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Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:31 am

I've read some of you mention that http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00980281000P the twisted wire wheels are great for stripping, I looked at one at the store and it was extremely stiff and seemed as if it would deeply score the metal. Is this the case, or am I being a little girl about it? :shock:

I picked up one of those 80 grit flap sanding disks for the grinder and it takes the paint down to bare metal in about .0005 seconds, my only fear is that it's far too abrasive and will leave flat spots in the metal because it works far too well. I've resorted to using a normal wire wheel on a corded drill which will take me nearly a year to strip the entire car with.

I guess my main question is; will the twisted wire wheel harm the bare metal or is it good to go? :)

Thanks in advance
--Matt

Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:15 am

Do you have an air compressor and a DA sander or have you considered using a chemical stripper like aircraft stripper?

another good option is 3M's bristle disc, but they are expensive.

I'm like you I didn't really like using the twisted wire, seemed to aggressive. I used the straight wire cupped wheels with pretty good success but hated the flying wires (always wear eye/face protection). I sunk a wire 1/2 inch in my forearm, only a tiny bit of the wire was sticking out above the skin. Took a pair of needle nose pliers to pull it out.

Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:13 am

ouch. I do have an air compressor but it wouldn't run a DA very well, as it's only a 25 gallon. I'll try one of the wire cups. Although the flying wire does sound painful :shock:

Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:53 pm

hi

A drill will take you a life time like you already know and probably several drills. They are hard to hold and get really HOT.

Pick up an electric angle grinder. they make wire wheels of various gauges to fit them. Purchase one of each stiffness and try them out till you find one you like.
It will easier and quicker and you'll find an angle grinder is just a wonderful tool to have for so many little projects. You won't regret having one.
Don't get the cheap harbor freight type but a reputable brand that will hold up for the rigors you are about to subject it to.

dave

Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:07 pm

I am of the opinion that the ONLY way to strip metal (of anything, except maybe powder coating) is media blasting. I think once you try it, and it is done right, you will agree....

JMO...

Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:36 pm

I just had a car come back from soda blasting but have now heard a lot of bad things about it. For one paint adhesion issues.
I washed the baking soda off a few panels with vinegar/ water and gave it a very thin coat of primer. Hopefully it will hold paint.

Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:00 am

johnshenry wrote: I am of the opinion that the ONLY way to strip metal (of anything, except maybe powder coating) is media blasting. I think once you try it, and it is done right, you will agree....

JMO...

Hi,

While I agree in principle that blasting is great, it isn't for everyone or every item. The fact is that most people do not have the equipment to do this. They also don't have the area and lacking both of these, they also don't have the cash to lay out to pay someone else to do the task.
Hence we get into sanding and brushing and grinding.

For me, I strip something as small as a bug with chemicals. Yes, I know it is messy, it takes some care but the end result is no damage to anything (assuming you've stripped the panel of all added items beforehand). No warped panels, no sand or media clogging things, no transport to a shop, etc. Strippers (the chemicals, not what you are thinking [-X ) cost a few bucks. Organize and plan and you can do a fender a night or a door. Go as fast or as slow as you like prepping, repairing and priming each panel as you go along without fear of rust taking over the car as you work on detail body flaws.

just another opinion
Dave

Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:04 am

djkeev wrote: johnshenry wrote: I am of the opinion that the ONLY way to strip metal (of anything, except maybe powder coating) is media blasting. I think once you try it, and it is done right, you will agree....

JMO...

Hi,

While I agree in principle that blasting is great, it isn't for everyone or every item. The fact is that most people do not have the equipment to do this. They also don't have the area and lacking both of these, they also don't have the cash to lay out to pay someone else to do the task.
Hence we get into sanding and brushing and grinding.

For me, I strip something as small as a bug with chemicals. Yes, I know it is messy, it takes some care but the end result is no damage to anything (assuming you've stripped the panel of all added items beforehand). No warped panels, no sand or media clogging things, no transport to a shop, etc. Strippers (the chemicals, not what you are thinking [-X ) cost a few bucks. Organize and plan and you can do a fender a night or a door. Go as fast or as slow as you like prepping, repairing and priming each panel as you go along without fear of rust taking over the car as you work on detail body flaws.

just another opinion
Dave

Points taken, and I didn't mean to pirate the original poster's question/topic about stripping wheels.

