How to Remove Old Paint From Cars

Painting cars can be a tedious job, particularly when it comes to stripping the paint from the vehicle. Fortunately, there are many different methods to remove old paint from cars, and here we'll discuss a few of them.

Instructions

Media Blasting

1

Remove all glass and rubber from the vehicle, because it will get damaged.

2

Put on a protective suit, preferably one with a respirator. Depending on the media used, it can get very dusty and toxic when media blasting, and you don't want to breath that stuff in.

3

Choose a media. You can use sand, glass beads or even baking soda. Each one has its own properties, so discover which works best for your application and buy that media. Baking soda is great for paint removal, but not rust, and it's also bio-degradable. Sand and glass are good for paint and rust, but glass has more consistent sizing, giving you more predictable results.

4

In a well-ventilated area, use the media blasting tool to remove the paint. Don't spend too much time in one area because it will start to heat up the panel and warp the steel. Just take your time and work the media across the body. Pull the trigger on the tool and slowly move across the body, watching the paint disappear as you go. Keep consistent and move about a foot a minute or so. Keep a solid pattern to make the process easier.

Manual Stripping

5

Remove all of the glass and rubber from the vehicle.

6

Use a DA sander to rough up the paint. Use an 80-grit sandpaper and work your way around the vehicle. 80-grit is usually strong enough to take the vehicle down to bare metal. Use sanding blocks in tighter areas to ensure that all the paint is gone.

7

Go over the vehicle again with 120-grit sandpaper. This is will stop the deep scratches that the 80-grit sandpaper put into the metal from showing up in the final paint job. You can also go over it yet again with 200-grit to get a better finish.

Chemical Stripping

8

Remove all of the glass and rubber from the vehicle. Then put on the rubber gloves and make sure the car is in a well-ventilated area.

9

Carefully pour a small amount of aircraft stripper over the surface you want to remove the paint from. Kleen-Strip is a great brand to use because it's simple to apply and easy to find.

10

Let the stripper sit for a few minutes to work. It will cause the paint to lift and look like it has bubbles. Once it does, use a plastic squeegee or putty knife to push the old paint off the body.

11

Repeat as necessary. This may take a few applications to get perfect, but once it's done, you'll have a bare-metal finish. Use 200-grit sandpaper to rough up the surface before applying an epoxy primer.