Tired of sanding.....

[Rocketeer Gator]

Has anyone had a paint job go terrible south and needed to remove it on a FWFG build?
Would paint stripper hurt the FWFG and G10 fins?
I'm trying to remove a poop paint job and after 30 mins 2 fins have been sanded on one side and the 80 grit sandpaper just keeps clogging up on the palm sander.

 

[blackbrandt]

I like to take a single edge razor blade, and scrape off the paint.



Matt

 

[troj]

Has anyone had a paint job go terrible south and needed to remove it on a FWFG build?
Would paint stripper hurt the FWFG and G10 fins?
I'm trying to remove a poop paint job and after 30 mins 2 fins have been sanded on one side and the 80 grit sandpaper just keeps clogging up on the palm sander.

For things like this, the sandpaper you use matters -- cheap sandpaper will clog and wear out a lot faster than good stuff.

That said, my guess is you're sanding spray paint, which, especially if not cured hard (which takes a LONG time - weeks), tends to just turn gummy.

Do you have a heat gun? If so, use that to heat the paint a bit, then scrape it. You're still going to have to sand. Just be sure not to go crazy with the heat, or you risk damaging your epoxy.

-Kevin

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Yup Kevin its rattle can stuff and been on there for a few months but its still gummy and clogging up my 3M paper quite a bit.I'll give the heat gun thing a test run before going the chemical route.Don't like using that stuff anyways.....THX

 

[GregGleason]

Be careful with the heat gun. My fear is that too much and you will warp the airframe.

Greg

 

[Cyril's Scribe]

Have you tried plain alcohol? I have found (empirically even) that it won't damage FWFG airframes. Paint thinner (not stripper) seems to work too.

 

[SAC of MMMSClub]

Yup Kevin its rattle can stuff and been on there for a few months but its still gummy and clogging up my 3M paper quite a bit.I'll give the heat gun thing a test run before going the chemical route.Don't like using that stuff anyways.....THX

This sounds crazy but it will not hurt the G10 or air frame as this sounds like an all FG rocket. Wet Sand with the 80 grit, the water will keep the dust, rolls of paint moving and washed away, plus the water "cures" the paint on contact or something. Sanding back a crappy spray does suck and it really sucks when you have no idea why it went wrong, after cleaning and wiping rocket and shaking the living tar out of the paint and OH! CRAP! Many times I just set it aside to dry for as long as it takes and then start the sanding.

 

[Getmore]

I have used paint stripper on G10, do one fin at a time and stay with it when it bubbles up scrap it off and then wash it off with water if you have to repete you can do so or sand smooth. The sun will help the stripper work faster also. Just don't leave it on to long.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Yes its a all FG kit the 4" Frenzy,even wet sanding the paint keeps clogging up the paper.Using the heat gun and try'n to scrape wasn't getting much further.I'm running a test on the payload section with stripper in a can so if it ruins the FGFW tube I can replace that easy enough.The only luck I have had with rattle can paint is on smaller rockets so after I get this stripped down it'll be sprayed with acrylic car paint.The applied paint was rust-oleum and was pretty much my fault for rushing the second coat before first was cured, I guess, but I had waited 4 days.:confused2:

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

I have used paint stripper on G10, do one fin at a time and stay with it when it bubbles up scrap it off and then wash it off with water if you have to repete you can do so or sand smooth. The sun will help the stripper work faster also. Just don't leave it on to long.

Won't be seeing the sun today,thats why I'm home working on this instead of playing in traffic.LOL
But the stuff seems to be working fine on the BT so far.I'll post some update pix in a few......

 

[dave carver]

Whatever you do stick to the same paint system from primer to finish. You can get away with using Future after it's well dried. I use 0000 steel wool and a tack rag for fine finishes. You *just* take off the shine. I have a detail gun I use for larger projects and for the really large I have a quart can sprayer. You can stick to Rustoleum, it comes in pints, quarts, and gallons. Use Xylol solvent, it's perfect for thinning and cleaning. I prefered it to all others for thinning paint when I was sandblasting. You couldn't help getting your entire hand immersed in thinner. T6, our second most used thinner, kinda...burned...sorta. The Xylol feels cool to the touch. Not like I'd spend all day with my hands soaking in it but still...

There are high volume low pressure sets of top can sprayers that come in sets of 3. I've never used one but I understand they can run on the pressure from a vacuum used on the blower side so you don't need an air compressor, just a big vacuum

 

[neond7]

I feel your pain my friend - ended up going through FOUR bad paint jobs on the upper tubes on my Thor clone before I finally got it right. Went through lots of sand paper, sweat, and tears.

In the end, I traced it down to the Rustoleum primer i had used on the two upper tubes since I had run out of Duplicolor high build. Finally had to strip it down to the bare fiberglass (glassed paper tubes) and reprime.

Best of luck!

 

[SSenesy]

I've the tried the sandpaper route as well as alcohol, but my experience has been that chemical stripper works best for me. I've had several mach+ flights after a repaint and strength doesn't seem to be affected at all. The stripper won't get all the paint off; you'll still have to do some sanding but it's a lot less than if you're just doing sanding alone.

