More Stripping Paint

[KenCombs]

I just finished stripping my project (56 Dodge 1/2T). It had many coats of paint, rust and old body work with filler. In places I went through 5/6 coats of paint and filler. Most of the bed and roof were only 3 coats.

I tried several stripping methods, Buffer with 80grit, 6" orbital with 80, heat gun and scrapper, and 4.5" grinder with paint stripping disks.

On the thick stuff the heat gun, razor scraper followed by the stripping disks proved to be the fastest. On the areas with less paint the stripping disks worked well. And they leave the metal ready for epoxy.

Anyway, my question is, why in all the discussions here why are those stripping disks seldom, if ever mentioned?
https://www.empireabrasives.com/4-1-...-removal-disc/
Like these:

[Caveman49]

I just finished stripping my project (56 Dodge 1/2T). It had many coats of paint, rust and old body work with filler. In places I went through 5/6 coats of paint and filler. Most of the bed and roof were only 3 coats.

I tried several stripping methods, Buffer with 80grit, 6" orbital with 80, heat gun and scrapper, and 4.5" grinder with paint stripping disks.

On the thick stuff the heat gun, razor scraper followed by the stripping disks proved to be the fastest. On the areas with less paint the stripping disks worked well. And they leave the metal ready for epoxy.

Anyway, my question is, why in all the discussions here why are those stripping disks seldom, if ever mentioned?
https://www.empireabrasives.com/4-1-...-removal-disc/
Like these:

I don’t know🤷🏻*♂️

Haven’t used them, but they look like they’d work good. I’ve been using the SCT (surface conditioning tool) that I bought from HF. It gets it done pretty good, but it does get heavy when working on metal that’s lower on a vehicle, like lower fenders or doors.

I think I may try the disks you mentioned, I believe they sell them at HF. Be nice to see pics of your project, sounds pretty cool!

I just tried the SCT with the 1 1/2” 40 grit wheel, I had it in the center (see pic), did the curved fender areas, it did good, but I think it’ll work better if I move it to the outside of the machine.

[fj5gtx]

I just finished stripping my project (56 Dodge 1/2T). It had many coats of paint, rust and old body work with filler. In places I went through 5/6 coats of paint and filler. Most of the bed and roof were only 3 coats.

I tried several stripping methods, Buffer with 80grit, 6" orbital with 80, heat gun and scrapper, and 4.5" grinder with paint stripping disks.

On the thick stuff the heat gun, razor scraper followed by the stripping disks proved to be the fastest. On the areas with less paint the stripping disks worked well. And they leave the metal ready for epoxy.

Anyway, my question is, why in all the discussions here why are those stripping disks seldom, if ever mentioned?
https://www.empireabrasives.com/4-1-...-removal-disc/
Like these:

I've used those, they work ok - but don't last long. Tend to get out of shape quickly and the business side is pretty narrow.

[fj5gtx]

I don’t know🤷🏻*♂️

Haven’t used them, but they look like they’d work good. I’ve been using the SCT (surface conditioning tool) that I bought from HF. It gets it done pretty good, but it does get heavy when working on metal that’s lower on a vehicle, like lower fenders or doors.

I think I may try the disks you mentioned, I believe they sell them at HF. Be nice to see pics of your project, sounds pretty cool!

I just tried the SCT with the 1 1/2” 40 grit wheel, I had it in the center (see pic), did the curved fender areas, it did good, but I think it’ll work better if I move it to the outside of the machine.

Thanks for the pics, the metal looks pristine on that 66 !

[bmarler]

I've used those, they work ok - but don't last long. Tend to get out of shape quickly and the business side is pretty narrow.

totally agree with that assessment. i've used them in desperation at times, but i like 80 grit on a rotary for the bulk of my stripping. fast and economical.

[Caveman49]

totally agree with that assessment. i've used them in desperation at times, but i like 80 grit on a rotary for the bulk of my stripping. fast and economical.

Do use the glue stick on type or the hook an loop type? I ask because my glue type don’t want to stay on, was thinking might need new disks, the ones I have are probably 15 years old lol.

[bmarler]

Do use the glue stick on type or the hook an loop type? I ask because my glue type don’t want to stay on, was thinking might need new disks, the ones I have are probably 15 years old lol.

i like hook and loop. you can take them off and on as many times as you want. i like to save ones that are fairly worn but still have a little cut left in them. i'll use them to take the skin off filler or other jobs that might ruin a good piece of abrasive, or when i need a lighter cut.
i was slow to adopt hook and loop as i was used to the glue-on. i used those little cans of spray adhesive and plain paper. i thought hook and loop would just get fouled by dust and filler, boy was i wrong! hook and loop has proved superior in many ways.
it was fun though, to spin up the DA and send discs flying across the shop. (when the glue got weak)

[Metallic Mayhem]

The link says 11000 rpm = grinder. My thoughts are they could produce to much heat and distort the sheet metal.

[bmarler]

The link says 11000 rpm = grinder. My thoughts are they could produce to much heat and distort the sheet metal.

that's just the maximum rpm they're rated for. you can run them slower if you have a variable speed. the rather open weave of the abrasive doesn't make as much heat as it has lots of air movement. that open weave also helps them break down quicker.
they actually work pretty well on certain coatings that are more gummy and would quickly load up regular paper.

[Caveman49]

The link says 11000 rpm = grinder. My thoughts are they could produce to much heat and distort the sheet metal.

I agree with bmarler, they do adjust speeds, and can get the metal very hot if you work an area too much, possibly warping hot if not careful. I’m finding this out as I use it, so I try to move to other areas or let it cool if needed.

On the DA I use it’s pneumatic and probably 30 to 40 years old, but still works great, may have to change the disk pad out. Yeah, beware of flying sanding disks lol. I may try some spray adhesive on the pad, I do have some.

Thanks fj5, yeah I’m really surprised at the sheet metal on this 66 Comet. Could be that it was a Georgia car, not living in those harsh environments. It’s soooooo much better working on a vehicle that’s not a rust bucket. The 66 Mustangs I recently sold were just that, man them things definitely weren’t made to last on the metal side.

[Marten]

I just finished stripping my project (56 Dodge 1/2T). It had many coats of paint, rust and old body work with filler. In places I went through 5/6 coats of paint and filler. Most of the bed and roof were only 3 coats.

I tried several stripping methods, Buffer with 80grit, 6" orbital with 80, heat gun and scrapper, and 4.5" grinder with paint stripping disks.

On the thick stuff the heat gun, razor scraper followed by the stripping disks proved to be the fastest. On the areas with less paint the stripping disks worked well. And they leave the metal ready for epoxy.

Anyway, my question is, why in all the discussions here why are those stripping disks seldom, if ever mentioned?
https://www.empireabrasives.com/4-1-...-removal-disc/
Like these:

Perhaps late to the party but... I used the same thing, by a different manufacture and they worked great. Might have gone through 3 discs for the cab and front fenders and inner fenders of my truck. The only thing I could not do was the inside of the hood. Had to send that out for some sand blasting or whatever they did. I just kept the grinder moving so no heat build up at all. Had to buy a box of 10 if I remember correctly. Gave a couple to my son for him to try and had the same results on an old Datsun he is building. I was looking at buying the Eastwood SCT when I found these discs so thought even if it was slower, I would be ahead money wise. Once the paint was off, I cleaned the metal and epoxied over it.