taking old paint off

[johncub7172]

save-old-iron - Nice to have ya with the gang. I have seen tractors and cars paint removed with a stripper, and worked well too.

[save_old_iron]

Thanks for the welcome John. I have also used aircraft stripper frequently and successfully. But never when it was cold. For my tractor hobby, I like the cheap and lazy method. Let someone / something else do the work.

My secret follows the "cheap first" philosophy.

1/ anything small enough for the electrolysis tank (50 gal) goes in there first to cook. This one step can reliably remove 80 - 95% of the paint off the surface if you break the skin of the "solid paint" area first with a few seconds of electric wire brushing.

2/ any remaining paint probably has earned the right to stay, but if you insist on removing it, a quick dab of the aircraft stripper works wonders. This method provides for very little (expensive) stripper to be used.

3/ once you're down to the pits in the metal, a quick run thru the sand blaster takes care of the remaining defects.

So you have have 90% + of the paint removed by the cheapest method - electrolysis - then very little stripper used to get you to 98% removal - then very little work on the air compressor and blast media to get it down to that 99.9% goal we all strive for.

Heck , I haven't even broken a sweat yet and the parts are clean !!

[johncub7172]

save old iron,
Good ideas, and reasoning! Some tractors may have more rust than others. But I have some tools that I use as well:

1] old toothbrush
2] gun cleaning bore brush
3] brass brush
4] steel brush
5] nylon brush
6] brass scraper
7] steel scraper
8] plastic scraper
9] benchtop wire wheel
10] 4" angle grinder, and flap wheel
11] scotch brite
12] sandpaper
13] simple green cleaner
14] diesel fuel
15] paint thinner / paint prep. cleaner
16] cup brush
17] steel wool
18] hot water
19] muradic acid,....

[Randy Littrell]

I'm not sure if this works on all strippers, but at the body shops I frequent they cover the part with saran wrap to keep it wet and working.




Randy

[richmondcadet]

I moved from sandblasting to soda blasting.