If you go this route, stay away from foam brushes; they dissolve before you finish. I use either acid brushes, or anything cheap I can get at Lowe's. Gloves are also a REALLY good idea. I do try to minimize the amount of time that I leave the stripper on the airframe; making sure that I wash it as soon as it's done it's work.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Whatever you do stick to the same paint system from primer to finish. You can get away with using Future after it's well dried. I use 0000 steel wool and a tack rag for fine finishes. You *just* take off the shine. I have a detail gun I use for larger projects and for the really large I have a quart can sprayer. You can stick to Rustoleum, it comes in pints, quarts, and gallons. Use Xylol solvent, it's perfect for thinning and cleaning. I prefered it to all others for thinning paint when I was sandblasting. You couldn't help getting your entire hand immersed in thinner. T6, our second most used thinner, kinda...burned...sorta. The Xylol feels cool to the touch. Not like I'd spend all day with my hands soaking in it but still...

There are high volume low pressure sets of top can sprayers that come in sets of 3. I've never used one but I understand they can run on the pressure from a vacuum used on the blower side so you don't need an air compressor, just a big vacuum

I learned the hard way years ago not mix different company rattle cans,since then I always went with Rust-Oleum.Back when this build was on the front burner I guess the paint wasn't cured enough for the 2nd coat and got the gator skin effect in several places.

I bought a set of HVLP sprayers that this,and all other large projects,will be painted with after all the removal.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Yup Jeff larger projects,I have found,are almost impossible to do with rattle cans and cost wise more expensive than just going the HVLP spraying method.

Stan,
I dislike strongly applying stripper so I'm using the "stripper in a can" stuff.Worked very well so far on the payload BT.Came almost completely clean an just got done with wet sanding what little remained off in the tub.Now for the booster section......

 

[Sooner Boomer]

Yes its a all FG kit ...

I've used lacquer thinner on FG/G10 and it softened the paint w/o harming the epoxy. I scraped the paint off w/a razor, allowed what remained to dry for a day in the summer heat (good timing!) and lightly sanded everything.

 

[dave carver]

I bought a set of HVLP sprayers that this,and all other large projects,will be painted with after all the removal.

Cool, let us know about the sprayers. It's getting hard to find the old style siphon sprayers. I have two rebuild kits for mine, just in case. Both are DeVillebis and worth rebuilding when needed but I am curious about the HVLP sprayers. Like what do you use to run them.

 

[Rocketeer Gator]

Got it all stripped down in about an hour,after stripping the paint it was off to the tub with 120 to get what little was still on the BT's.

Before I went ahead and did the NC and SB on ebay.

Dave,
I'll prob do a paint thread or just add it to my L3 thread.
Using the HVLP sprayers will be a learning experience I'm sure.I bought a Campbell Hausfeld set at wally world but returning it for another set I found on Amazon for a few $ more with 3 guns,stand,regulator,etc.My buddy that painted my Fly'n High Again recommended using one gun for colors and another strictly for clear coats so I upgraded to that set.Its not top of the line guns but should do the trick.I'll most likely need to get a larger compressor but will try with my 3 gal. twin-tank for now an see how it goes.From what I was reading the HVLP guns will shoot from 15-40 psi. so hopefully I won't need a larger compressor just yet.

 

[Onebadhawk]

Chris,
In Home Cheapo,,,,,,,,
With the paint removers,,,,,,,,, there's a citrus orange paint remover..........
I bought a quart of this stuff to use on an all FG rocket,,,,,,,,,
but I trashed the rocket before I got to try it............
Timing is everything...........
If your concerned about the paint stripper attacking the FG,,,
don't give it a chance to..........
Apply to a small area,,,,,wait for the paint to wrinkle,,,,,,,
scrap the paint off,,,,,,,,,if it doesn't come off easily,,,,,,,
just wait a little longer.......
As soon as you get the paint off of the small area,,,,,,
stop the paint remover with a strong soap like simple green......
Rinse,,,,,,Repeat...........

Teddy

 

[COrocket]

I've wiped solvents including acetone on FWFG without damaging it. Once fiberglass is cured it is pretty hard to attack chemically (I'm sure there is something out there that does that I've never heard of) Paint thinner, acetone and others only work really good on paint and epoxy before they cure.

 

[degreaser]

I learned the hard way years ago not mix different company rattle cans,since then I always went with Rust-Oleum.

Don't mix Rustoleum red primer under Rustoleum filler primer. Don't ask me how I know this.....

I used sandpaper to fix it...

 

[dave carver]

Don't mix Rustoleum red primer under Rustoleum filler primer. Don't ask me how I know this.....

I used sandpaper to fix it...

I think the Red Primer is acrylic and the filler primer is laquer based and, yep, you're gonna have a reaction

 

[degreaser]

I think the Red Primer is acrylic and the filler primer is laquer based and, yep, you're gonna have a reaction

They appear to be similar but the red also has acetone. It was ugly. The filler primer opened up wide cracks exposing the red. I let it all dry for a few days and sanded it all down to the red undercoat, then recoated with filler. I've got most of it cleaned up with a few small spots remaining.

I was very tempted to immerse the whole mess in a vat of acetone.