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Anyone Ever Use Aircraft Remover?

B

Bryce Frazier

Well-known Member
Anyone ever used that stuff for stripping paint on a truck? My new to me 2001 K3500 is going to be completely stripped and repainted. It has been outside all of it's life and is cracked out really badly.

I have already bought 2 gallons of Onyx Black (factory color), and am planning on powder coating the steel wheels the same Onyx Black as well. Windows are already tinted, and I have 2 black Chevy Bowties on the way. Wasn't sure I wanted to go blacked out on my first toy truck, but, I think it is going to look pretty good.... ;)

Anyways. I WAS going to spend several days with a DA sanding the paint off of the beast in our shop, and trying to get down to saveable primer, or metal if not. The powdercoat / paint guy that is helping me told me it might be worth my time to buy this air craft paint remover?

He said it is like highly toxic, deadly, etc (must mean it works good) and he said to pain it on thing ONE way with a brush, and wait a few days, then he said it will almost just fall off of there? True? If so I am thinking that it would go a LOT quicker than me sanding my life away on the thing!!! :p
 
I stripped my old Cessna 180 twhen I repainted it. It will sting you if you touch it. Yes just stroke it on one way. Don't know about leaving it in for so long but follow directions closely. Plastic putty knife to take most off. It will save having scratches from sanding. Some metals will rust after exposed quickly. Be sure to rinse and rinse again. Any trace left in cracks or tight places will corrode under the new paint after a spell. Don't know if it would attact some of the plastics nowadays.
 

Well, yea, it may make the paint curl up and some may slide off on the floor, BUT...did he explain just how much of a mess it is to get all of it OFF the parts..?

Put the stripper on THICK and do NOT brush it at all..

A plastic scraper may be handy..if some does not come off or dries up too much, add another Thick coat..

When you are done, you can WASH it off with HOT Soapy Water ..

All I can say is that the stuff Works...!

Ventilate the fumes as best you can and it WILL Burn you...be careful with it..
 
Keep it in broad areas and don't let it seep into any nooks or crannys. It must be washed out of everything before paint. Welcome to a new burn , Chemical. You may want to sacrifice an old drop cloth and catch the mess. It is a mess but makes progress on your job. { also if you have a well you need to think about where you are using chemicals.]
 
Most of it (in the Toxic category)are also flammable and have a low flash point. Xylene. Doing it outside is very mush better than inside. Toluene, Xylene, and Caustic materials are main ingredients. Vapors are not good for developing strong minds!! A best practices method would be to discuss the issue with a reputable body shop and use those techniques. Which might include leaving the existing paint on it. The residual waste material from stripping paint is also a mess. Do not burn waste material even in a burning safe container as it gives off radically toxic fumes in the smoke that will kill you or other living things. Jim
 
Have you got the spinner wheels ordered for it too??? LOL I know it your truck and all but I think the totally blacked out vehicles are not very good looking. I guess I was raised in an era that fancy meant chrome and multiple colors.
 
That was a concern of mine, because it is a Dually, so, both the sides of the box are plastc or fiberglass (not sure which), and I was afraid of what exactly it would do to them?
 
That's what the paint shop owner told me. He said to tape off all the seams, like around the hood, doors, etc. Because we want to save the Black everywhere inside, and where ever the sun hasn't been able to get to. He also said that you DO NOT want that stuff hidden somewhere that you can't clean it.
 
Ohhhhh no, no spinners....

Well, I like colors and chrome a LOT too! But, that starts to get pretty expensive! :p

I want to stick with Black on the truck, just so that it is a much easier repaint. If I were to swap colors, I would have to completely strip the truck in order to do it right, otherwise I would have color on the outside, and black on the inside, and that would just be BAD.

If I had my dream truck, I would want a completely White one. Everything. Mirrors, emblems, all of it. I think it would look really nice. BUT, I think a Black one will be nice too!

Not going for crazy expensive or all tricked out. Also not trying to "Compensate" as my mom keeps joking about!! :p Just want a nice looking truck. We'll see how it goes. I might get some chrome on there. Nothing better than Black and Chrome right?? :)
 
First take off the rear fenders(the paint will chip and look like crap in two years otherwise) Air Craft stripper will remove the clear coat from a set of nasty pealing aluminum wheels and make them look like new, just without the protection of the clear. Take your time, nothing looks better than Black, but nothing shows bad body work like Black.
 
Well, on this body style I don't think I can pull the fenders. They are actually one piece, and are the entire bed side... :/

That is very true about Black! It shows every little ding and dent when done. I am very good at body work, as I have done a lot of it on my tractors, but this is going to be quite a project!
 


Bryce,The aircraft paint stripper that I'm familiar with is called Turco and it is POWERFUL and TOXIC.It can burn your skin and lungs.You must use protective gear if doing a big job like a vehicle.On big jobs the stuff was pumped onto the unit.On small jobs such as just a localized area,rubber gloves , eye protection and a respirator is all thats needed.Your buddy is right in saying apply it with a brush and in one direction.Don't try to rub it in.That just stops the reaction.I have no idea what it costs but it has to be expensive.The next problem is how to get rid of the residue.The paint shop that I dealt with flushed the weakened solution.If you decide to use this stuff you can't too careful!
 
It works very well at stripping the paint off but it is very messy. I try to only use it on wheel or parts I can remove from my project because it can flow into place you do not want it. When it comes to a complete vehicle strip, I prefer to use an 80 grit paper on my D/A and work my way up to 600. Todays paints are very thin and come off pretty quickly. No matter how well you scrape the vehicle after applying stripper you will have to spend a lot of time with the sander smoothing everything out. It doesn;t take it off one layer at a time or remove it all at once. You will deal with varying levels of paint and primer that you either keep applying the remover too or sand it. There really is no quicker way of doing it. Proper preparation is the key to a beautiful paint job. Good luck and I am sure it is going to look great.
 
