Fastest way to strip a paint job and repaint?

My ridgeline like many old Hondas has failed paint. Pretty much every panel has no clearcoat remaining while blessedly it is not very rusty, I want to protect it.

the base coat is white and coming off in my hands like chalkboard dust. I don't care much about the appearance and would be happy with a 50 foot paint job. What I don't want to do is invest a lot of time or money into it. I've read on how a lot of people are just painting with rustoleum and a hardener additive or going so far as to shoot a 2k clear over top. I'm leaning this way but even the clear is more effort than I would like to spend.

just looking for some ideas or feedback if the rustoleum will fade (don't care) or fail completely in a few years without clear. 
 

also I would like to strip this doing the least amount of work possible. I'm thinking of getting one of these harbour freight style burnishers which should in theory knock out the larger flatter panels  quickly, and I'm not sure how to approach the corners and edges best?

https://www.harborfreight.com/9-amp-surface-conditioning-tool-58079.html

Rustoleum Turbo. Look it up. It's a big can with a big spray pattern. I'd Scotchbrite or palm-sander the current paint, wash it with dawn detergent and water, dry it thoroughly, wipe it with alcohol, and shoot it with that. I guess you can use clear coat on it, but you said you don't really want to. I wouldn't bother with the burnisher, and I would avoid going to bare metal. If there's any paint still holding on, leave it: 1.) the new paint will stick to it, and 2.) it earned its right to stay there.

If you do a clear coat, make sure the clear coat is compatible with the paint you used.

Edited, because I thought the curse word filter had a word for... well... another word for Donkey. 

Agree with not stripping. Just scuff the current paint, maybe epoxy primer over it so you have good adhesion to whatever you put on top. You can get a gallon of proper automotive base/clear with all the mixin's for probably less than $300 from your local auto body supply shop. They have different levels of quality/price, but even their lowest end stuff is way better than Rustoleum.

220 to get a good prep. 320 for finish on tbe electric palm sander. 

Wash very thoroughly with dawn and a red scotchbrite pad.

Dry, tape up.

White rustoleum mixed 50/50 with mineral spirits and 10% tractor supply hardener sprayed through a 9.99 harbor freight gun. It'll take a few coats, as the white doesn't cover for E36 M3. 

It'll chalking in time, but you'll have a few good years out of it. 

What you need to do sand very well and clean.  1 coat of sealer primer then 2 heavy coats of primer to block sand all scratches out.  Then use a single stage urethane enamel.  All these materials are pretty cheap. TCP global will ship everything to your door but you are stuck with their colors.   This is the paint we use on race cars. 
 

The issue with Rustoleum is not fading, it's that the paint (un hardened) is way softer and easier to chip / scratch then hardened car paint.

90% of a paint job (how it looks) is the prep job (body work and sanding leveling).

Paintforcars.com has some very cheap kits (if you don't live in a restrictive area).

Brightside boat paint is glossier than Rustoleum and should be more durable. It costs a bit more, but it's easy to work with. Most everyone has to buff Rustoleum to get a good shine. Brightside comes out of the can with a great shine.

I was told by the Sherwin Williams paint rep to never use Dawn dish soap or paint thinner for paint pre-prep. He said to use Tri-Sodium Phosphate substitute and bug and tar remover or enamel reducer. 

You have pm. I manage an auto paints and supply store.

dxman92 said:

You have pm. I manage an auto paints and supply store.

Thanks but I live in Canada.

dxman92 said:

You have pm. I manage an auto paints and supply store.

Can you ship to California ?

In reply to californiamilleghia :

Yeah, keep wishing.  He can ship paint to CA, but not the stuff you are looking for.

I was able to get some lead based epoxy primer (that I had bought when it was legal in CA) hardener out of a shop in Wisconsin for a while, but that stopped.

I have a car I painted in arylic lacquer years ago that I cannot get paint for now (I have to use un-hardened lacquer).  It's a major pain. Even if I drove out of state and bought some, the hardener is what goes bad eventually.

BTW, if, for some reason, someone sends me an IM about being able order such stuff... I would jump an that!

TSP over dawn is my preference as well then wipe with tack when dry. 

Personal opinion its a Honda and it has a ton of miles. Scratch and spray bomb as recommended. I would wrap the car over paint but that is me, its just as cheap and will last a bit longer and I HATE spraying cars with clear that has pulled up as it never lasts. 

wearymicrobe said:

TSP over dawn is my preference as well then wipe with tack when dry. 

Personal opinion its a Honda and it has a ton of miles. Scratch and spray bomb as recommended. I would wrap the car over paint but that is me, its just as cheap and will last a bit longer and I HATE spraying cars with clear that has pulled up as it never lasts. 

I'm not against a wrap but there are a few spots that do need rust repair so I'm not sure how we'll wrap would stick on top of spray cans if I were to go that route.