Yesterday I hit the car wash on my way back from Denver. The Stroppe'd needed a quick bath and traffic was pissing me off, so it made for a good break.

Anyhow, on certain parts of the truck I took off as much paint as I did dirt. In light of this, is light to begin the paint removal and priming of my body before I begin the actual restomod later this year.

I've used flap discs on on 4 1/2" grinders to remove paint from hoods and rust from frames. They seem a bit aggressive for the body panels I'll be tackling during this and I haven't seen less aggressive grits available where I shop. So before I keep shopping for what might be the wrong product, I'd like to know what you guys use.

Are you using traditional angle grinders? Die grinders on air? Stripping by hand with blocks?

I know I have two layers of paint, one shot in 71 the other in 78. There may be a third layer from a PO parking lot , and possibly some putty in there.

Goal is bare metal, or as close to it as possible, to assess for rust currently not visible, as well as prep for repainting.

Aircraft paint stripper, very metal friendly and easy to use. Sold in Walmart (of all places) in aerosol form.

Will it require the application of etching primer again after you use it? I considered it in the past, way back when, but I thought it went to bare bare metal.

I used a pneumatic orbital sander. Thought it worked the best of everything I used. I would suggest a wire wheel on an angle grinder too. Much less aggressive than the sanding flaps.

I used mostly 80 and 120. I think I bought 5 packs for like $8 at HF. The sander was like $30 at HF.

Try using razor blades.I've stripped the topcoats off a few cars doing just that.Alot less mess than sanding or stripping.If the pressure washer is working use that to your advantage.

X2 on the "aircraft stripper" (try placing a blob on your forearm, just to see if its potent enough first... lol just kidding). Never used the aerosol, just the jello in a can. Works well.

as a side note: we used to have aircraft stripper fights. A little flung from a loaded paint brush to a unsuspecting friend, makes for hours of entertainment! Wait! don't ask me to help you! lol

Stripper is good but messy, and make sure to rinse/neutralize all of it. You don't want it creeping out from nooks & crannies when you start painting.

We used a lot of 80grit on 6" orbital sanders. Even 60 grit if you want to be aggressive.

If the pressure washer is working, go with that, much less clean up.

You'll need a light coat of etch primer on any bare metal, regardless of how it was stripped.