Removing Paint methods

[JD_720lp]

Hello everyone,
as you may know i am in the restoration process of a john deere 720lp. i went to sand blast and it always gets clogged. i hate sand blasting becayse it never works. What paint removal methods does everyone else use? and any tips with painting and priming or anything at all to do with this tractor would really help. thanks

 

[Harvestmoonpuller]

Ive always used aircraft paint remover. Its really strong and works really good. Just apply it to the paint and let it sit for recommended time the pressure wash off. Its nuetralized by water so theres no harming the environment or anything with it. May have to repeat the whole stripping step but works really good and very minimal work. just paint on with brush, drink a beer, wash off with pressure washer, drink beer, and repeat until all off

 

[alabamafrog]

I use $1 a can oven cleaner from the dollar store then a pressure washer to remove the grease and oil and first few layers of paint. What paint stays I sand and wire wheel off. I might try that aircraft paint remover next time after the oven cleaner to try and get around the wire wheeling and sanding. A case of oven cleaner for $12 is hard to beat. I’m not a fan of sandblasting.
Actually I think it is Dollar General instead of the Dollar Store, one is slightly stronger than the other.

 

[Ray Durham]

Where can one buy aircraft paint remover? Thanks

 

[johndeerefan]

Old fashioned hand sanding is the best, but it is the hardest way. Just remember, when you think you have sanded enough, do it again. 99% of the finished product is based on the preparation stages. Use patience and you will be fine.

I have some steps if you are interested. Just email me at [email protected]

 

[PBrowning]

I've found it at WalMart and Ace Hdwe Stores (PatB)

 

[Daninsc]

i buy it by the gallon from auto parts store, last a lot longer than in the spray can, works just as good

 

[JD_720lp]

ya im not a fan of sand blasting. and this aircraft is paint you paint on? i might try that. and yes for the little parts i remove and take a grinding disk on a drill 2 them

 

[Anonymous-0]

First Ill never purchase a tractor that has been sand blasted again, unless it was taken apart and than the parts blasted, it gets inside the tractor no matter what, ruins all seal and more.oven cleaner is the best but has to be the real oven cleaner not the $1 one, the $4, only works, will take it down to the metal with a good power washer, even have tried aircraft remover.$4 oven cleaner work the very best.Good luck

 

[Harvestmoonpuller]

Yea you can basically paint it on with a paint brush. Its not actually paint thats just the easiest way to apply it. Its kinda like a gel. Ive stripped every inch of paint off of a farmall F-12 In about 5 hours with it. Thats my first choice whenever im doin anything where i have to remove paint from metal.

 

[alabamafrog]

Here is a pic of one of mine during the $1 oven cleaning stage.



Here is another;



Next time I get one to that point I’d like to try the air craft stuff to see if it will get the rest of it off.
Or will it do it all at once?

 

[M Puller in WI]

i usually use a grinder with a wire wheel to remove the majority of the paint, then take an electric hand sander or even an air sander with a realfine sand paper to get a nice smooth finish on the metal then be sure to prime it. ive seen many people take it down to bare metal and try to skip priming it and it just dont turn out as well.
just my 2 cents
M puller

 

[F-I-T]

If the paint is original, it's most likely old synthetic enamel without a hardener, or maybe an alkyd, and that stuff comes off pretty nice with a recipe I cooked up many years ago that I call "Lye Gravy", made with corn starch and lye. Tons cheaper than even the $1 oven cleaner. Slop it on, hose it off and follw with a good high pressure wash. Re-apply to any spots that need more help.

