET to make a better looking car.

 

[Turbo Habanero]

just have to point out, that 40 years have passed, and Nissan has YET to make a better looking car.

100% agreed

 

[IJ.]

Had a huge soft spot for the Z cars but they always looked out of proportion to me, too long/too skinny that's why I did the steel wide body, I cut the sides off added 3" on each side and welded them back on!

 

[Neodeuccio]

Had a huge soft spot for the Z cars but they always looked out of proportion to me, too long/too skinny that's why I did the steel wide body, I cut the sides off added 3" on each side and welded them back on!

Pure awesome. And one sexy car at that!



But back to the topic: I like the paint stripper. It does a good job of taking it all off without risking damage to the metal underneath. Granted, it's hard to really damage sheet steel if you're not actually trying, but ZERO risk is better than LITTLE risk in my eyes. Never through about the 36 grit/board and the pressure washer though, that would probably make it a breeze!

(Also, I like being able to say "There's a stripper on my Supra!")

 

[te72]

Had a huge soft spot for the Z cars but they always looked out of proportion to me, too long/too skinny that's why I did the steel wide body, I cut the sides off added 3" on each side and welded them back on!

Still has better overall proportions than the E-type it emulated so much.

(Also, I like being able to say "There's a stripper on my Supra!")

Not so hard to make happen, just all in who you know.

 

[Turbo Habanero]

Not so hard to make happen, just all in who you know.

lol Not hard at all with Tucson Girls ...

 

[te72]

lol Not hard at all with Tucson Girls ...

Gotta pay for a second tier college education somehow.