Best way to remove old multilayer paint?

What is the best way to remove three or four layers of paint and one layer of vinyl striping? My Grabber hood has been painted three or four times with who knows what paint, over the original factory Grabber blue and over the factory vinyl stripes. Bunch of dumba$$es is all I can say. 60 grit paper barley scratches it. I tried my 6" grinder, but I'm afraid it will remove too much metal. Any ideas? Chemical paint stripper? Sandblasting? Dynamite? I don't want to screw up my hood, but this crap has to go!

 

Paint stripper always works good for hoods, and spot blasting for any rust.

 

I had the same problem including 1 coat of yellow parking lot paint applied by a brush. I used a 3M arbor that fits in an electric drill. It takes about a 4 inch diameter thick Velcro disc that looks like a petrified sponge. It took the paint off and never put one scratch in the bare steel. I bought it at my local hardware store.

 

Chemical stripper. After you apply the stripper cover it with masking paper it penetrates a lot better. You wont use as much product.
You can have the hood dipped if you have somewhere near by. I did my hood and panels this way but if I had to do it again I wouldnt dip the hood. Too hard to rustproof it.

 

+1 Dynamite.

 

they have some chemical stripper at walmart that will make the old paint come off easy. It comes in a spray can and its in the automotive section with the bondo and bedliner. I have used it and it works great. Just don't get any on you cause it burns bad

 

Sounds like a trip to walmart is in order to get some stripper! How will that affect the old vinyl stripes? Will it soften them up enough that I can scrape them off too? Guess is this will have to wait until next weekend, right now I'm bushed!

 

stripe and all should bubble up and come off with stripper (i would take the hood off the car)

 

I am not sure what it would do to stripes. I used it on the old red and white 76 F-100 I had and it did great on the alligatored paint. After about 15 minutes I believe you could scrape the paint off easily with a putty knife.

 

Yep, hood will for sure be off the car.

That's what I'm looking for. Once I get it back down to bear metal, I can fix the pinholes and prime it. You got yours in primer yet?

 

I have been working on it. It might get primed next week. I have had a cold since friday and figure paint and bondo dust won't help it any so I am taking the weekend off. What kind of primer did you use.

 

Thanks for the suggestion on using stripper. I got two quarts of Kleen Strip , the best they had , at wally world. It took 5 times to get all the old paint and the dry, cracked stripes off the hood. I counted 5 layers of paint, each a different color, 4 over the stripes! I used 1 1/2 quarts on the top, the rest on the bottom! Took me half a day, but it was still easier than trying to sand it off. Hoping to get new paint on it sometime in the next three weeks, if money and weather allows.....

 

oo i would definitly preshure was the bottom! if you dont old stripper will seep out of the cracks of the lip and ruen your paint job.trust me i know! i took mine to a local car wash booth and went to town on mine. please dont make the same mistake i did.

 

I second that, and when you think you've got it clean enough, hit it again!!!!

Having the stripper mess up a paint job will flat RUIN your day! :16suspect

Trust me, I know from first hand experience.

-Scott H.

 

Kleen Strip is good stuff ... fairly easy on you fumewise.

Be careful when buying stippers ... Aircraft stripper is out there ... very high powered and VERY bad for your lungs. Only use outside and with a respirator.

With all of them, you will know if you get any of it on you ... ouch! Nitrile gloves are a favorite of mine ... a lot tougher than latex.