Are you taking all the emblems off too??? I see that a lot these days. So you can't tell the make or model of the vehicle.
 
Before going the stripper routine, try a flat razor blade, scrape the paint off the metal, (not rear bedsides and don't use stripper on them either, sand only, DA 150 grit). Used razor blade on many delam paint jobs from GM in the 80-90's.
 
When I used to do a lot of furniture refinishing. we would make our own stripper with lye (drain cleaner), water and corn starch. A whole lot cheaper than the commercial products. It is very strong and not something you would want to get on your skin or in your eyes. Pour the lye into the water not the other way around. The two mixed together generates a lot of heat so use a proper container. Once the lye and water have settled down add the corn starch to thicken the mix.. If you make it thick enough it will stick to a surface. After the mix has been on the painted surface for a while it will bubble up and can be scraped off or washed off with a fresh water hose. The mix is not flammable. It will give off a lot of fumes while it is working so have good ventilation.
 
Well, I think the question will be IF they get put back on! :p They will come off to paint the truck, but, in the end of things, I am pretty proud to have a Duramax / Allison, and a 3500, so, why wouldn't I want the logos on there right?!?! :)
 
That sounds like a much better option to me! Lot easier to clean up the mess, and a lot safer too. I think I will try that to get the bulk of it off, and then use the DA for the rest.
 
The aircraft remover works fine on metal, just don't use it on wood. It has chemicals in it that will stain wood. Anyway no remover including professional removers work well below 70 degrees so if it's cold where you are you may need to find a different way or wait until spring. I normally close the furniture refinishing part of my business at the end of September and don't resume until April.

If you do use a chemical remover be patient and allow the remover to work. Don't do an area more than about 3'x3' at a time and keep applying the remover to the dry spots. Now and then test a spot with a putty knife and see if you can take it down to bare metal. It should easily scrape off almost completely clean. Then as quickly as you can wash the residue off with a power washer if you have one or use a solvent such as lacquer thinner. Removers contain wax to prevent evaporation and it's important to remove this wax.
 
Chemical strippers are used on aircraft to avoid damaging the pure aluminum coating on the metal. (Most aircraft use "alclad" aluminum sheet metal, where a layer of pure aluminum is used to protect the stronger but less corrosion-resistant base alloy.) Also, the sheet metal is relatively thin and easily damaged by power tools. Lastly, it's desirable to remove as much of the original paint because paint adds weight, which is the bane of aircraft operators. Of course none of these things matter with cars, so strippers are seldom used in automotive refinishing.

Sure, you can use chemical strippers on your truck, but be aware they can dissolve a lot of things you don't want dissolved. Like weatherstripping and plastic parts. They can also soften fillers like Bondo, so don't use strippers anywhere you think there might be repaired body damage.

I suggest using heavy rubber gloves, goggles or safety glasses and a chemical respirator when working with stripper.
 
A sailplane repair bloke I knew reckoned that with Turco you should set up beside a swimming pool and use it frequently
 
Bryce, the black might be an easy color to match, but it is the hardest to make look right.

If you haven't worked with black before, be aware that it will magnify every tiny imperfection like no other color!
 
in a word, dont, chemical paint stripping is slow, messy, smelly and in most places environmentally unfriendly and may even be prohibited outside of a body shop in some areas, the best way ifs to find somebody with one of those dustless blasting portable units, they can do the whole truck in about an hour and it wont damage the metal, be prepared to find more body damage under the paint nobody knew was there, next best is a sand blaster that can use soda for a blast media again to avoid warping the body panels
 
Yes this stuff works very well on metal. I used a brush to spread it around let it sit for 10 mintues and and run a wire brush over it and there you are.
 
I wouldn't use aircraft stripper on your new to you truck there's little doubt in my mind it will work. However the stripper is very dangerous & noxious in enclosed areas protective clothing covering all is a must including a hoodie and not regular but chemical gloves, goggle's & chemical respirator. Don't get any on your skin! If you get any on particularly tough areas like your fingers you will likely not feel it until its to late because your hands are so tough, but if not flushed thoroughly and quickly within a couple days your fingers will start to dry and than crack and large deep chucks of skin will start to fall off not painful at all but a real eye opener. Media blasting might be a better option on metal if you have to remove all the paint because of Severe cracking throughout the painted surfaces. Then again I would caution you against media blasting any areas that are fiberglass. The Aircraft painters did in some places I worked use a stripper on aircraft fiberglass like Wing to Body Fairings. Other places would only sand it I don't recall if it was a special stripper or not I also cant say if it would be safe for what you have on your truck. If in doubt sand it and feather edge the areas as required. If you do use stripper don't apply it to thin and let it dry it stops working when dry and its hard to remove it, should take no longer than 10 mins to an hour to ripple up so you can remove it. As stated previously do maybe a panel or half at a time so your not overwhelmed and for gods sake be careful with it. Aircraft are painted with a tough polyurethane enamel. Sanding the paint before application of stripper can help in tough areas if needed.
Good luck with it Byron
 
And from sailplanes.

You can use acetone to remove layer by layer.

Needs a plastic backed towling type pad soaked inacetone and then placed over the paint. Time by experiment and you can scrape that layer off. Time consuming.
 
(quoted from post at 10:39:34 12/26/16) That was a concern of mine, because it is a Dually, so, both the sides of the box are plastc or fiberglass (not sure which), and I was afraid of what exactly it would do to them?
Click to expand...

Bryce, I also have a 2001 K3500 dually. The box sides are plastic.
 
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