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Stripping paint from engine bay

propav8r

propav8r

F*ck Edgar
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Location
Franklin, NC
Hi all...so a few years back when I B230F+T swapped my '79, I painted my engine bay black for a bit of a cleaner look. There was some rust and peeling original paint, and I just wanted it to all look nice again.

I used a Rustoleum rattle can (high temp black gloss) and it held up surprisingly well.

Anyway, the time has come to get the whole car painted, and I want to color match the engine bay. In order to cut down on prep time at the body shop, I'd like to go ahead and strip the engine bay. I'm not sure that real automotive paint would adhere well on top of the rattle can stuff that's in there now.

My question is...what's the best way to go about this? I don't have air at the house (so blasting is out.) Is there a good paint stripping chemical I can use, or should I just plan on loading the whole car up on a trailer and taking it to someone who can blast it clean?

Pic for reference...

ePaUM.jpg
 
Stiggy Pop said:
Sand it. Kinda sucks without air and a DA... but I'd sand it before I got into the Tal-Strip stuff that's going to be a mess.
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I've been putting off buying a decent sized air compressor for awhile now. Maybe this is the excuse I need.

I put like 5 or 6 coats on the bay. Manual sanding would be a giant pain.
 
A million rollocks or try to float that lacquer out of there with easy off.

<a href="http://s255.photobucket.com/user/redwoodchair/media/64%20Falcon/FRFalcon.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/redwoodchair/64%20Falcon/FRFalcon.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo FRFalcon.jpg"/></a>
 
I used some Jasco on my style 5s to get the clearcoat off. It just rinsed clean after about 15 mins. It might take a couple coats but I'd give it a shot.
 
AndrewNance said:
I used some Jasco on my style 5s to get the clearcoat off. It just rinsed clean after about 15 mins. It might take a couple coats but I'd give it a shot.
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Jasco is on the low end of efficiency. The best over the counter stripper I have used is Klean Strip Aircraft Stripper. It will peel the paint right to the metal in no time. It must be completely washed away or it will ruin any new paint being applied.

This stuff. It comes in aerosol cans, gallon cans, 5 gallon cans.

http://www.handsontools.com/Klean-Strip-CAR777-Low-Odor-Aircraft-Remover-5-Gallon_p_11189.html


If you want to use T-Bricks level products, old dirty Dot 3 brake fluid will peel paint right to the metal.
 
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I do like Tal-Strip the best.

I would remind you heading into it, should you go that route, don't think you're getting away without doing any "mechanical" stripping. The stripper will lift up the old paint and turn it into a sloppy gelly mess. It's not going to just fall off from looking at it. You'll peel big satisfying swipes away with a putty knife, then be left picking and scratching everything else. Edges, corners, lines etc will probably require a 3m pad or something to scratch away the softened up paint. The fun part is now everything is caustic and burns your skin and is generally unpleasant to be around. You WILL end up sanding afterwards.

Yeah, it'll get the paint off, but an engine bay isn't going to just wipe off clean like clear coat off of a perfectly smooth polished aluminum lip on a wheel.
 
^^ Add a fine bristle brass brush to that process and you won't be picking and paint off afterwards. I have stripped way too many cars over the years and have learned how to make this process as painless as possible. Welding supply stores, auto parts stores etc have fine bristle brushes with wood handles that are slightly larger than a tooth brush. Those work wonders for getting all the paint that is in the seams where the panels overlap.
 
The key to using paint stripper is NOT to take it off as soon as it starts to bubble. Add MORE remover on top of this mess and maybe lay some plastic wrap over it so it won't evaporate to quickly. Then start scrapping it off. Use good chemical resistant gloves, work outside, don't get the sh*t in your eyes. Keep the fumes away from your eyes. Scrape that stuff onto newspaper and double bag it. Shouldn't really go in trash but that's your call.
 
I was in the same boat- PO of the v8 car used some sorta hammertone black paint underhood.

I chemically stripped to bare metal.



Filled the holes and smoothed the wrinkles



Primed and sanded several times

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jvRsHyj8-vY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And finally painted base/clear.











Turned out okay, but it was months of my spare time and I've barely done a thing on that car since then. :oops:

M.
 
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Pervious owner repainted the engine bay black, they did a pretty good job. They used quailty paint, it made it easier for us to get the engine compartment prep for paint.
Primer seal and wet sand stages 300, 600, 900 grit sand paper.
















 
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