I mentioned media blasting because many people, like me, consider it too messy, equipment intensive, expensive, etc. without fully looking into it. Both from a buy your own equipment and have a shop do it standpoint.
Of course I can't say what folks have available near them, or how much it would cost, but it should be considered. Nothing, even chemical stripping, can come close to prepping irregular surfaces with a uniform texture, ready for primer/paint. I had my '57 done, inside and out, top and bottom, lids, fenders and tank for $600. It would have taken YEARS to strip that much off with wheels and/or chemicals.

Panel warpage due to media blasting is a myth. It can only occur with improper use of the blasting equipment.

My problem with chemicals disposition of the chemical. What do you do Dave?

Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:50 pm

Get a high quality angle grinder; a wire wheel on a drill is a joke, and would take forever and a box of wire wheels. I have two Makita and a DeWalt angle grinder. I have been using a twisted wire wheel on an angle grinder for years to remove rust, paint and filler. On 20 gauge sheet metal, the trick is not to press hard on the angle grinder. The metal is left pretty smooth so you will have to condition it before using filler and painting it.
Recently, I used the twisted wire wheel to remove the paint on a bus front end that I was restoring. I have done the same thing to bus bumpers. I had to sand the bare metal to scuff it up before painting.
For removing layers of paint but leaving the original coat before painting, I have used my random orbital sander, starting out with an 80 grit sanding disc and going up as it was getting close to the original paint. Take it easy on curves and don't sand edges because it will go right down to bare metal. Since you want to remove all of the layers of paint, you could start out with a 40 grit sandpaper disc to save a lot of time, then go up to an 80 or 100 grit disc, then a 180 grit disc to scuff up the metal.

Fri Jun 20, 2008 6:26 am

A heat gun and putty knove works good for removing bondo & undercoating, just be careful not to overheat the panels.

Fri Jun 20, 2008 7:15 am

my bus had a lot of layers of paint... most of it crappy (non-hardened, non-auto) paint....
Those sanding disks on an angle grinder just clogged too fast. The 3M brissle disks do work well (specially for flat surfaces) but are rather expensive...
The knotted wire cups on an angle grinder are not bad...

Just for kicks, i went to home depot and bought some Citristrip, doubtful of it working... but wow... i was surprised... some of the paint on my bus just started to lift right off... i could get most of the paint off with the stripper and a scraper... easily... then i use wire cups/wheels to remove the rest, then i use a flap disc, then i hand sand...

for spots that are really rusty, i find the flap disc works great... likewise, the flap disc works well on OG (hardened) paint... it does leave the surface real smooth, so i go back and hand sand afterwards...

Fri Jun 20, 2008 4:01 pm

runderwood wrote: my bus had a lot of layers of paint... most of it crappy (non-hardened, non-auto) paint....
Those sanding disks on an angle grinder just clogged too fast. The 3M brissle disks do work well (specially for flat surfaces) but are rather expensive...
The knotted wire cups on an angle grinder are not bad...

Just for kicks, i went to home depot and bought some Citristrip, doubtful of it working... but wow... i was surprised... some of the paint on my bus just started to lift right off... i could get most of the paint off with the stripper and a scraper... easily... then i use wire cups/wheels to remove the rest, then i use a flap disc, then i hand sand...

for spots that are really rusty, i find the flap disc works great... likewise, the flap disc works well on OG (hardened) paint... it does leave the surface real smooth, so i go back and hand sand afterwards...

The finest grit flap disk I can find is 60. It gets down to bare metal instantly and I'm afraid it'll leave flat spots on the sheet metal. Am I just being paranoid? 60 grit at 11000 rpm just seems dangerous to me on the bare metal. If you guys say a twisted wire wheel on the angle grinder is fine for the metal I'll take your word for it as you've been doing this for a hell of a lot longer than I have.