My race car has never been handsome as my general rule for hillclimbs is "If it looks good you'll berkeley it up faster."
Well I did a barrel roll into the woods last year, so that theory doesn't fly anymore. I have a couple layers of garbage paint I need to remove so I can give the car it's first decent paint job since 1987. What's the best method of removing the paint?
Pic for reference:
Aircraft stripper and plastic scrapers worked well for me. Better than a palm sander with 120 grit anyway.
We just experimented with aircraft striper on our Q45. It took the bed liner and factory paint off with ease. I'm going to try some cheaper stuff just to see if the cost vs wait time is worth it.
Start here. 
At least that's how Hungary Bill does it.
In reply to RossD: Dear lord. I think my shopmate would murder me for that much dust. Maybe I'll wait for warm weather and do it outside.
Anybody have experience with this thing? http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-contour-sct.html
I've been watching some videos and it seems to do great work.
I was interested in that Eastwood Contour SCT also, looks fast.
Do you want to remove all the paint? Or just smooth it out for a nice topcoat? Sometimes sanded factory paint gives the new paint fantastic adhesion.
Fire is the easiest paint removal method.
I have always found that is something best left to a trained professional to do. (Even if you don't use fire)
DaveEstey wrote: In reply to RossD: Dear lord. I think my shopmate would murder me for that much dust. Maybe I'll wait for warm weather and do it outside. Anybody have experience with this thing? http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-contour-sct.html I've been watching some videos and it seems to do great work.
Those tools work great. If you want something similar for an angle grinder you can use a paint stripping disc.
Appleseed wrote: Do you want to remove all the paint? Or just smooth it out for a nice topcoat? Sometimes sanded factory paint gives the new paint fantastic adhesion.
I'm going to be bonding rear fender flares and a carbon roof skin to the car. By time I get all that down to bare metal I may as well do the rest.
The front fenders are fiberglass and won't need the same treatment.
The thing I worry about with aircraft stripper is if it gets into something like s pinch weld seam, it can leach out and kill the new paint.
One thing to remember about abrasive methods is you can damage the metal surface with gouges, or be even warping it if you get the metal too hot. So, be careful.
My personal favorite is aircraft stripper.
Appleseed wrote: The thing I worry about with aircraft stripper is if it gets into something like s pinch weld seam, it can leach out and kill the new paint.
For that reason it's best to avoid those seams, or at least cover them with tape or something similar.
Blowtorch
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