Thread: Ideas on paint removal!

Originally Posted by paulthepilot_5

Hi everybody,

i am after some ideas for removing old paint from the roof and side panels from a SWB series 3. ...
... Cheers
Paul

Paul

Paint stripper available from any auto-parts store, have some very thick rubber gloves and eye and respiratorator mask.

Do sections of about 1 - 2 metres square. Paint on with a brush - wait about 20 minutes and use a water blaster to remove it. You need to have it dry before the next section.

Make sure you are on a hard surface, because it will kill grass and protect the house etc with plastic sheeting, because the paint stripped from the panels will end up everywhere. A plastic raincoat or plastic poncho (garbage bag even) is good thing particularly if you can throw it in the garbage after use. Have another hose or bucket available if any of the stripper gets on your own skin, it is toxic and will leave a chemical burn.

Even in spite of the preparation/PPE you need it is the easiest, quickest method of stripping. Brings it back to bare aluminium like it was new, although you will also find any putty or repairs that were hidden underneath the paint.

C Ya

Diana

g'day paul. you gotta be careful with heat on alluminium, (with a heat gun or mechanical sander) as it does stretch alot easier than steel panels. if the panel stretches it'll lose its original shape and you'll have to shrink it back and only the best beaters can do that without bog. paint strippers great if you've got somewere you can make a mess. with the ally you can even wash it off.

Paul,

I did what Diana says when I redid my IIA roof and hardtop sides. Paint the stripper on and give it a good amount of time to react. I used a borrowed petrol engined pressure washer as I doubted the abilities of my entry level karcher....

Make sure however that the pressure washer sprays a "normal" jet. The "turbo" ones that have a cyclonic action will leave a whole heap of mini spiral marks in the aluminium and look like crap.

Like you said - it's going to take alot of paint stripper. It's messy and expensive for the volume you'll require.

I'd consider getting it done professionally. Do a quick search in the yellow pages. I had a look and found A1 Kwik Strippers - their add claims that they will do complete cars. It's not going to be cheap, but either is paint stripper.

The other thing you may want to consider is environmental issues with a car body worth of paint stripper in your yard. It's nasty stuff I'd imagine there would be a fine if you are caught 'dumping' paint and stripper in your yard.

looks like i will have to go with using paint stripper. i might try hitting the roof section with just the karcher, as the paint is loose and half of it will probably come off with the HP water. i have a good flat dirt pad that has been cut out for a big shed, it should be the perfect place to make a mess. I can make up for the environmental poisoning by using water out of the water tank

Paul

Paint stripper is tha go for this and to speed up the process give it a rough sand with some 120 grit paper to help the stripper get into the paint quicker

Has anyone tried commercial plastic media blasting (like grit blasting) on aluminium panels? It is excellent on steel and doesn't damage windscreen rubbers or any bog.

At one time, I was going to get my Hillman Hunter done.

See Cleaner Production - Plastic Media Paint Stripping - Carstrip Pty Ltd

The stripping system is versatile enough to handle fibreglass, aluminium and other exotic materials.

Originally Posted by p38arover

Has anyone tried commercial plastic media blasting (like grit blasting) on aluminium panels? It is excellent on steel and doesn't damage windscreen rubbers or any bog.

At one time, I was going to get my Hillman Hunter done.

See Cleaner Production - Plastic Media Paint Stripping - Carstrip Pty Ltd

Ron

The other option is soda blasting - it uses bicarb soda and water and is the method currently being used by Tennex for the re-manufacture of the Land Rover Parentie for the Army. It will remove paint and rust but leave rubber and glass undamaged.

The problem is that most operators doing this method are asking big dollars - something in the order of $3,000 to do a Land Rover 109 wagon. There is a mob at Riverstone who do it.

Diana