Re: StrippingBody Panels to Bare Metal

Posted by Mark Scranton on August 13, 1997 at 15:25:04

In Reply to: Re: StrippingBody Panels to Bare Metal
posted by Charlie Booher on July 03, 1997 at 08:30:03

I HAVE A PLASTIC MEDIA BLASTING BUSINESS THAT IS WHAT U SHULD USE TO STRIP UR CAR 4 MORE INFO VISIT OUR WEBSITE.WWW.STRIPMASTERS.COM
: : I'd like opinions on stripping paint in preparation to body repair and primering/painting.I have a two car garage, in the city, and want to do a body-off restoration.I can handle themechanicals restoration, but the body restoration is another thing.I'd appreciate opinions/experiences of others who may have been in the same position.
: : Thanks for your time and sharing, Neil
: Preparing bodywork for repair and paint is a TEDIOUS task to say the least but whatever you do yourself can save a lot in the cost of restoration and you can assure yourself that the job was done to your satisfaction ( no sins under that new paint). I have tried most methods; sandblasting, chemical strippers, and hand sanding and can say that there is no easy, quick method. Chemical stripping is very slow, messy, and removes the paint down to bare metal which you may or may not want to do. With sandblasting you run the risk of warping the sheetmetal and is perhaps more useful in preparing frame and suspension parts for paint. I'm a glutton for punishment and prefer sanding the paint down to the origional primer by hand with a sanding block and coarse paper to start(assuming that top coat of paint was brushed on) and working down to 220 wet or 320 wet befor I prime. This works on panels that do not require straightening or welding. On old cars, the sheetmetal was filled with many coats of primer in order to get the ripples out. If you remove all of it, you then have to prime, sand, prime, sand, etc. until it is smooth again and then all paint and filler shrinks with time. Of course, if the panel needs repair, the simply remove the paint with a disc sander. Best of luck!

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