What paint is this? (1 Viewer)

[Do Over]

The PO did a 20 foot paint job on the bed of this ‘69FJ40. If I try and remove it with a wire wheel, it gums up the wire wheel. If I use mineral spirits or paint prep, the red comes off and exposes a gummy mess. There are areas where it comes off in small sheets. Other than sand blasting, is there another option?

 

[Jetlander]

Seems like it is some sort of bedliner or the like. Has you tried a torch with a scrapper?

 

[Do Over]

Seems like it is some sort of bedliner or the like. Has you tried a torch with a scrapper?

Not a bad idea. I don't want to mess up the underside if possible. I will try a heat gun first. The PO didn’t spend any time on prep. Painted over dirt and rust.

 

[skidplate]

Doesn't appear that the red paint is coming off, but rather some type of textured clear coat?
This is just my experience, but I've used gasoline on hard to remove stuff and it usually works.
I'm not suggesting you try it but with great caution and great ventilation and starting with a small area
it may work.

 

[pb4ugo]

Idk, you might try harbor freight,'s polycarbonate wheel on a drill, It has an open design, removes paint and doesn't grind into the metal. Or aircraft paint remover, that stuff eats the can its in. Or as mentioned heat.

 

[erics]

Have you looked at dry ice blasting? Cool technology and may lift that top layer off perfectly...

 

[Do Over]

Have you looked at dry ice blasting? Cool technology and may lift that top layer off perfectly...

Thank you. A collective group of good ideas. Now to rank them in order of ease of use and cost and start testing. Of course I have to start at Harbor Freight because as my wife says, “any excuse to buy a new tool”.

 

[TheHardWay]

“any excuse to buy a new tool”.

Yep. Works for me!

 

[dmaddox]

since the red looks ok - I'd start light and work my way in, attempting to preserve what you can.

Use Xylene or Lacquer thinner (less aggresive) to start, in a small area. See if it will break down the gummy crap enough w/o disturbing the red base.

Any wheel or abrasive harbor freight tool will strip it all off. Then again - not sure what your goal is here, but original paint is only original once. My advice....proceed with caution and preserve the old paint.

 

[rainingagain]

since the red looks ok - I'd start light and work my way in, attempting to preserve what you can.

Use Xylene or Lacquer thinner (less aggresive) to start, in a small area. See if it will break down the gummy crap enough w/o disturbing the red base.

This is what I would do. Lacquer thinner is my go to for removing crap like this. Sticky glue, weatherstrip adhesive, older spray paint, you name it. It's surprisingly effective. Just be careful if you want to keep the red paint underneath. It will take that off if you leave it on to long.

 

[pjohnson]

I've seen FB posts about using dry ice and then it scrapes off easily. Some guy that goes by El Capitan Teflon. Probably someone on here...

 

[LandCrusher'70]

Have you looked at dry ice blasting? Cool technology and may lift that top layer off perfectly...

Icee what you did there….

 

[Do Over]

Haven’t gone for the lacquer thinner yet. The polycarbonate wheel is a little too aggressive and it gums up with the black gunk. I tried the heat gun on low with a putty knife and this will remove the top red layer and half of the gunk. Mineral spirits removed the rest of the black material. I have to be more careful with the scraping.

 

[dmaddox]

I wouldn’t scrape or use a metal tool. Start with xylene to remove the top, then lacquer thinner. Once it starts to clean, stop and use a citrus goof off or cleaner to get the remaining. Looks like you have some nice red original paint under there! Nice work!

 

[pithicus]

I find the 125mm rubber drill disks with course carborundum paper is the quickest. Can leave scratches though.

The flexible ones with the screw in the middle. Not the flat velcro ones, they are useless.

 

[Do Over]

I wouldn’t scrape or use a metal tool. Start with xylene to remove the top, then lacquer thinner. Once it starts to clean, stop and use a citrus goof off or cleaner to get the remaining. Looks like you have some nice red original paint under there! Nice work!

Thanks to all for the help. This will all play out in my sanity hearing.

 

[thebigredrocker]

@FUTURE MUDDER
forgive me if I missed it, are you wanting to keep the red paint? If so there is a dry ice thread on mud. There are some youtube links in that thread. Haven't tried it but appears to really work well.

Didn't see oven cleaner mentioned. Have heard easy-off works good for some applications.

 

[Do Over]

Ok. Here is what is working. I laid a shop rag over the area to be striped and I soaked it with xylene. After 20 minutes I removed the rag and used a soft wood stirrer to push off the heavy material. Then I wiped the area down with mineral spirits.

 

[MadMace]

Another thing you can try is full strength Super Clean (the purple stuff you can get from Walmart). I have been working on my 1963 Fj45–trying to remove two layers of a respray while preserving the original paint underneath; it has worked the best.

Spray on full strength, leave it in for a few minutes, then wipe off with a terry cloth.