A customer in Phoenix showed me a trick with a heat gun on old paint

I was working on a 1998 Ford F-150 with really stubborn clear coat, and the owner, a guy named Ray, came over to watch. He told me he used to run a shop in Tucson and said, 'Try the heat gun on low, about six inches back, and keep it moving in circles.' I gave it a shot, and the old paint softened up just enough to scrape off clean without damaging the base layer. Anyone else have a go-to method for dealing with baked-on clear coat like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

lily_craig1mo ago

yeah I mean... is it really that serious? Like old paint on a 98 Ford. I get that clear coat can be a pain but I've just sanded through worse with a block and some elbow grease. Heat gun seems like overkill unless you're trying to save every single layer for some show truck. And that base layer thing... are you sure it wasn't just the primer that got a little melty? I dunno man, I've seen guys overthink paint jobs on trucks that are barely worth the time.

noah_walker161mo ago

Sanded down a 98 Ford myself last spring with just a block and it turned out fine.

tyler_white421mo ago

Nah @lily_craig, you're wrong. Heat gun saves time and keeps the body lines crisp.