Power sander for body work.

[King_berald]

gday guys.....might be a stupid question....but what type of sander do they use for bodywork on a car? Because i see the guys in the body shops using sanders which run off air hoses and im not sure what they are....i have an orbital sander that runs off a power lead but ive been told its no good. About to start a new project and im just trying to make things easier for myself....anyone know what type of sander it is??

[Tom_1569]

I will be an air orbital sander. I have no idea why you cant use a power one, I was just told by a pro to only ever use an air orbital sander, no idea what the difference makes.

If your using it only to strip paint, try a wire cup on the grinder, generates less heat and less chance of warping panels.

[SthEastCustoms]

If your going back to bare metal paint strip the car. It will save you hours of painfull sanding and give you a good place to start (fresh )
When using paint stripper make sure you mask off anything you dont want being touch by the stripper and make sure you are using gloves long sleeves mask and goggles (IT BURNS)

Once you apply a thick layer of paint stripper get plastic and place it over the top trapping the gasses and increases the preformance of the paint stripper.

After about 5 minutes use your hands and rub over the plastic moving the paint stripper around the panel hopefully removing some of the paint as well.
After about 15-20 mintues you can remove the plastic and start scraping off the paint stripper. A putty scraper can be used for this just dont dig in the edges.

Once all clean use thinners to remove any excess residue and then get your orbital sander with between 120 and 240 grit and remove what ever paint is left.

Any automotive paint store will sell the sanders or go to your local panel beater and see if they can order you one in. even bunnings warehouse sell the right ones.

hope that saves you some time and helps a little

[King_berald]

what difference will it make if i dont take it back to bare metal? i was told that when using orbital sanders, it shows up on the top coat.... but if i rub back the original paint with the sander....then sand all the primers and top coats by hand....will it still show up??? like the orbital marks?

If your going back to bare metal paint strip the car. It will save you hours of painfull sanding and give you a good place to start (fresh )
When using paint stripper make sure you mask off anything you dont want being touch by the stripper and make sure you are using gloves long sleeves mask and goggles (IT BURNS)

Once you apply a thick layer of paint stripper get plastic and place it over the top trapping the gasses and increases the preformance of the paint stripper.

After about 5 minutes use your hands and rub over the plastic moving the paint stripper around the panel hopefully removing some of the paint as well.
After about 15-20 mintues you can remove the plastic and start scraping off the paint stripper. A putty scraper can be used for this just dont dig in the edges.

Once all clean use thinners to remove any excess residue and then get your orbital sander with between 120 and 240 grit and remove what ever paint is left.

Any automotive paint store will sell the sanders or go to your local panel beater and see if they can order you one in. even bunnings warehouse sell the right ones.

hope that saves you some time and helps a little

[SthEastCustoms]

well if your car paint now is acrylic you will need to prime the whole car anyway. so it takes longer to go back to bare metal but in my opinion if its a project car is better.

if you use the right grit and processes you wont see scratches in top coats.

b_kerrison@hotmail.com msn me if you wanna chat more

[DANNY8]

I think the reason they use air instead of electrical is coz they're gonna get filled up with sanding dust, and air tools would cope better with it then electrical tools.

[needwork2-4fillhabbit]

I just use a ryobi finishing sander. Works fine 100 grit to go back to undercoats, 800 for smoothing and 1600 grit for finals.