whitey45
SILVER Star
Patina Appreciation: Show Us Your Rusty Land Cruiser! (28 Viewers)
- Thread starter seth
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LC Heritage museum FST!
I have been a lurking member for a while (we have an 80 and 100 series), but I bought this '72 about a month ago. It had been sitting in my friends field for around 20 years. I've been asking about it for about 15 years. He finally got sick of me asking about it and sold it to me. We brought it home, cleaned out the years of dirt and garbage, put a new battery in it, and it started up. Amazing! It still needs the brakes and clutch overhauled and a lot more, but it I was surprised it started up.
I like the idea of getting back to the original green paint and keeping it there with whatever patina it may have. I have read on here that guys have used Aircraft stripper, Citrus stripper, Goof off Graffiti Remover, Safety Kleen paint stripper, and Easy-Off oven cleaner. I tried the Easy-off with a blue (non-scratch) scotch-brite pad on a section of the rear corner. It took me three applications of letting the Easy-off sit 5-10 minutes, then scrubbing with the blue pad a few minutes, then wiping with a towel and rinsing it to get to where the picture shows. I chose the Easy-off because it seemed the least drastic, but it did take a while.
Should I expect to take this much time to remove the black paint?
Is there a faster way to do it? I don't want to mess up the green paint.
Thanks for any help you can give.
I like the idea of getting back to the original green paint and keeping it there with whatever patina it may have. I have read on here that guys have used Aircraft stripper, Citrus stripper, Goof off Graffiti Remover, Safety Kleen paint stripper, and Easy-Off oven cleaner. I tried the Easy-off with a blue (non-scratch) scotch-brite pad on a section of the rear corner. It took me three applications of letting the Easy-off sit 5-10 minutes, then scrubbing with the blue pad a few minutes, then wiping with a towel and rinsing it to get to where the picture shows. I chose the Easy-off because it seemed the least drastic, but it did take a while.
Should I expect to take this much time to remove the black paint?
Is there a faster way to do it? I don't want to mess up the green paint.
Thanks for any help you can give.
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How about color sand with 800 grit till you see green then do thr easy off.. to take off afew layers of black
I will try that.
Do you think I should sand it by hand, would a power sander be too much?
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I’m no expert on sanding but if I was doing it it would be by hand. I’d also think wet sand. But I’m not a pro
Wet sanding will yield the best results. Start with 1000 on a small section and see how it does. It should cut it down to the green fairly quick. Make sure you have a squeegee to wipe off the water/debris as you sand.
Everything I know about this stuff I learned in the patina tips thread, so take it for what it's worth, but I used Goof Off to take off some rattle can primer I had had under my diamond plate and it took it off pretty easily. Didn't seem to affect the original paint though I wiped it down as soon as I got it off. I would at least buy a can and play around with it if I were attempting what you are.
What they said... if you can buy/borrow a body shop style wet sander you could do it that way, but i would start by hand wet sanding, going finer as you get closer to the old paint, 1500-2000 grit scratches will buff out with 6061 3m buffing compound...
On a scale of decay, with respectable patina and usage wear on one end, and dangerously decrepit eyesore on the other end, mine was on the bad end:
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In rust we trust!
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At our Club meeting last night there were 3 very poorly painted Cruisers they had rust bubbling out at every corner.
I have no problem with fresh paint but 85% of them end up being a wreck in a few years due to poor prep.
Sad.
I have no problem with fresh paint but 85% of them end up being a wreck in a few years due to poor prep.
Sad.
Here's my rusty 40. To be fair it's not my patina, O just adopted it.
This is a long shot but if you can find an outfit that has a dry ice blaster it might work real well.
It's like a sand blaster but uses dry ice pellets. The process was developed to strip paint from aircraft without damaging the aluminum skin. The other benefit is the only residue is paint dust.
I had a supplier do a demo in the factory. We were thinking of using the system to clean rubber molds. In the maintenance area there was a very large, very old steel workbench. It had several coats of oil based enamel paint on it. The demo rep hit it with the dry ice blaster and it cleanly removed one layer of paint at a time. It did not change the luster of the paint layer underneath.
This process is used not only for aircraft but cleaning the inside of bulk storage tanks....etc.
I have heard of this method of blasting, but don't know of anyone in my area doing it. I wonder if it is more expensive than other methods like steel shot or aluminum oxide? I usually get my parts done with steel shot since it comes the best IMO, but it tears through ALL layers of paint/bondo/undercoat almost immediately. You're not going to "preserve" any patina unless it's a bare blasted steel look you're after.
I have not looked at it hard but Airgas and Liquid Carbonic both mention the process on their websites in the context of them being suppliers of dry ice pellets used in the blasters.
Back when I looked at it there were two types of blasters: one used purpose made dry ice pellets and the other was loaded with standard blocks of dry ice which the machine crushed. The pellet type was considered more effective.
You might contact the local dry ice supplier like Airgas or whoever and ask them if anyone is in the business.
This was in the mid 90's and I no longer have the file so no idea of the cost.
If I thought I could turn a profit I'd buy a dry ice blaster, put it in a trailer and go in business. But I'm not much of a businessman.
It definitely seems like a better choice over soda blasting. I've personally known guys who have used that method and have had many issues with paint adhesion. Apparently it leaves a residue that is difficult to remove.
Here's a couple pics of my '72 I just brought over to my garage. It has been at my dad's place for over a year. It's "home" now.
