Jump to content

Advice on paint removal


Tim972

Recommended Posts

I’ve been working on cars, doing metal fab and welding since I was a teenager,  but I’m definitely not an auto body guy.  I am willing to learn and looking for tips or advice.  And I’d like to save some money and do as much  of the body work as possible, even if I don’t spray the final color when it’s done.   My 72’ appears to be very solid, other than bottoms of front fenders & around the rear window is the only rust I’ve found.    There is some minor bubbles In the paint over the rear quarters & the car was  painted at some point in its life.   It was a California car, so it’s pretty decent condition.   So my main question is, panel by panel, do I chemical strip it ?  Or start to sand it down ? Do I want to get rid of every trace of both layers of paint?   This isn’t a full body off resto,  just trying to make a nice driver out of it.    Any help would be appreciated, thanks.  Tim.  

FA9AFC1A-F943-454A-B692-B8A45DC6803E.jpeg

A06C4820-1C0B-4542-9463-9711DE8B7C81.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Tim.

 If you sand off the paint there will be alot of dust. Chemical stripping is messy and the fumes. That being said, what my brother and I  have found is to chemical stripping in a well ventilated area follower by a light sanding to remove all else. 

There are 2 paint jobs that you know of already. Even though you state it will be a driver, if you don't want to be doing all this again in a few years strip it down to bare metal and start fresh. You will thank yourself in the long run. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im no body guy or painter either but I stripped mine right down to bare Metal then sanded with da then started body work.  It was messy but I did one panel at a time over the winter. Make sure you use a good quality stripper or you'll be doing it multiple times  and clean it off real good after. I ended up painting mine myself in my garage at home, it took 3 attemps but I got it. Looks great from 20 feet or in pictures if you look close you can see a lot of mistakes I made.  I may just try and do it again some day,  I learned a lot doing it the first time. Good luck with it. Oh yea use good heavy gloves when stripping  that stuff burns when you get it on your skin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always had good luck with the Aircraft Stripper, usually Kleenstrip brand I think. Usually get it from the auto paint supply store (looks like advance auto, etc has it though now).

If you do use the stripper, maybe try to keep it out of seams and places like door skin flanges, trunk flanges, etc where the sheetmetal folds over. You don't want that stuff leaching out down the road and possibly bubble up after you refinish the car. A strip of masking tape to cover them up may help keep the chemical from accidently getting in there. I usually just stay away from the edges and DA or wire wheel those areas after.

If it turns out there's a clearcoat or something tough and the stripper doesn't seem to work, you can rough the paint up with some coarse sandpaper real quick and that will help the stripper work much better.

Just a couple of thoughts. Crappy job no matter how you look at it :->

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I stripped mine I used one of those scrappers you use on windows in your home after painting. That being said my paint job was enamel and I peeled it off in long strips in about a third of the time it took to sand. I did my whole hood in 20 minutes after I had worked on it by sanding for over two hours and only had a 2 x 3 area finished. The scraping took of the finish but still had to sand the primer off but took no time at all. I had the whole car in bare metal in 20 hours except the door jambs and around the deck lid and hood. 

IMG_0021.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes there is a special tool for windshield and rear glass moldings looks like this 

You slide it behind moldings and find clips pull gently until it releases.  Be careful not to catch edge of glass it will crack or chip it. You dont have to pull it to far or you could bend clips. Not real easy at fires but not to bad. Tool isnt to expensive should be able to get at parts store.

20190424_210205.jpg

20190424_210223.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, cny first gen 71 said:

Yes there is a special tool for windshield and rear glass moldings looks like this 

You slide it behind moldings and find clips pull gently until it releases.  Be careful not to catch edge of glass it will crack or chip it. You dont have to pull it to far or you could bend clips. Not real easy at fires but not to bad. Tool isnt to expensive should be able to get at parts store.

20190424_210205.jpg

20190424_210223.jpg

I have seen that one before. I’ll stop tomorrow and see if my local parts store has one.  Will these trim pliers do the same job?   Thanks 

79997984-317E-451D-9D38-B343A6286F0A.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To me the tool that Steve posted is an easier tool to use unless you have had experience with another one. The is the only one I have ever used so to me it is really easy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have and use that same trim removal tool Tim. Works good I think.  Me. I couldn't afford to have the Monte stripped or media blasted. I bought lots of 60,80 and 120 grit sanding discs.  I sanded my paint down to bare metal in some areas And down to the original layer of color in other areas.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Successfully removed the rear window trim with the flat tool.  Worked great! Thanks for all your input. 👍   Started working on the rear window removal also.    Slowly & carefully cutting into the sealer.   Boy she’s stuck good.  Work on that some more tomorrow.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...