To sand down to bare metal or not

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Edgecrusher

Promoted Users
I am a long way from doing paintwork on my trucks body but I'm thinking about it nonetheless. I think I have heard some misleading information in the past and just wanted to straighten it out in my head and ask a newbie question. I see a lot where entire body panels are sanded down to bare metal and built back up from there. However, I was told if the factory paint is still intact you can scuff it and paint over the top; that the original foundation can't be beat. I imagine there are a lot of factors involved in the decision.
For example, the cab is pretty rust free, there are some questionable spots halfway down the rockers that still need examination, but as for the rest the worst is some clear coat degradation on the roof. Is it worth sanding every inch down to bare metal and epoxy the entire cab, or is it wise to save some time and just remove the clear coat and go right into base coat?
 
Without knowing your project well it's hard to give you succinct instruction on what to do. I'll give some generalizations. If the paint has some age on it, it's a good idea to strip. If there is peeling/delam/oxidizing of the clear coat, it's a good idea to strip. If you have questionable areas, it's a good idea to strip. You can simply strip the offending areas as well, but IMO it's always better to strip something like what you are working on completely and then epoxy. Just like a house you need a good foundation for everything to last. Bare metal then epoxy gives you that.

It would take nearly as long or longer to sand the clear as it would to strip it IMO. And you still are going to have to prime and block to get it nice and straight before paint. Trying to sand the clear and then go straight to base won't look good. You need to prime and block to ensure it's straight. That is assuming you want it looking nice when finished.

There are many ways to do it, (strip). One way that works well and is fast is to get some of these:
www.empireabrasives.com

4-1/2" x 7/8" Easy Strip and Clean Disc

4-1/2" x 7/8" Easy Strip and Clean Discs are the perfect product for quickly removing paint, scale or oxidation without harming the work beneath. Made of abrasive filled blue nylon webbing for extra strength and longevity these 4.5 Inch E-Z paint stripper discs easily attach to an angle grinder.
www.empireabrasives.com www.empireabrasives.com

Strip the paint using those and then follow up with 80 grit on the DA or by hand in hard to reach areas. Important to do that as the strip discs don't leave the ideal surface for epoxy. Using the strip discs though you could strip the exterior of the cab easily in a day. They work very fast.

In the end obviously it's up to you what to do, but if it were mine, and I wanted it to look nice and last, no question I would strip it.
 
Alright. I got it now.

So I just picked up one of these mainly to clean up the frame, but I'm hoping it will work good for the bodywork as well. It comes with a drum with similar material you linked to. This might be nice for the big open areas but I'll need the discs for the tight spots so I saved your link.
58079_W3.jpg
 
I definitely want it to look nice, but more importantly I need it to last Michigan winters with the salt and sand they spread all over.
 
Edgecrusher said:
Alright. I got it now.

So I just picked up one of these mainly to clean up the frame, but I'm hoping it will work good for the bodywork as well. It comes with a drum with similar material you linked to. This might be nice for the big open areas but I'll need the discs for the tight spots so I saved your link.
58079_W3.jpg
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Not going to work as good as what I linked to or last anywhere near as long. Slower as well. Cookie disc on a 4 1/2" angle grinder will make short work of stripping. And they are cheap. Not all cookie discs are the same though. Stay away from the HF junk. They don't last. Ones I linked to will last and are only $5 a disc.
 
Yes. I've used cheap ones in the past. Kinda turned me off from them so seeing them suggested is kinda surprising. As far as HF goes, I hadn't bought anything from them for years. Then I saw this and there's a lot of buzz lately about them and also the one from Eastwood which I'm sure mine is based on. I was expecting a more aggressive motor. Unfortunately, it's alot like my buffer I got from them. You hit the trigger and it takes a few seconds to get up to speed. I got it for the price of a grinder though. $80. So it was worth a try. I think it will work great cleaning up rusty metal. It's just not the magical tool everyone makes it out to be.

Thank you for sharing with me.
 
Edgecrusher said:
Yes. I've used cheap ones in the past. Kinda turned me off from them so seeing them suggested is kinda surprising. As far as HF goes, I hadn't bought anything from them for years. Then I saw this and there's a lot of buzz lately about them and also the one from Eastwood which I'm sure mine is based on. I was expecting a more aggressive motor. Unfortunately, it's alot like my buffer I got from them. You hit the trigger and it takes a few seconds to get up to speed. I got it for the price of a grinder though. $80. So it was worth a try. I think it will work great cleaning up rusty metal. It's just not the magical tool everyone makes it out to be.

Thank you for sharing with me.
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IMO that tool is a gimmicky thing. Snap On guy (Or maybe it was MAC cant remember ATM) was peddling them 20+ years ago. Several guys bought one, used it a bit and quit. They marketed them as a "Crudbuster" back then. But they had the various attachments like in the pic you posted which were stupid expensive. I tried a guys a couple of times and I found it hard to control. Kept wanting to walk around on me. Hard to keep in the area I wanted it. Didn't like it at all and saw no real benefit to it.

Lot of Eastwood stuff is gimmicky stuff like that. None of Eastwood's stuff (tools) is any better quality IMO than HF. And I would never buy any supplies from there. Private label stuff at best mediocre quality. Cheap isn't always cheap especially with supplies.
 
That tool works fine. I have one. Ive used it on several projects. Its probably not the fastest thing in the world but it has its place. I just stripped a hood with it yesterday. Works really well on round things as well. Got a huge gas tank in the yard that runs my fireplace, that was ugly and rusty. Tool worked well for knocking that down before paint being that the round wheel easily follows the contour of the tank.
 
That surface conditioning tool has its place. I use it to clean up sheet metal as the first step in fabrication. I use it to suppliment the grinder strip disk on large surfaces and frames, mostly to clean up to a consistent finish before next steps. I have the drum equivalent to a strip disk and drum wire brushes to work on rusted surfaces like floors and frames. It’s a useful tool for restoration work.
 
I also like the spacers so you can use the narrow wheels for better access. Quite a few options on the wheels now too. Stuff like wire wheels, brass wire wheels with many grits and types.
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clubairth said:
I also like the spacers so you can use the narrow wheels for better access. Quite a few options on the wheels now too. Stuff like wire wheels, brass wire wheels with many grits and types.
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I'm going to have to look into this. I bought the wire wheel HF sells along with this as it only came with that coral looking strip drum and two scotchbrite type drums. I think the wire wheel is brass and it isn't aggressive enough. I'd like to find something better.
 
Lot's of knock off drums out there now. Consumables need to drop in price to make this a better tool. And they are somewhat.
This looks fairly tough. Twisted steel wire. Also comes in stainless steel in various wire sizes.

Wire Wheel.jpg


Here is a selection of wheels. Heck they even sell a "Horse Hair" version for light polishing!
Drums for SCT's
I think the key is to find what type of wheel/drum works best for your application
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