I want to strip the paint off my plane and wondered what most felt as the best paint striper. I have messed with a couple. I have one layer that comes of fairly easily, and one that seems nearly bomb proof.
Thanks Gary

Best I have found is "Aircraft Stripper". Wal mart used to sell it. Also Napa. It comes in 1 gallon, and quart sizes. I had good luck washing the stripper off with a pressure washer.

All the enviro friendly stuff sucks!

I had a 172 that I was able to strip down to a tan looking primer coat from the 60's. that stuff I finally got with MEK and a scotch brite pad. Lots of work!

Search supercub.org for a thread on this.

My son used a soybean-derived stripper on an Arrow. Worked well, and the cleanup was easy. No fumes or other nastiness. From what I understand, the gnarly chemical strippers work faster - a consideration if you are pressed for time.

Google Soy-Gel.
Works great, doesn't smell or burn.
Put some Saran Wrap over it if it dries to fast.
Dave

I don't know about any other "enviro friendly stuff", but Eco-Strip 3000 by Stewart Systems worked extremely well for me. No burning eyes or nose or hands, and took the paint off of my 170 quite easily. Apply once, wait two hours and scrape with plastic scraper, apply a second time and scrape followed by a pressure washer and I was done. It took two weeks of evenings and Saturdays with the wings on. YMMV.

Brent

The "Aircraft Paint Remover" worked the best for me. Mask off everything you don't want stripped. I used thick aluminum foil and foil tape, check for any pin holes. Warmer temps are best but to warm will prematurely dry the stripper, I used pallet wrap it's like a big roll of saran wrap, just laid it on over the stripper. Then when it was nice and blistered about 2-15 minutes depending on the paint. I blasted it off with a pressure washer plumbed with hot water.

It was definitely not the most fun I've had with a stripper

Thanks for the responses. Like everyone says, it's a PITA, but, sofar I would rather donate the labor rather than pay someone. I had an estimate for $4000., and would like to put that money toward other mods. I am trying sea to sky and another called molecular something out of Canada. Both recommended by folks with experience, but going a lot slower than I had hoped.. And both eco friendly which I generally believe means works poorly.
Gary

My advise is to tape everything off with heavy foil and foil tape. All holes, all plastic, everything. The prep will take a whole day. The areas behind flight controls are tough. I would pull them if it were me. The problem is stripper gets inside those holes and it is almost impossible to get out. (Corrosive) After prep I use aircraft stripper as stated before, and rent a steam cleaner. One section at a time. I can have a cessna stripped in one day if all the prep is done beforehand. Scotchbite washing , alodine, rinse and its ready for prime and paint. There is a reason they want 4Gs. Its a lot of work!

Heh Gary!

Did you get another bird? Missed you and those Margs at Negrito!! Nobody can do them like you do.

Hope all is well.

Regards, Larry

Hey larry
Ye, I bought a '52 C-170B w.180hp Avcon conversion. I am very happy with it and looking forward to moddin it up. Headin to Nevada with it tomorrow. Came out of Delta Colo.

It was good to meet you at Animas the other day. How was that prop?
Looks like I might get that Maule so lets go flying!
Cheers.
Paul

Very cool Gary!! Congratulations.

I had a 170 in a past life and loved that plane. With a 180hp and adjustable prop, you will have a great bird.

Hopefully I will catch up with you one of these days.

Larry

buck_justice wrote:I can have a cessna stripped in one day if all the prep is done beforehand.

Perhaps I am missing something, or just plain stupid... But There is no way on the green earth that I could have stripped my airplane in "one day." Im doing the vert/horiz stab, rudder, and elevators now and I'm already in 28 hrs. 8-10 tomorrow and I should have em wrapped up. I would have to go back and look at my notes, but the fuselage was 60 - 80, and I havent even started on the wings yet.

The internet is full of all kinds of easy talk, but here is my experience... Stripping (and in my case polishing) aint no picknick. The fantasy of spraying some non-toxic chemical on, covering in plastic, walking away, and then power washing it off is BS. Dont go into it thinking its gonna be easy, cuz its not.

