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Thoughts on Paint Removal...

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DTDuck

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I am just starting the resoration on my '55 BN1 which is going to require a bare metal repaint. I haven't yet decided the best method to remove all the exisiting paint and am looking for feedback from your experiences with Healey's.

The car seems to be very solid, but I am going to have to replace the trunk (boot) floor and the front crossmember, everything else appears solid so far. I am more than a bit concerned that sandblasting could cause more damage than good. Soda blasting is something I am considering but have no experience with. Chemical stripping? Wire wheel & sandpaper?

Cheers,
Dan M.
 
HI Dan:

A chemical strip that does a good DIY job is Aircraft Stripper.

Similarly, DIY blasting with walnut shells can be less aggressive than sand blasting.

Commercially:
Chemical dips are very effective.

Commercial facilities also include all the methods mentioned above. .
 
Oop"s
 
Dan, I have restored quite a few cars in the last 40 years as a hobby. Most of them needed stripped to bare metal and also replacing much metal. After about 2 episodes using chemical stripper I have done ever car since by sanding the panels to bare metal. It really doesn't take that long and you can control it as you go. I usually use a DA sander or an Orbital sander on all the panel work. Usually with 100 grit to 320 grit paper. I do it this way because I don't want to take the time or spend the money to coordinate with another shop to get them to bare metal. If the fenders are off the car, which is usually the case, I might be tempted to use a chemical remover on them but when I'm sanding away It just doesn't seem necessary to me to make the mess of chemicals. Then you have the neutralizing issue to deal with. On heavy metal stuff such as bumper irons and other brackets I will get them sand blasted if I can't grind them clean. Just my 2 cents.
 
My 2 cents. A really rusty car can benefit from a dip. It will get rid of all the paint and hidden rust. But chemicals tend to seep out later and you have to be sure the stripped areas are recoated. Also, don't dip aluminum like chassis plates. They disappear in the tank.

If there's only a little rust, I'd do a media blast with someone that know's what they are doing. Too much heat and pressure can warp your pristine panels. Stripping yourself with "aircraft stripper" is a good option if you don't have a bunch of rust.
 
I used Aircraft Paint Remover on the fenders when off the car. I bought some recently at Advance Auto for another project. Do it outside and use 2 layers of gloves with no skin showing. Be ready to hose it off if you get any on yourself, it has a slow burn. Works best during warm weather. I also found a product called Rust Mort (phosphoric acid) to work really well on surface rust and it can be hosed off with water after it has done its magic. I got it at an auto paint store. I use that stuff all the time on rusted metal. I have tried some other similar products and that seems to work best for me.
 
I like the aircraft paint stripper. My Healey and all my old cars had layer after layer of paint, very tedious and messy to remove with sandpaper or blasting. The aluminum shrouds are delicate, not clear that blasting is the way to go with them. I have blasted cars and find the media kept falling out of nooks and crannies for years, making painting difficult.

The stripper can be slow, it only removes one layer or less per application. I don't wear a lot of protection when I remove it, but it will sting if it gets on bare skin. For some reason, it doesn't hurt my hands, perhaps I've killed all my nerves in them! But it will eventually get all the paint peeled off into piles of paint strips you can sweep up and toss.
 
Wings , boot , bonnet , doors = chemical stripper .
Superstructure = sandblasting , nothing hides from the sandblaster . Better to find the thin metal at the beginning than poking a hole in a thin frame rail when your trying to mount new fuel/brake lines etc and shes all painted .
 
Most paint stripper is nasty stuff as far as human health goes, but it does remove paint without damaging the metal. Work in a well ventilated area or, better yet, outside. And wear rubber gloves. I agree that blasting works well on the inner body and frame. I don't actually like using sand, partly because of the risk of silicosis and partly because it is not all that aggressive. A black aluminum oxide blasting material works well for frame and other parts that can handle it.

Stripping a car to bare metal also undoes those countless hours of hours of careful bodywork - filling, sanding, and blocking - that many restored cars have benefited from. People talk about restored cars that have NO body filler or body putty under the paint, but I have yet to see one in person. Bodywork is extremely time consuming and/or very expensive. Often doing necessary bodywork and a good quality respray makes more sense than taking a car down to bare metal. After a few too many bare metal projects, I would think twice about taking a car down to bare metal if it does not need it. If a car has countless issues on virtually all panels, that is another matter.
 
After brusing on a coat of paint stripper, cover the area with a sheet of clear thin plasic. That way it will work much longer as it does not evaporate
 
That's a really good idea, and would have saved me a lot of frustration while stripping (paint) in hot weather! I will try that next time. Thanks. Jim
 
blueskies said:
...Often doing necessary bodywork and a good quality respray makes more sense than taking a car down to bare metal. After a few too many bare metal projects, I would think twice about taking a car down to bare metal if it does not need it. If a car has countless issues on virtually all panels, that is another matter.
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I completely agree, if I could I would just do a respray, but all the paint on the car is just too far gone (including the chassis) so I really have no choice. The good news is that it does give me some color flexibility when I get to that point.

Cheers,
Dan M.
 
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