Hi all what's your favourite methods of stripping back to bare metal and prep for primer?Currently planning on paint stripping panels in sections and etch priming as I go. I wanna do all external panels by hand then send it off to sand blaster to do boot,engine bay, cabin and under carriage Curious to what other people are doing to neutralise the stripper, stopping flash rust, and preping surface before etch?? Thanks Sean

I use paint stripper and a high pressure hot wash - sometimes it requires 3 or 4 goes depending on how many layers of paint are on the car. There is plenty of high pressure hot water to neutralise and rinse off any remaining stripper. Works well and never had a problem. Grit blasting can destroy good panels with of surface expansion and buckling (because of "shot peening" ) and heat
KB.

I always used paint stripper and elbow grease....

once stripped back i use stuff call RS-13 which is a rust neutraliser and contains phosphoric acid which if done right, leaves a milky finish and stops further surface rust forming. It can last quite some time if done right..... in my case this worked, once bare metal is reached, wash over to remove any bits of stripper, then dry with air compressor. Then apply the RS-13 liberally with a rag and wash off again with water, it then starts to turn milky meaning its working..... don't 'over wash' it or it will all come off !

Now the problem is that RS-13 is the best stuff, but is no longer imported to Australia for some reason.... maybe cost (its about $35 per litre) but there are other similar treatments that should contain much the same ingredients. Ask at a good auto paint store..

I don't like sand blasting for the the reasons Kerry explains, plus the stuff gets into every crevice of the car and is very hard to get rid of. The remnants then become a magnet for water to accumulate.

Now I'm worried!!! I'm about to get the spare sports sandblasted but you guys are say "NOOOO"!!

The guy I'm dealing with said it'll remove the rust easier than the paint leaving a grey colour. I quizzed him about the heating of the longer panels and he said he uses a very fine black sand for that reason. He agreed it'll get everywhere.

My other option is to chemical dip. I used this method back in 96 when I did the wasp ute and that worked well. But I can't remember how it effected the rusty areas.

What would you guys use?

"Sand" blasting all the way here, but...... Not by just anyone.
Most crank the pressure up to do the job quicker. That stuffs panels. Get a good one who uses low pressure only and spends the time getting it right.
The guy I use is brilliant. He's done heaps of stuff for me and never had a problem. He actually says he likes doing Belletts as they have good quality steel that is thicker than most things he works on....... like multi million dollar Mercs and Ferraris owned by Mr L Fox.

Love the idea of chemical dip but it's costly and then you need to try to get paint back into places you can't see. Sand blaster I'm going to use stays away from the centre of large panels. And I'm only doing engine bay, boot, undercarriage and a few areas that are to hard to get into with the stripper. with the acid treatment do you leave that on to etch prime or remove before? What grade of paper to finish of the bits the paint stripper leaves behind?

Acid or chemical dip I wouldn't go near...... They leave it in too long and its stuffed.
Has a tendency to heat up, and bingo..... Warped to hell. One car I know of (not a Bellett) needed a new turret because it was so bad.
Blasting those areas makes sense. They'll be fine as they are stronh enuf. Is exactly what I did with my race car more than 10 years ago and very happy with it since.

agreed, blasting engine bay and hard to get areas is fine as mostly they are very small areas .....and even if they distort a little it won't matter much.

some places will blast with other media, one that is apparently good is walnut shells !

any of the blasting leaves media everywhere and it will be coming out for a while...... everytime you run an air compressor nozzle near an area, sand/media will come out......

Dean, although sport looks pretty bad, the panels are mostly very straight. I would be using stripper or perhaps carefull use of some of the new fangled paint stripping discs.

Of course the back section is going to need total replacement panels made. Once the old metal is removed i would be cleaning out the rust as much as possible and treating it. Or maybe blasting in there. Once sand/media blasted you need to treat the bare steel asap. If you decide to blast the whole car you better be prepared to treat the whole car immediately. That takes time. Not sure if its humid up there, if so, it will speed up surface rust too.

I have almost always gone with blasting (dependent on budget + time frame) BUT (as PR91 said) you have to use someone who KNOWS what they are doing.
There is only one mob I use in Brisbane I will ever use as they do cars day in day out and , and a Bellett costs about $2200-2700 (for bareshell + all panels inside, outside, upsidedown - inc full prime after)
always cheapest when car is sent fully stripped on your own rotisserie

After you put the stripper on. Cover with plastic (get a box of croc skin or something similar from an automotive paint shop) or glad wrap. Keeps some of those extreemly horrendous fume in, hopefully when you peel the plastic off it will take a majority of stripper and paint with it and help with cleaning up. Always make sure there is plenty of ventilation, you have a sunstrom mask with all filters and goggles on and large solvent proof gloves. That stuff is horrid and burns especially on the side of your tummy.

If anyone is going to get a car blasted find somebody that uses Garnet and that will completely etch or coat the car after to prevent corosion. Always ask to see current work or find out through people that have had work done. There is a guy in Murrwillumbah NSW that does great work. Even no isssues with the huge flat pannels on kombi vans. But I have seen some shockers out there from others that claim to be professionals. Including an F100 that even the small tight flat areas were warped and the metal was so pitted the High solid primer failed to fill it.

With large gloves, red scotch brite and cheap multi purpose thinners is good for washing off that final lot of paint stripper. Not good as an actually converter although will remove over night surface rust there is a metal cleaner from Glasurit. Expensive but really easy to use. Poor a small amount in a paper cup and dip a new red scotch in and scrub the panel. Then completely dry the panel with fresh rags then etch. Keep your areas small, say half a door, half a 1/4 panel etch to prevent the product drying on the panel.

For the underneath I scraped all of the sound deadener off with paint scrapers, chissels, wire brush (hand and electric), and finished off with sand blasting. Lucky at times when it comes off in big flakes. Not good when previous owners have sprayed rust preventative.
Topside on the sedan I used scrapers to remove the enamel. Long and tedious, but it's rewarding when each panel is finished. On the GT I've used paint stripper in the engine bay.
Haven't started on the main body as yet except for the sill panels. Have noted all the suggestions put forward, and print them off, and sit down and peruse each one, then plan an attack that will be in line with my budget.