How to Get Old Paint off a Car

admin • June 10, 2018

When applying a new coat of paint on a car, it is important to make sure that all of the old paint is stripped off of the vehicle before you start. If you don’t do this, then a number of problems may occur, such as having odd textures on your vehicle, increased erosion over time, and discoloration on your new coat of paint. In order to strip an old coat of paint off of a vehicle, check out the most popular method below that can help you accomplish this…

Media Blasting

Media and sandblasting is an effective method of removing paints and polishes off of pretty much any metal surface. It is accomplished by using an abrasive material and an air compressor, and then blasting the paint away with friction and pressure. Popular materials for this include silica sand, baking soda, glass, and even walnuts, among other things.

Step 1: Preparation

To start media blasting, the first thing that you need to do is cover up all of surface area on your vehicle that you aren’t going to be stripping paint off of. This means literally every part of your vehicle’s exterior without paint, including windows, tires, and trim. After this, take your media blaster and connect it to your air compressor. Allow the compressor to completely fill with air before you start. While you are waiting for that to happen, put whatever media you are using into the hopper of the blaster.

Step 2: Blasting

Once you are ready to start blasting, make sure that you have a good grip on the blaster and then point it towards whichever panel you want to strip first. When blasting, it is important to give yourself a couple feet of separation, and to not hold on any particular spot for too long, as the friction may cause the metal to warp. Continue stripping the paint, panel-by-panel, until each panel is completely devoid of any paint. Be prepared to spend several hours doing this.

Step 3: Wrapping Up

After you are doing stripping the paint, take the blaster off of the compressor and then use the compressed air to blow away all of the remaining media that is left on the vehicle. After that, all you need to do is clean up your workspace and you’re ready to apply a new coat of paint!

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