Parts smaller than a large suite case go into the 150 gal. electrolysis tank which strips and de-rusts them with no harsh chemicals. I have a 8HP compressor and a 125# Tip pressure pot blaster, but since I began using lye gravy and electrolysis, it doesn't see much use. It is still handy for large things like really nasty rims, castings that are going to be disassembled, etc. I also use AO at about 60 grit in my blast cabinet, but on anything that you dip, blast, scrub, or cook to bare metal, you should treat it with phosphoric acid to remove any residue from blasting or dissolving, and also to give the metal a thin patina of phosphate coating that will inhibit rusting until you can get your primer applied. This is especially important if you "sand" blast because you will have embedded a layer of silica dust and gravel into the surface, and if you paint over it without first dissolving it, it can come back later and pop up from under the paint, ruining the finish and adhesion in general.

You can search this forum for the info on lye gravy and electrolysis.

 

[Rob Myhren]

I bought mine at Carquest, but if I remember correctly it was around $50-60 for a gallon. I works very well, don't get any on your skin, it burns like hell. On my 37 B i used oven cleaner and it worked very well, I sprayed it on and let it sit for 5-10 minutes and used a 4" angle grinder with a wire wheel and it worked just as easy as the aircraft stripper just not quite as strong or quick. I found that the orginal worked better then the lemon.

 

[primerk5]

I've never used this stuff but it looks like it may work. It looks as though you set up a bath with a Cheap Sump Pump and let it work. It sounds too good to be true but you basically let it wash the rust away. I'm thinking about using this on my A when I get around to restoring it.

http://www.missbelvedere.com/default.asp

Have fun

 

[fixerupper]

Can't give any more advice on paint removal, in fact I've learned something from this post.

The sand blasting problem you are having just hit a raw nerve. This morn I decided to sand blast a gas barrel stand. It's no big deal, just a few angle irons, I thought.

The sand (silica) was in plastic bags and this is the first time I've ever handled the stuff in plastic. Anyway, I carried a bag out to the tub, cut it open and the sand was wet. I grumbled and left it there, got another bag, opened it up and it was WET. THIRD bag was wet. FOURTH bag was dry but when I set it down it split open at the seams and the sand flowed out all over the place. FIFTH bag was mostly dry so I poured it in, but by the time I was done with the project the sand was coming out really slow. The sand blaster went back in the shed with a plugged hose. I'll deal with it later! Next sand I buy will be in paper bags that can breathe!Jim

 

[Hotflashjr]

How does this work around more sensitive areas like the motor? That is about one of the only things I haven't blasted on my motor yet for fear of sand getting into it. Everything else has been taken apart piece by piece and blasted clean.

 

[johns48jdb]

super clean from wal mart in purple gallon jugs will eat just about anything off left on long enough or reapplied several tiems. i blow off as much stuff as i can with air pressure, spray kero on it and wait about 5 minutees and then appply the sper clean. it want get it all bust it does pretty good. on the sand blasting the sand has to be dry. i took a 55 gal barrel with the top out of it and put a metal 4 inch dia pipe in the middle of it with several holes drilled in it and wrapped screen wire around it. i put this piep down in the barrel with the top of the pipe sticking above the top of the barreen. holding it in the middle of the barrell i poured the sand in the barrel and when it was full i dropped a trouble light down the pipe to the bottom and left it on over night. the next day i had a barrel of very dry sand to work with. i made my own sand blasting booth from plywoood and for the port to see through i covered it with plexiglas. it gets where yo can't see through it after a while , so i changed it out and just for grins i left the plastic clear coating on it once. it lasted a long time so rather than buy more plexiglas my wives saran wrap came up missing. you want believe how long that stuff last and its sure cheap enough to swap out a couple times a day if you use it all day. i put a long pipe in the top of the box and ran a plastic pipe from it to a 5 gal bucket filled with rags and then a pipe out the other side to the shop vac. the rags captured the majority of the dust and the sand that was re usable didn't go out the pipe becaue it was to heavy and fell back into the box i made. a piece of plexiglas on the top with a light shiniing down through it lit up the box. i cut some donuts out of a piece of 1/4 plywood and used it to fasten a set of rubber gloves to the front of the box right below the viewing port. a little bab powder kept the gloves dry and comfortable to work in.