Removing paint on inner door

What are you guys using to remove the paint on the inner door without damaging the grainy surface. A door I recently picked up has a few different colors on it and I wanted to remove the paint on it.

 

i think i used some aircraft stripper and a wire wheel on an angle grinder..some wheels are softer than others so make sure you dont get one too course...and wear face protection..

 

That aircraft stripper is pretty aggressive. I got it on my hand and I thought it was going to burn a hole though it. I might try it out if I can't figure it out.

 

when using a wire brush wheel on a grinder face protection is a must! I got stuck in the eye from one of those little wires flying off. my eye hurt like a SOB for a week. and if you have a heavy long sleeve coat or sweater I would recommend that too. I cant remember how many cuss words I said while stripping the entire outside of my car with one. every few seconds I was getting stuck in the neck stomach or face the ones that poke you in your stomach are the worst ones. cause they keep hurting for hours. kinda like getting stung by a bee for 2 or 3 hours straight.
then weeks later after washing the shirt and wearing it a few times I still find little brass slivers sticking out scratching me

ahhh such fond memories of the tools we use trying to kill us lol

 

Start with the Air Craft stripper then use a wire brush. Follow the instructions on the stripper for best results. A wire wheel on a grinder might smooth out the grain so be easy with it. A FULL face shield is a must. Gloves too. I wear an apron at the shop..
For my doors I plan to use different techniques of sand or powder blasting. Made myself a walk in blasting cabinet/room I hope to use this year at some point.

 

Paint stripper, you don't want to use any kinda grinder, it'll take the texture right off, then a very light pass with a sand blaster will remove any rust.

 

So, does that mean the texture is stamped into the metal?.. or was it applied from the factory in a granular/textured coating?

I can only assume that it was an applied coating and aircraft style stripper will be tricky to use for getting the timing/thickness right. Some area's will lift more layers at one application and get you that much closer to damaging the base textures layer when applying the next coat of stripper.

I use the stuff as part of my work requirement and when the substrate is sensitive and covered by many layers.. I usually use the heavy stripper first. From there it's usually best and much safer to move to the "takes nearly forever with 3 more coats" waterborne strippers. Helps to sneak up on the base layer without as many "oops.. I did it again" issues.

Another trick is to lay saran wrap, plastic bags, or paper towels over the stripper to prevent dry out/allow it to work longer and dig deeper before it's "spent" and requiring a recoat.

Just remember that stronger stuff will mess you up badly and burn your lungs before you even realize it.. so be damned sure to have plenty of low speed airflow in the area(without actually concentrating the airflow over the stripper which dry's it out and reduces its effectiveness/requiring more recoats) and wear a fresh charcoal based respirator. Full face is best since it's bad for the eyes too.

Good luck with it.

 

Glass bead blasting works great. If you decide not to remove the glass be sure to lay card board between the glass and door skin or you will etch the glass

 

I did mine with 000 sand in my sandblaster. It came out perfect and didn't damage the grain one bit. The advantage is paint removal and rust removal at the same time. I gave it two thin coats of epoxy primer to seal it up and not fill the texture with paint. If I had it to do over again I'd do it the exact same way.

 

The grain on the inner door panels is Rolled into the steel sheet when its made. The roll then goes to the stamping plant where its punched into inner doors.Media blasting is best for the inner doors. Chemicle stripping is the next viable option but...Lots of work with a wire brush (In your hand) afterward. Wire wheels on a grinder/drill will eat the pattern off in short order.

 

...and avoid using high-build primer before paint or the grain will disappear...

 

I successfully used a wire wheel in my 1/2 inch drill but I let the wheel do the work without applying much pressure and ran the drill on a slow speed. I also found that the paint Ford used on the inner door wasn't that thick to begin with possibly so the grain didn't disappear right out of the factory. After I stripped them down to bare metal my paint guy shot them in epoxy primer but used thin coats so the grain is still there.

 

Well after I did most of the bodywork on the door I take a closer look at the door and find some cracks. Looks worse in person

 

Weld it up, grind it down and paint it. What else can you do? It's not going to show with the door closed!

 

Both of my replacement doors had cracks that we welded up before primer went on but all of the cracks were on the hinge side of the doors. The strange part was that these 2 doors were from 2 different cars but had the same problems