# how to strip? <got your attention? >>lol



## BYTOR84 (Mar 20, 2009)

Ok so I want to take my 67 GTO conv. all the way down. I have heard of chemical strip,sand blasting, media blasting, bead blasting, and now soda blasting...aaahhh what to do???
what is the best method for getting all the rust out and not destroying the metal??? what is the best way to STRIP the paint off? (sorry for the tease..lol)


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

Airplane stripper is the best way to strip the paint and fillers off without damage. Or good old DA sander. For rust all the media blasts leave a mess and sand can severely warp the body panels (i know from my hood). There are dry ice blasters that leave no residual mess to come back and haunt you after paint like sand and soda.


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## BYTOR84 (Mar 20, 2009)

so with all the different ways to BLAST off the paint and rust you are saying ultimately old fashion chemical stripper is the best??


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

There are drawbacks to all (warpage, mess, odor, residue, cost of equipment, cost of labor). Is it original paint and how bad is the rust?


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## BYTOR84 (Mar 20, 2009)

not original paint. If i were to guess I think it was painted in the 80s. Minimum rust. little bit of surface rust and only 2 cancer spots about the size of a half dollar. I'm not doing it my self I will send it to a shop. I just am not sure what way I should have them strip it. I want the best results.


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## DSMTiger (Nov 17, 2012)

I had mine stripped to bare metal with dry ice blasting. Worked great. Removed all paint and rust without any warping of the sheet metal. Virtually no cleanup required. Metal was ready for primer without need for neutralization.

It may be hard to find a local contractor with the equipment. I found a contractor that was usung the process for cleaning smoke, mold damage. Also used for cleanup of electrical equipment in industrial settings. Contractor "cut me a deal" as he saw possible additional business opportunities in the car restoration business. It's a neat way to go but not likely available in a lot of places.


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

yep we use them in fire and mold remediation, it will blast the wood without cutting into it.


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## BYTOR84 (Mar 20, 2009)

i have been looking on line for the "best" method and it does seem that ALL methods have some draw back. I have not looked into the Dry ice yet but I will check it out. I cant imagine it is cheap though...lol


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## DSMTiger (Nov 17, 2012)

The dry ice stripping cost about 50% more than soda blasting which is probably the next best method. I figure that with the hours saved in cleanup and the great condition of the metal surface, I'm at least even with or maybe ahead of the soda stripping costs. My painter was amazed at the surface when we stripped to bare metal.


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## roy381 (Apr 1, 2013)

Whats an average car cost to dry ice strip?


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## DSMTiger (Nov 17, 2012)

roy381 said:


> Whats an average car cost to dry ice strip?


The contractor I used charged $100/hour plus the cost of the dry ice pellets. So, total cost will depend on how hard it is to strip i.e. the number of coats of paint on the car, whether or not you want all interior and exterior surfaces stripped, and, the cost of the dry ice. Since I had the car off the frame and on a rotisserie, I had everything stripped. It was also easy for the contractor to access all of the sheet metal this way. My total cost came to $1800. The cost for soda blasting was estimated at $1200. Since the dry ice is not an "aggressive" media, it takes more time than others. I also utilized the contractor at a slow time of the year for his business and he was glad to keep his crew busy with my project. I was also fortunate that the lead guy on his crew was in the process of restoring a muscle car and was very interested in doing the job right.


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## OhioLS2 (Jun 10, 2013)

Instg8ter said:


> Airplane stripper is the best way to strip the paint and fillers off without damage. Or good old DA sander. For rust all the media blasts leave a mess and sand can severely warp the body panels (i know from my hood). There are dry ice blasters that leave no residual mess to come back and haunt you after paint like sand and soda.


exactly..

not to mention the aero stripper dries and doesn't leave media residue (I.e. sand)


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## BYTOR84 (Mar 20, 2009)

I had a friend tell me that the soda blast is not aggressive enough and does not get all the rust out. There just seems to be NO PERFECT way. I just need to figure out which way is BEST....aahhhhggg


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

if it was me, i would sand a few areas of the body with my DA to see whats on it (how many layers of paint). if it was original color with one overspray i would just DA it down until i start kissing factory primer and only take areas that need metal work down to bare metal. As soon as you expose bare metal it will start to rust unless you get some etching primer on it right away. Only areas that popped up on my paint after 2.5 years were areas where i had stripped it to bare metal.

You say you are jobbing it out for body and paint so the point may be moot. Must body shops have a preferred way to prep a car they will be painting and they in turn are responsible for the outcome. Thats why shops won't stand behind a paint job on a car they did not do the body work on. Paint is 90% body and prep and scary things can happen long after the paint is sprayed.


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

How about not stripping the car and simply block sanding it to remove the surface rust and get it ready? Nothing better than the factory primer, IMO. I had one that was taken down to the bare metal and it took 10 years, but blisters and rust started coming up through the paint...and this was a zero rust, zero dent '66. I would only strip a car if it had 4 paint jobs on it. I've seen a lot of stripped cars a few years later with issues starting to appear. Just a thought.


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## BYTOR84 (Mar 20, 2009)

My car is not an original paint.By the looks of the paint it was done in the 80s with a lacquer which is now cracking all over. Looks like they may have painted over the original paint.


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