PAINT REMOVAL

[trevski]

HI ALL JUST GETTING STARTED ON RESTORING A VAN AND WAS WANDERING ON ANY TIPS ON PAINT REMOVAL I WANT TO TAKE IT BACK TO METAL IS SODA BLASTING A GOOD JOB ANY HELP OR IDEAS OR TIPS WOULD BE GREATFUL

[gazzcross]

i was wondering if soda blasting is good aswell i believe it isn't all that good for bad rust as it only takes the paint off but does leave a very smooth clean finish, most people either sand blast or get the body/chassis acid dipped because they remove the rust very effectively.its all down to you.

Good luck with the resto

[bmcecosse]

Will be very expensive - paint stripper is likely to be much less expensive.

[Simon P]

I use strip n clean disc's on a small angle grinder, there not too expensive quite long lasting and the finish left behind is scratch free and ready for a quick panel wipe and etch priming, there pretty flexible and can be forced into most corners and awkward areas, The only thing i would say is be sure to wear goggles and a good dust mask

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e ... 5GMFSMV0gl

Paint strippers are ok but it's very important not to let it dry out and it must be washed off and removed completely from all the little nook's and crannys, if not it will react with your nice new paintwork, scotch brite pads are usually needed after stripping to remove any remanence of paint and clean the panel to a shiny finish,

pinching the wife's marigolds is a good idea when using paint strippers, It burns like hell if like me your silly enough to lean againts the pannel you've just coated in stripper and get it all over your forearm's

[don58van]

hi Simon

A little tip on using paint stripper that a panel beater told me: Use plastic kitchen wrap to cover areas of freshly applied stripper to stop it from drying out. This way, it will keep doing its work longer before it has to be removed. This method will usually result in more complete paint removal and less use of expensive stripper -- possibly less nasty fumes too.

All the best for your restoration project.

Cheers
Don