Best way to get coatings off steel?

[Alex]

This a link for the steel available to me, its all british standard sizes.

http://www.isg-steel.co.uk/prod1.shtml

You might be better going for an equal size rather than unequal rectangle.

ERW is quite good.

http://www.isg-steel.co.uk/prod5.shtml

You probably want something no more than 1.6mm thick, it will be strong enough with correct design. If you use 2.5mm thick it will kill your performance and it will affect the handling making it feel sluggish and the steering less responsive with lack of feel, like driving a tractor!

 

[jimcroisdale]

Cheers Alex, I'll have a squint at that.

Ok weldequip - the bundle sounds great! What's the damage gonna be?

 

[Drains]

Is the disc on the left for angle grinders?

They both are. The ones on the right need a backing pad. You can get them for a 9" grinder too (but they are 7" dia). Both types of disc are good, but in my humble opinion the fibre disc, with pad, is better value for money. They are used a lot for finishing work on stainless and quality m/s where the welds have to be invisible.

 

[boombang]

What do you guys think to me putting an 'Abrasives Bundle' together for you??

Sounds pretty good to me - why do I find these things out when nearing the END of a project though?

 

[Dr Strangeglove]

Regarding stripping paint:-

Wire brushing takes a while and like you say tends to polish rust. The knotted wire brushes are the best in my opinion, for best results use the wire at 90 degrees to the steel (or whatever you are cleaning).

Fibre disk with backing pad is good but tends to loose its properties where it is used most (on the outer edge etc), but the backing pad allows it to flex so you are less likely to bite into the steel you are trying to clean.

Flap disks are good as they tend not to wear out quite as much - but may cut in slightly especially when new (but not excessive - depends what type of finish you are after!).

The best disc I have found just for stripping paint is the "clean and strip" pad. They very good at stripping paint without taking away any of the parent metal under it. When you use it do not have it forced against raw edges as it reduces the life of the disc by a large amount. This is the type of disc to use is you are stripping paint from steel and are going to repaint it after as it does not leave the circular marks left when using a normal abrasive disc. When I first looked at this type of disc I used it for stripping paint from stainless steel sealing angles in a spraybooth. They were totally covered in paint and it made short work of the cleaning. In fact it was that good I used them for cleaning the welds on a stainless steel tank that had been tig welded. The way they demonstrate how good the disks are is by stripping the paint from a coke can! They take off the paint but leave the metal under it virtually untouched. You can get the pads for a 4 1/2" grinder.

 

[Alex]

Are there any chemicals that might remove car paint.

A high pressure water system will remove paint from metal, its obviously not something you would buy, but may be some where you can get it done.

I believe the pressure is something like 60,000 PSI and it needs nearly 80HP to run it. Saw it on American Chopper, looks fun.

 

[Haze]

sounds lethal

surely that would dent the hell out of thinner stuff.

 

[Justme]

Are there any chemicals that might remove car paint.

Brake fluid works for me late at night seeking revenge.........


justme

 

[shenion]

There are chemical paint strippers. I have some that will remove about anything. But then you have to clean it up and it is nasty (touline, acetone and all kinds of other caustic stuff.).

A propane torch will soften/burn it then it comes off easily witha wire brush.

Brake fluid will do nothing to most modern paints.

 

[Michael03]

Nice! We use a similar steel brush we place at the end of the grinder.

 

[jimcroisdale]

I remember reading about the water-jet system that is used in special locomotives to clean the rails of leaves and other slime. Apparently, the jet is so powerful that if the loco stopped moving the water would cut right through the rail! Neat, huh?

 

[Michael03]

That might be what's called a hydroblaster. Recently acquired on to help take out the rust on steel. It's more environmentally friendly than sandblasting, but the quality of the air and the sand (or copper slugs) is better.

Don't have to wait for it to dry and oxidation doesn't happen as much as with the water blaster.