How can I remove orange spray paint off my hood?

[JoeSonoma]

(Sorry if I cross-posted this, but last time I got it in the wrong forum. )


I recently bought a 1991 GMC Sonoma -- engine is great but the body looks very sad. I'm going to get it painted eventually, but at the moment I'm stuck with a large orange sun design that the former owned spray-painted on the hood! It looks like regular orange spray-paint, and it's on top of a layer of auto-primer. (Former owned primed the truck, but never did the finish coat. I guess he decided the sun looked better!) I'm still a highschool student without much money, so I'd like to keep this a cheap fix. I just want that pathetic orange sun design to go away!

Is there any kind of paint remover that anyone would suggest? Or would that remove the primer underneath it as well? (I've got some cans of auto-primer, so if I had to I could just spray primer over the whole thing, but it's kind of a pain to remove the hood.) The whole truck is going to be sandblasted and painted someday anyway so I'm not aiming for PERFECTION at the moment.

Any ideas are most welcome!

[bobss396]

Since you probably have to re-prime it, give it a wipe down with a rag and lacquer thinner. Work outside and I'd suggest a respirator and solvent resistant gloves. A sander and a bunch of sandpaper blanks would do it too, but would be messy. Either way it'll be a mess.

Bob

[JoeSonoma]

Do you think I could just coat a new layer primer over it? Or should I really work on getting the orange off first?

A second primer coat would just be temporary for about a year or so, until I have enough money to get the WHOLE truck sandblasted and repainted by a professional.

[bobss396]

Sure, prime over it if you want to. Scuff it up with something like 320 grit paper, wet sand if you want it relatively smooth. Be aware that the primer over the orange might react with the orange. That's why I suggested getting rid of the orange first. Try a primer like Color Place, which is an enamel product and shouldn't react. Do a small spot first to see if you get a reaction.

Bob

[JoeSonoma]

Thanks, I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes.

[JoeSonoma]

Okay, I re-primed the hood. I washed it first then dry-sanded with 220 grit sandpaper (didn't have any 320), then rinsed and dried everything. It came out quite smooth.

I primed about 3 coats altogether, the last one being a bit less than the others. I think I might have gotten a little reaction out of the mix of the orange and the dark-grey primer, (lighter shade of color in those areas) but it got mostly covered up on the last coat.

Of course this is all temporary until I get the entire truck repainted from scratch by a professional. I'm just saving a buck until then.

Thanks for the ideas everyone!