The time has come...And lasts to long. Help?

Hey, So i finally got around to sanding my air cleaner and prepping it for paint. With no access to a sand blaster or a bead blaster, I decided...Well it's not a big item, I can just sand the paint/rust off with sand paper...HA.
The paint is coming off, As with most of the rust (still spots that are a pain to get out) But it is taking ages.
I am currently using 220 sandpaper as reccomended by my dad to avoid any sort of pitting, What do you guys think i should use? Also, is there anything i should do to help strip the paint/rust prior to sanding it that would make my job easier...Let me know what you guys think before i get back to tedious hand-cramping motions to sand the stupid thing.
Thanks!

 

You could use a chemical paint stripper that will take the majority of it down to metal. Then sand off the rest with something courser then 220. That 220 is more like a finishing grit not a starting grit.

 

That was my feeling when i started sanding...I was like "no way that this is going to work...This isn't nearly course enough, it doesn't even move my decal at all!"
What grit should i use? I can run buy some tonight.

 

i would have probably chem soaked it to get paint off then like a 100 or 140 grit for rust then a 280 or so to finnish before paint

 

Napa,Car Quest,Shucks all sell good chemical strippers that are either aerosol or brush on. Make sure you wear some gloves and dont get any in your eyes or skin. Best to do when it is warm, let it sit until it bubbles up but dont let it dry or else you will have to do it all over again. It may take a few coats to get it all. You can either scrape it off or just hose it off, hosing is easier but not very enviromentaly friendly

I like to use Marhyde brand for aluminum in the aerosol can it seems to work the best but the brush on stuff is a lot cheaper. If all the paint comes off then the sandpaper you are using will be just fine.

 

What should i scrape it off with? I live in apartments now and do not have a faucet hookup for a hose for easy access. Also, how much do you think the stripper would be? I dont get paid until tomorrow and am short money right now.

 

Use a plastic bondo spreader or something plastic, I think a quart of the liquid stripper is about $6.00 and the aeresol stuff is around $8.00.

Using the paste is messy so spread out something to catch it all.

Glad to hear you have some income coming in

 

I got a can of Mar Hyde aerosol for 6.99 =] And yes, I managed to land a Security job for a fred meyers remodel in portland, part-time job...20 hours a week. first week i worked 28 hours, second week i worked 32, and ever since i've gotten 40 hours. Plus my boss likes me and is talking to everyone and doing all he can to land me a full time job (not temporary) when this one is over. Still hoping for good luck there...Now i just have to think of something plastic to scrape it with...with no money left to buy anything at all...$2 maybe...All bills are caught up though! tomorrows paycheck all goes into pocket.

 

*sighs* Found a putty knife...Now to find gloves...I hate moving.

 

Glad to hear about the job.

You are a good clean cut kid with good morals and a yearning to learn and kids like you are far apart these days and tend to advance in the employment area.

See yah around :Handshake

 

Thank you, Sir.
I do hope to see you around some day, Been a while!

I found some gloves (remember i had a few pair in a little first aid kit in my trunk) and got the paint 99% off...few tight spots that didn't take it entirely off but it will go with sanding...Now it's just the rust, there was a lot more there than i thought there was. It's dark now and i'm done for the night. I'll work on that...Either tomorrow morning or my weekend (now that i finally have a few days off after tomorrow)

Any hints for rust removal? I'll try to get pics really quick of what the rust looks like...
P.S.
That stuff does burn like hell, There was a hole in my glove and i got my thumb in the crap...Ooooh budddy! lol

 

Here are those pics.
Also, tips for getting that Decal off? It seems like its got 500 tubes of super glue holding it on, it's to brittle to get a good hold and all i had with me trying to scrape it off was a putty knife, that wasn't getting me anywhere....WD40 or...?

 

Wd40 works sometimes, do you have any goof off? That thing
Looks pretty pitted too

 

Best way I have found to get decals off is with heat, try using a hair blow dryer. If the rust is just surface rust there is a product that you can buy that you apply to it and it converts the rust to a plastic looking surface. If the rust is pitted then you are in for some work with a skim coat of bondo after treating the area with the rust converter. Not fun envolves more sanding.

I am sure other people might have some other ideas for you but that is how I would do it, but then I probably would have found a nice air cleaner to begin with as I am too lazy to do that much work

 

Ha, I will try the blow dryer...and yeah, if i knew it was going to be so difficult i would've just found a new cleaner...now i have the stuff to do it, might as well finish any brand examples for rust converters?