Paint stripping question

[Anthrobus]

I'm painting my bus with Sherwin-Williams DTM acrylic. I don't necessarily have to strip the paint down all the way , but if I do the paint job is going to look a lot better.

So the three paint stripping methods I'm considering are, polycarbide abrasive wheel on an angle grinder, pressure washer sandblasting, or chemically stripping with Klean strip. Anyone here have any suggestions?

 

[Johnny Mullet]

I tried paint stripper on my hood of my bus and it was nothing but a huge mess that required sanding anyway.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Nothing beats sanding and elbow grease for a nice paint job.

 

[Ronnie-SKO]

Nothing beats sanding and elbow grease for a nice paint job.

Yup. Most body shops use a DA sander air powered. DA stands for dual action. I have a 6" air powered with vacuum port for dust collection, and an electric 5" with dust bag, Dewalt. Slower then the air but does a nice job.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Yup. Most body shops use a DA sander air powered. DA stands for dual action. I have a 6" air powered with vacuum port for dust collection, and an electric 5" with dust bag, Dewalt. Slower then the air but does a nice job.

Yep- gotta get a DA for the best results!
I mostly use the electric one because its more convenient. My buses are out in a big field.
Bout to start stripping the decals and tape off my shorty and commence with a long winter of sanding and prepping.

 

[Anthrobus]

Yep- gotta get a DA for the best results!
I mostly use the electric one because its more convenient. My buses are out in a big field.
Bout to start stripping the decals and tape off my shorty and commence with a long winter of sanding and prepping.

Unfortunately I have to have this done in about 3 days. My redneck friend hooked me up with his homemade pressure sander attachment.

 

[EastCoastCB]

just roll something over whats there you'll only make more work for yourself.
you don't have to remove the paint. we only sand it to smooth it.

 

[Tango-SKO]

All depends on the condition of the old paint. If it is in good physical condition (not flaking off) and just grimy looking...leave it and just scuff it really well. Once you get down to bare metal it is really difficult to come anywhere near the bond of factory paint without going into a spray booth with something like epoxy primer.


Scuff pads and maybe some "Liquid Sandpaper" type prep product will provide an excellent bond to the old finish. A final wipe down with a real "paint prep" wash will have it ready to paint.


Best of luck with it.


I had no choice on mine but to go down to bare metal. NOT fun.

 

[Anthrobus]

All depends on the condition of the old paint. If it is in good physical condition (not flaking off) and just grimy looking...leave it and just scuff it really well. Once you get down to bare metal it is really difficult to come anywhere near the bond of factory paint without going into a spray booth with something like epoxy primer.


Scuff pads and maybe some "Liquid Sandpaper" type prep product will provide an excellent bond to the old finish. A final wipe down with a real "paint prep" wash will have it ready to paint.


Best of luck with it.


I had no choice on mine but to go down to bare metal. NOT fun.

Thanks so much! Yeah I talked to the guys up at the auto paint store and even they said don't bother sending it down all the way.

 

[PNW_Steve]

This has my attention...

My attempts at removing the reflective stripes that run the full length of the bus have been lame.

I tried the "eraser" gizmo, a heat gun & scraper and a flap wheel on my angle grinder.

The eraser left a great finish behind but after two hours and a nearly all of the usable eraser gone I had removed about 2' of the 70+'.

Heat gun leaves a mess and takes it down to bare metal in spots.

The flap wheel seems like the most expedient method but, again, I am going down to bare metal.

When I read your comment regarding paint not sticking as well if you take it down to bare metal.

Of course I am going to prime it (kemkron) .

What else should I be doing to help the quality and longevity of my paint in places that are down to bare metal?

Thanks.

 

[EastCoastCB]

I always etch bare metal with ospho.
There's a method to using the heat gun and scraper. Flap wheel will get it done too.

 

[BlackJohn]

I just used a cheap razor blade push type scraper on decals etc. No heat, just slow push and off they came, no paint removed. Most paint stores carry these scrapers and cost about 2 bucks. It wasn't the fastest method but glad that job is done. Then I decided I'm not painting those areas and using steel roofing residential panels instead. Guaranteed for 40 years but a lot of cutting,fitting and drilling, might take me another 6 months due to winter.
Installed a panel yesterday about 20 feet long and 12 inches wide. Lots of drilling but looking good.



John

 

[Anthrobus]

This has my attention...

My attempts at removing the reflective stripes that run the full length of the bus have been lame.

I tried the "eraser" gizmo, a heat gun & scraper and a flap wheel on my angle grinder.

The eraser left a great finish behind but after two hours and a nearly all of the usable eraser gone I had removed about 2' of the 70+'.

Heat gun leaves a mess and takes it down to bare metal in spots.

The flap wheel seems like the most expedient method but, again, I am going down to bare metal.

When I read your comment regarding paint not sticking as well if you take it down to bare metal.

Of course I am going to prime it (kemkron) .

What else should I be doing to help the quality and longevity of my paint in places that are down to bare metal?

Thanks.

Use Jasco paint remover. You're going to have to scratch up the reflective tape a bit, and then apply it with a lambswool roller, or a solvent resistant roller. Let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes and then hit it with a pressure washer. It'll peel off like the skin of a Ginger in the Sun for an hour. Harbor Freight also sells a 20 and $35 sandblaster which will work great for the rust as well.

 

[rdeannag]

I had a headache with getting the placards/stickers, etc. off mine too. Used all sorts of chemicals.....not so great. Ended up mostly satisfied with a pressure washer. stickers came off and left adhesive. Even relocated some of the adhesive to other places due to the spray and pressure, etc. Couldn't get any "chemical" solution to work good. Tried many. Ended up going back to the pressure washer to get sticky off. Had to hold the tip right next to the bus body. Took some time, but all came off. This is the best solution I could come up with. Good luck. This is NOT a fun job.

 

[EastCoastCB]

This gets all the adhesive and the thinner decals off entirely.

 

[saftyliner1997]

I'm painting my bus with Sherwin-Williams DTM acrylic. I don't necessarily have to strip the paint down all the way , but if I do the paint job is going to look a lot better.

So the three paint stripping methods I'm considering are, polycarbide abrasive wheel on an angle grinder, pressure washer sandblasting, or chemically stripping with Klean strip. Anyone here have any suggestions?

have you seen the laser that is rust and paint removal on Facebook ? might be
Something to check out!

 

[279Auto]

have you seen the laser that is rust and paint removal on Facebook ? might be
Something to check out!

I checked it out because a friend showed it to me on his Facebook page. I looked it up. It is real. It is a laser device. I'm pretty sure the model that is shown on Facebook is the 1000-watt gun. They also make a 20-watt gun, supposedly. The 1000 watt gun is $480,000.00. The 20 watt is $80,000.00. Although it is very cool...Me thinks it out of the question. Now that was from a quick Google search. I am no expert on them, but I knew that it was too good to be true, as I was ready to buy one!! I quit Facebook for good reason. I think that video was saying you could buy it for $39.00? Hahaha

 

[Budbrother]

I was an automotive painter for 20 years and I can tell you if you have good adhesion on the original paint your better off just sanding it and painting over it, you have to feather the edge of any peeled areas, which means you sand the edge of the peeled spot until you can’t feel the edge anymore are you priming it? Should use an etching primer if the is a lot of metal, chemical stripping is extremely messy and if any chemical is not neutralized your new paint will never stick or cure, sandblasting works but tends to pot if the sil your using is to coarse sand and prime is my advice good luck