Respray removal

[ijonesinsp]

Does anyone out there have the silver bullet for removing a respray job and exposing the original paint? I am sure there are several nuances involved and I would love to hear about anyone’s successes or failures.

I have a green ‘74 that was resprayed at some point with a John Deere type green. You can see a lot of the old paint poking through. I don’t want to sandblast if I don’t have to since there is a lot of rust free stuff there. See an example pic:

 

[CruisinGA]

Goof Off has worked for me but I have never done areas that big

 

[ijonesinsp]

I don’t really have anything to lose on the tank cover I showed. I’ll try a few things and see what’s worthwhile

 

[B y r o n]

No silver bullets!

 

[Ocho77]

Depends on how good their prep was when they did the respray. If there is peeling paint anywhere, a pressure washer works great to peel off as much as possible.

If no peeling paint, it’s more time consuming. Oven cleaner worked great for me.

 

[6f40j9]

I’ve been using acetone and purple scotchbrite pads. I’ve got maybe 2/3 of the hood left to do. Tedious as … but nothing else worked for me.

 

[ijonesinsp]

Depends on how good their prep was when they did the respray. If there is peeling paint anywhere, a pressure washer works great to peel off as much as possible.

If no peeling paint, it’s more time consuming. Oven cleaner worked great for me.

From what’s showing, I would say no prep at all. At least no scuffing or sanding anyway.

 

[charliemeyer007]

MEK (methyl ethyl ketone peroxide) will eat spray can paint just like wiping off oil with a gasoline rag. You have any leaks in your skin, contact with MEK burns right now, otherwise its cool like acetone or alcohol. Use outside with chemical gloves and a respirator is a good plan. Read and heed the MSDA sheet - bad for liver

 

[cruiserboy14]

I used citristrip. It’s a paint remover. But it’s not very harsh. I used that and green or purple Brillo pads. It works great if you put in the elbow grease. I was using it on mine but decided to go another direction after seeing the paint.

 

[45Dougal]

I'd start with the pressure washer as suggested if the prep was non existent, it might just peel off.

Next option is to figure out what type of paint it was - a lot of older cans were cellulose, while newer ones could be acrylic or water based etc.
you might find that you can use the right thinners to remove one but not the other.

 

[tahoe fj40]

Brake parts cleaner sprayed on 0000 steel wool ..do not spray the paint. Saturate the pad and lightly scrub. You will go through some steel wool. It’s going to load up with old paint. Wax……. Enjoy

 

[clrussell]

Watching

 

[ijonesinsp]

Looks like I have plans for the weekend...

 

[cruisermatt]

wear gloves. I did this on my 71 that had a cheap respray over the original paint

 

[rainingagain]

My go to is lacquer thinner. Soak a cloth rag and use that to dissolve and wipe away the green paint.

Just be careful when you get down to the original color. The lacquer thinner will take that off as well. Don’t let it sit on there too long.

 

[numby]

Somewhere I heard that 681 Green is a rare color on a 40. I know that they come out of Columbia with that and it's considered desirable. Just sayin'.

Brake kleen will strip it off right quick.

 

[ijonesinsp]

Somewhere I heard that 681 Green is a rare color on a 40. I know that they come out of Columbia with that and it's considered desirable. Just sayin'.

Brake kleen will strip it off right quick.

I'm pretty sure the original was Rustic Green...T-621 maybe? Lots of stuff is shining up nicely with the @wngrog approach.