What's the best way to strip paint from aluminum panels

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Mike E

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I'm looking for suggestions on how to strip the old paint off of the aluminum body panels on my car. I have contacted a couple places that do chemical stripping but their tanks are not big enough for the panels. I'm leery of sandblasting because the panels are thin aluminum and I don't want warpage. Once the panels are stripped I need to make a few small repairs, smooth out some dings and prep them for fresh powdercoat. I'm in the LA area, so something in So. Cal would be best. 

Any suggestions?

 
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Take it to a powdercoat place.  

They can get it off with heat.

Or call an auto body shop and see what they do.

 
You can get chemical striper from auto paint supply stores. You brush it on, let it sit then scrape off the paint and striper with a plastic body filler squeegee. Make take a few times to remove and clean all off. Put masking paper on the floor under panel so paint and striper stay off your floor.

Add , wear chemical gloves!

 
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B&B powder coating in Riverside can do it. 

 
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Cooking it off might warp the panels.  We use a place that does a chemical dip to remove all powder/paint from panels.

 
Kraut_n_Rice said:
Cooking it off might warp the panels.  We use a place that does a chemical dip to remove all powder/paint from panels.
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Do you happen to have a business name for the place you use for chemical stripping?

 
FENDERFAB said:
if your trying to do it yourself id use aircraft stripper.  Its gnarly stuff, dont get it on your skin.  But it works well. 
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I was trying to avoid the messy part and just take someone the panels, get them back clean and ready for me to work on. 

 
Mike E said:
I was trying to avoid the messy part and just take someone the panels, get them back clean and ready for me to work on. 
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Is there excessive paint build up on them? If only painted once you can sand and repaint. Rule used to be max of 3 paint jobs before needing to be striped.

 
Good luck getting a product thats worth a damn in california. Best way will be chemical stripper and d/a sander. This work costs alot, because its alot of time and labor

 
If the panels are powdercoated you will have a really hard time if a quality job was done. Call cameron at swift powdercoat in el cajon. He has a fairly large tank

you may consider not powdercoating the panels after, wrap or actual paint will be easier to deal with in the future

 
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richard h said:
Is there excessive paint build up on them? If only painted once you can sand and repaint. Rule used to be max of 3 paint jobs before needing to be striped.
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The panels were painted once in 2005 when the car was new. Back then it was a really expensive paint job, but It had seen use as a prerunner by the previous owner and the paint has a lot of rock chips and dings. I have gone back and forth about leaving the original paint as a base but I will have a lot of sanding to get through all of the chips and dings. When I put paint on the car again it will be a completely different color. I would really prefer a chemical dip if I can find a place (maybe  going to El Cajon or Phoenix) so I can get everything clean. There are a lot of welds, nooks and crannies on the back sides of the panels too. 

image1.jpeg

 
Sausage450r said:
If the panels are powdercoated you will have a really hard time if a quality job was done. Call cameron at swift powdercoat in el cajon. He has a fairly large tank

you may consider not powdercoating the panels after, wrap or actual paint will be easier to deal with in the future
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I'll give him a call. Thank You

 
10x smaller job but this makes me want to strip my Fullbore grill.  Painted black when it was new and I'm soooo over black now.

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Mike E said:
The panels were painted once in 2005 when the car was new. Back then it was a really expensive paint job, but It had seen use as a prerunner by the previous owner and the paint has a lot of rock chips and dings. I have gone back and forth about leaving the original paint as a base but I will have a lot of sanding to get through all of the chips and dings. When I put paint on the car again it will be a completely different color. I would really prefer a chemical dip if I can find a place (maybe  going to El Cajon or Phoenix) so I can get everything clean. There are a lot of welds, nooks and crannies on the back sides of the panels too. 

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You could sand panels with a da and 180 grit and don't dig out chips and dings. Go over them, then go back and wipe glazing putty in them and after it sets up sand again and prime. then wet sand and paint. If you start trying to sand out chips and they are deep, once repainted you will be able to see the un-level areas of the new paint.

 
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