Changed my mind about using a DA sander for heavy paint removal after talking to an old-timer at a shop in St. Louis

I always thought you had to use a grinder with a 36 grit disc to strip clear coat fast. This guy in his 60s saw me at a parts store last month and told me I was making more work for myself. He showed me his setup with a DA sander and some 80 grit paper, said it takes longer but gives you a flatter surface to start with. I tried it on a 2010 Camaro hood that had peeling clear, and he was right the finish after primer was way smoother. No deep gouges to block out saved me like 2 hours of sanding. Has anyone else switched to DA for stripping instead of grinding?

2 comments

2 Comments

gonzalez.anna2d ago

Hold on, I gotta push back on this. A DA sander is the slowest way to strip paint unless you have a really light touch and a lot of patience. If you're tackling a whole hood with heavy peeling clear, that 80 grit is going to clog up after one pass and you'll burn through paper like crazy. The cost adds up fast. Plus, a DA just can't put the same bite into the paint as a grinder, so you end up spending an extra hour or two just to get the same result. A grinder with a 36 grit disc is way more aggressive, which is exactly what you need for thick clear coat. Sure, you get some swirl marks, but that's what a block and some 120 grit is for. I'd rather block out a few scratches than waste a whole afternoon fighting with a DA.

dylan_green582d ago

36 grit on a grinder? @gonzalez.anna, you're out of your mind.