Okay i have a problem. I want to strip the paint off of my car maybe down to the metal. how would i go about doing this? would i just use a palm sander? and if so what grit's of sand paper. any help appriciated.

 

i used a d/a with 80 grit. palm sander may take longer not sure. i also seen a nice mikita buffer set up with a disk for grinding removing paint that was sweet. since it was big it mad fast work of it. with the d/a it took me quite a few days as it was but it came out nice.

 

since this is on the topic, I was wondering if there was much difference between a standard air power dual action (orbital?) sander, 17SCFM, say 6" with glue on sanding disks (throw out disk when you change grit...)
and a 5" electric orbital one. hook and loop, with the ability to hook up your vacuum to it?
I understand it's more of a woodworking tool.... but does it really matter? I mean i'm using one now, and i'm moving up to coarser and coarser grits just to get it done... not enough power? i'm having to turn it sideways (angle it a bit) like a grinder (I know, not good) to get it to take off much material.... Should this take an intensly long time to do?

 

what is a d/a? I want to take most of the paint of and do the body work myself and then take it to someone to heve it primered and sprayed.

 

Hutchins D.A.
One of the best your money can buy. Not good, however to strip...it runs too smooth.
You need a National Detroit style for that task.
NOW if you have multiple paint jobs on the car it will take longer, and you may want to go more aggressive...
You CAN get 36g in a 6 in d.a. style cut..but it's expensive.
Either way will work, it's whatever works best for you...
The thing to constantly remember, is to check the steel...You dont want to heat it up and warp it.

 

aces! Thanks for the info. I thought i'd have to push on it pretty hard to get it to cut, and doing that stalls out the little electric motor, which I figured is why the air one takes 11+ CFM...
oh well, i'm using 50grit now I think, and this is to take 23yr old paint down to bare metal.... I guess I should be patient? I figured i'd use the angle grinder and 100grit flap disks? I think i'll be using a skim coat of bondo anyway.
if I could prod one more tip out of you, do most sanders that say avg air use = 6CFM, actually use that? or is that like using it for 5 seconds and inspecting for 20? I wanted to use a 110V air compressor (in my garage) for paint prep.


oh, phoenix, d/a = dual action (spins and orbits) aka orbital sander usually.