Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Paint stripping tip

I've read about people sandblasting or wire-wheeling their pumps, and it got me to thinking. My pump had many layers of paint, perhaps 5 or 6. Being cheap, paying for sandblasting didn't appeal to me. And the wire wheel would take forever. I decided to use FIRE.

Before there were heat guns, there were torches. I chose a basic torch (Bernz-o-matic?), and a sturdy scraper tool and had at it. Started off slow and careful, and found that it worked real good. The paint would soften up and yield to the scraper. Ended up doing 6" X 6" squares, I'd heat the paint to the point that it would begin to blister. The panels would get some heat, but not anything I couldn't handle comfortably with my bare hands.

Obviously there's some cautions to be heeded. You need good ventilation. Be careful to not warp the panels, don't burn yourself, and try not to set anything on fire (an extinguisher would be prudent). Bonus is you can get rid of all those spiderwebs and birdsnests at the same time, and maybe even heat some of those stubborn bolts while you're playing around, er, working hard.

PS - The candlewax trick worked well. Another plus for the torch.

Fire around an old gas pump really makes me nervous... Of course common sense would dictate that one would remove and move the panels far away from the frame and guts.
I use a good heavy duty paint stripper...
Just spray it on, let it sit and bubble up for a few minutes and hose and scrape it off. No chance of warping either.

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Frank

never tried the fire trick. id be scared to try it on a new car door though! old heavy pump steel probably worked alright though!

i used paint stripper on a car hood this summer & 1/2 the hood was in the sun (warm) & man did that stripper really work with the sun shining on it!
the shaded part of the hood wasnt bubbling up like the (sunnyside) so i pulled the hood out i the sun & that stripper bubbled up like peroxide in an open wound!

Heat warapge??? I don't know I like to hot tank em. Ted

I've tried about all of it and the best situation was some panels that went to a commercial blaster. Let them know it isn't a rush job and you'll be paying cash. I don't know if I could have bought enough sand for what four panels, inside and out cost. If you have a lot of time to kill, sanding, stripping, or blasting yourself is ok, but after I've spent several hours on one panel I start thinking about restoring something smaller and cleaner.

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ROD [Mich.]

Sand blasting is cheap, fast and easy,at least around these parts.

So far I've gone the acid dipping method.
Does a good job but gets a little pricey.
Around $120.

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JERRY

When I strip paint with chemicals, I lay the stripper on with one motion and cover the stripper immediately with Saranwrap. This keeps the chemicals down on the surface and not in the air. Chemicals go further and you can see the sripper working or not. If not, move stripper by hand to areas where needed or simply lift plastic and add more where needed. Sometimes 36 grit scratch with a DA will let the chemical penetrate and lift unwanted material faster. Good luck to all. Fact is ... there is no easy way.

interesting dantheman,
i dont doubt you for a second & ill give the saran wrap a try sometime.

i had a nasty hood covered with layers of paint & i had a nice shady spot outside where i set my hood up on my stand & the sun moved before i got a chance to get-R-done & 1/2 the hood was shaded so i covered about 1/2 the hood with stripper & man was that paint jumpin right off the hood in the sunny areas!?
maybe it was the warmth of the metal from the sun?

For stripping multiple coats of paint, I use a straight razor blade in a holder. Its a little difficult to start, but once you've worked an area to get the blade under the paint, the paint comes off super easy. As you psh the scraper into the paint it just chips and flakes off. Goes fairly quickly too. The best part is clean up, just sweep, or vacuum up the mess. After the scrape, just a quick run over the panel with a D/A sander and you're done.

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-Dave-
Slowly progressing on a '54 Tokheim 39

Has anyone tried electrolysis..works great, removes rust paint etc. etc.

Just a quick outline: for small parts: 5 gal. pail put in water add washing soda,or lye (there are others) add a sacrificial (sp) piece of steel ( I use stainless steel) hook a battery charger to the stainless (positive side) and other (neg. side to part) and run charger at between 5-8 amps. It works G-R-E-A-T.. If you want more info, I will add more detail...

For skins and large parts I use 55 gal plastic drum.. If you try this, I don't thnk you will go back to the other methods, you can do at home and doesn't cost much at all.. results are SUPER....

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Regards ....
Jerry J .....

jerry tell us more I am facinated by this it does not remove paint right. how long does it take hours days ?? how long does the solution last??

ward

Anyone ever try their pressure washer? I remember someone telling me it will take the chrome off a trailer hitch ball. Or was that a line from a movie?

The electrolysis has been discussed here on prior occasion. I think Koz in Oregon had a post that gave detailed instructions on how to do it. He said it worked great!

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Don "oltoydoc" Sherwood
Vintage Gas

Hi everyone,
I was doing some fact finding on Google for different methods of paint & rust removal and I came across a hotrod forum that discussed all sorts of restoration topics. I found quite a few threads on the topic of using a molasses and water mix to treat painted and rusted metal. I found more than 30 testimonials on the sight swearing to it's effectiveness. I guess the mixture of 1 part molasses to 7 parts water starts to ferment after several days and turns into a concentrated solution of acetic acid. Everyone swears it cleans the paint and rust down to bare metal without any ill affects to the good steel. You can leave the part or parts in the solution as long as you want. They suggest two weeks on average. One guy even built a hot tub sized container and uses enough mixture to treat his and his friends rusty Model T parts. The solution lasts as long as it takes to evaporate and costs very little to make. The molasses can be bought in bulk at feed stores. Anybody else heard of this method or tried this method? I am very tempted to give it a try on smaller pieces.
Dave

Jerry J:

Welcome back. How was Florida?

Hey, I have a great idea. I'll bring my A-38H panels down to you - and you can show me how easy that electrolyis process works.

Oh, how do ya like the Michigan Maid lenses?

Later . . .

Jim





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