paint stripper question

[naphtali5725]

hey guys, i'm not going to spend the effort of sanding my truck bed to bare metal...

would like recommendations on the best paint stripper to use, and any techniques that have worked well

i have a good pressure washer already, i assume that will be the best way to get it off once the stripper has done it's job?

what do i have to watch out for when it comes time to paint? any particular clean up i need to do besides the usual wax/grease remover, surface wash?

kind regards

[Sodell]

you are going to need a lot of stripper, buy it at Walmart ect, a lot cheaper than the parts store. I have had good luck with Klean strip. Buy a bunch of cheap foam paint brushes, and a box of good rubber gloves. If you get it on your skin rinse with water quickly.

Put the stripper on there and let it work for about 30 minutes. you need to get a metal scraper to remove the piant, I use a metal filler applicator like these....http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece...set-95837.html

It will take several coats. when you are done all you need to do is clean the surface with soap and water.

[72bowtiestepper]

When using any kind of paint stripper, make sure you get rid of it all from every nook & cranny from your truck....It will bite you in the butt if any is left before you prime and paint !

[RandyP]

Did a few limos for a funeral home back in the 80's. The first one only had 5 paint jobs to remove. It worked well to sand quickly with 36grit to get some openings in the paint. Spread the stripper on, stroke it with a brush in one direction and only once, the more you 'move it' the less it works. On the side panels put some cardboard or paper down on the ground to catch the run off. Also be sure to mask off the jamb areas with some 3/4" tape to prevent the stripper from going down in the hood opening and door jamb areas etc.

The other limo actually had roughly 15 paint jobs on it. For this one we actually used our pocket knives to scratch as deeply as we could trying to get the cut down to metal. This allowed the stripper to reach a bit deeper. Of course on both of these I bet we poured, scrapped and rinsed each panel about 3 to 4 times due to the amount of material on it.

Yes you need to keep a bucket of water very handy, this deactivates the stripper when it gets on your hands, arms, legs or wherever it might splash. Latex gloves are worthless, don't bother. If you really want gloves on to protect your manicure put a pair of jersey gloves on. If you have to dunk your hands to stop the burning from the stripper at least you can take the glove off after and wring it out and put it back on.

After you get it all scrapped as clean as you can and rinsed to deactivate the stripper and it's dried. You still have a lot of sanding to do. There is no stripper out there that magically removes it and leaves you a nice smooth bare metal surface. That's called having it blasted actually.

Best product out in my opinion is "Aircraft Stripper" by kleen strip I believe. If you have less than 3 paint jobs on the metal though, you'll be just as well off using 80 grit on a DA. Will end up with a nicer and cleaner job too imho.

[naphtali5725]

thanks all!

has only original paint, so i guess i'll just DA it like I did the rest

[RandyP]

If all you have is the original paint it should come off very quickly with just 220 on a DA. Not much more than a days work really.