Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Paint Strip Tool Basics




Yeah, product plugs.
On the left is an undercoating stripping tool. The wire tools are unique as is the air driven tool - it is not a right angle die grinder, it is a specialty tool. Very effective on undercoating but the wire brushes dull quickly, they can be sharpened by running them in reverse against a grinding wheel.

The trick to using aircraft stripper is 1) get the strongest version you can find, preferably containing methylene chloride (Eastwood's does) because that is the most effective solvent, and 2) let the stipper do the work. Apply a thick coat, let it work, use steel wool or synthetic abrasive pads to remove whatever the stripper will allow you to remove easily. Reapply as often as you need, usually three coats will do it. Messy, but not drastically hard work. Afterwords, use a cup brush or abrasive pads on your grinder to remove any remaining residue (the stripper, if allowed to work this way, will remove 90+% of the paint).