That said, if you can stomach the heartache, its worth it. But you need to throw your balls over your shoulder and charge into the fire.

Congrats Gary !
That's always been a favorite model of mine with the 0-360
Mods ? maybe a sportsman stoll kit ?
I painted a few things and did some stripes with 3M tape and 2 tone.
Its the last touch that makes a paint job stand out a little different.
need some idea's ? there must be some better info out there than years ago.
happy day, lew & Anita .. caveman 2010/2012

Bigrenna
Perhaps you are "missing something" about what I said. No one that has ever stripped an airplane would use the term "easy" to describe any part of it. Stripping is serious work, at least the kind that I am used too! Plenty of forethought and preparation is required to do it correctly. First, I always remove "all" the flight controls. "They have to be rebalanced anyway" Every hole has to be sealed extremely well, if not, that area has to be done by hand. Now let's talk stripper, not the quart can you buy at Home Depot . They sell that to the uninformed public so they can strip in their tank top, shorts and flip flops. (without getting sued) I like the Eldorado Chemicals brownish/red stripper. The smallest container I think they sell is 5 gallons. It's not Eco friendly or Skin friendly. Try it in your flip flops. Protective gear is essential the second time you use it : ) When every thing is prepped (plane and hanger) I try to pick the right day, if there is one, and start early in the morning and do 4' sections at a time. Once the paint starts bubbling (about 15 min) I fire up the Hotsy Steam Cleaner. It will blow the old paint across the hanger. You have to keep the wand moving though! If you can talk an unsuspecting soul to help, you can set up a system of brushing and spraying on a bunch of different parts at one time. The last 210 I did, the bulk of the actual stripping process was done in one day. My granddad told me "those who don't listen have to feel", and I have felt a lot over the years. These are things that I have picked up on working 30 years on the "big boys" I didn't dream this stuff up myself overnight. Just because this works for me does not mean it is right for everyone else. Here are some other tips.
Try not to strip in direct sunlight (it dries out the stripper to fast)
If you can spray the stripper with an airless it is better. (You can get a heavy even coat)
Do Not use a steel wire brush on an aluminum Airframe (dis-similar metal corrosion)
Do Not sand down your rivet heads. (your IA will thank you)
Do Not use a razor knife and score your airframe (will crack there)
Do Not use a steel putty knife (scraps the metal)
Do Not use a pencil to write on your airframe

Awesome Gary, I hope ur keepin er' polished. If u need any help I like to drink Margaritas and polish

Hey Paul
Decided to pass on the prop. Not enough gain for the money
Looks like you are getting a great deal on the Maule

Hi Lew/Anita
I have a few mods in mind
Has a Horton STOL, don't think there is anough gain to replace it with the Sportsman
Have put on the Baggage door
Will do wheels aft 180 gear, double puck brakes and 26 tires for now
extended baggage
strip the paint
gut the interior
AKBush tailwheel
Lighten the instrument panel
I will be working with Wipaire to get approval for their winshield wire brace kit(which I really like) to get it added to the stc.
Hoping to get down to 1300lbs.

shortfielder wrote:Hoping to get down to 1300lbs.

That would be a really cool airplane and I wish you luck, although you might be looking at closer to 1400 lbs. My 170 was similar as described, but I couldnt get it under 1400.

Please keep us updated with pics/progress!

I know I may be being optimistic, but that is my target. According to the paperwork (which I know would be lucky if it were within 50lbs. :>))
I should be around 1350 now, and still have some to lose, but will also be adding some w/180 gear/tires/brakes.
I am optimistically hopeful to be losing around 50lbs in the 3 layers of paint.
Gary

Gary, you get that plane down to 1300lbs with that list of mods I'll be calling. Mine was 1301 on paper before I put the 180hp and constat speed prop on. After the engine conversion it weights in at 1360lbs, and I've run out of things to take off it. Two seats and not much interior. My buddy has the same engine prop conversion and his is a little lighter but he has less interior, no stall kit, and smaller tires. Good luck, Paul