240z8 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I was looking at Toni L's 260z 2+2 project (http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=140168) and noticed that he used a power washer to strip the paint off of his 260z. Do power/pressure washers cause any warping to the sheet metal? How many PSI would it take to get bondo and paint off of the entire car? At True Value, I can rent a power washer that puts out 15,000 PSI, is that enough or would I need to find a different power washer? Any help would be appreciated Thanks, Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blake culp Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 See post #6 on the thread in the link you posted. Car was cleaned in a company that makes cleaning services for industries. In my case they used only hot water with very high pressure (3000 Bar / 43510 PSI). Different types of particles, such as sand, can be added too. It´s not cheap, but great start to project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I would imagine if you get the paint off a pressure washer should be able to blast bondo away fairly easily. I know my pressure washer will strip paint off concrete and bricks, but it won't take automotive paint off the side of a car unless it's really old and worn out. Even then I don't think it would cut the primer. Besides I don't think you want to blast water into every crevice of your car unless you have a way to bake it and dry all the water up fairly quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240z8 Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 Thanks for the info, but that doesn't answer any of my questions... I need to know how many PSI it would take to tear paint and bondo off, the minimum. Also, does the buildup of friction from the water hitting the sheet metal cause any warpage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blake culp Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 The minimum PSI for using only water to blast paint off body pannels, who knows. Im sure if you used the rental blaster and held it in one place for long enough it will remove the paint, but it won't be cost or time effective. You realize the post you linked to had 3x the amount of pressure your rental blaster will have, and probably a lot more volume of water being used too. That being said, you might try this method. Use Aircraft stripper, in the gallon containers put it on thick with a paint brush. Wait for the paint to curl and then blast it off with your pressure washer, Then you will get to bare metal very quickly. Last night in about three hours I did both doors, an inspection panel and the cowl Using the paint stripper followed by a power wash method. After you power wash go over it with a sander to get any remaining paint, which shouldn't be much. I'll finish stripping and prime everything on my car this weekend. Speaking of priming be sure you prime all the bare metal as soon as possible, its pretty obvious why, use a good Epoxy primer. The rattle can stuff will not seal out moisture and will cause rust. WEAR GLOVES while using the aircraft stripper, and do it outside. Depending on what you have and what your goals for this car are, you may be much better off doing body work, scuffing the existing paint, priming, and then repainting. If the old paint is still sticking well just leave it. I have painted over old paint before, so long as the old paint is not flaking off you shouldn't have any problems. Water can actually cut metal, ever seen those water jets slice metal like butter? But a pressure washer will not warp metal. I can go on for a while explaining why it won't, but ill spare you the boredom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 In fact, a pressure washer can warp your body panels. on top of that, anything you rent will not likely strip the paint off the car. I'd go with the Aircraft Stripper + pressure washer method, it works pretty good. Properly applied and selected rattle can primer is exactly the same as any other acrylic lacquer or acrylic enamel, and put on properly will not rust. Does this mean you can primer a car and then drive it for months and not get rust? No, it means that the car, primed, sitting in a dry shop, won't rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240z8 Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 Thanks a bunch, I needed that info. =] Now i have an idea on how to strip my car's body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 i will be using a pressure washer to strip my z after the paint stripper sets. way easier. just dont set it too high. i use it to clean all my other cars also and it works like a champ. any washer within the 1000 psi range should do the job. i use a walmart 1500 psi portable washer and works just as good as my 2500 psi space hogger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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