Classic Mustangs List Archive

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: RRobaldo (Lance Robaldo)

The shop working on my convertible called last night. Work is progressing and
they "should" have the car painted with an etching primer by the end of the week
or early next week. After that, they'll start working on the actual body work.
I always thought the would prime it AFTER the body work, but he wants to get a
coat of primer on it first, so that surface rust doesn't become a problem while
they take their time doing the body work. I guess that makes sense to me.



He promised to e-mail me pictures of the car once it's completely stripped of
all it's paint. Now my car won't just be "topless", it'll be "naked"!



They've removed all exterior trim and rubber and they've got the front end
through 1/2 the door stripped to bare metal and "so far" have only found minor
rust and old bondo body damage under 4/5 different colored layers of paint
(fingers crossed that it stays that way for the next 1/2 of the car!!!) I have
a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that when they get to the rear
quarters, it may be quite a different story...



They're replacing anything bondo'ed with new metal, so I hope they don't find
TOO much old bondo as they strip the second half of the car. They believe the
proper way to use bondo is to smooth out welded repairs, and to fill in very
small waves/dings, but rust should always be cut out and new panels should be
welded in. I think I agree with them on that, even though it may be a bit more
costly in the end.



They're using a chemical stripper and manually scraping/wire brushing all the
paint off the car. It's a labor intensive method of stripping the car, and at
$40/hr, it adds up quick. The shop owner says it's the best way to strip the
paint without causing further damage to the vehicle.



On the other hand, the shop that did my son's car used a media blaster and had
the car stripped in just a few hours. I didn't notice any "damage" caused by
the media blasting. But I do have to admit that even to this day the "residue"
from the blasting keeps falling out of various nooks & crannies.



My question is which method of stripping the paint from a car is "best" for the
end product? What are the pro's and con's of each method?

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: lists.twistedpair.ca/pipermail/classic-mustangs/attachments/20070425/10c35d87/attachment-0001.html

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: dano (Dan O'Reilly)

If the media blaster knows what he's doing and uses the correct media,
there's absolutely no reason not to use it. As I understand it, that
wasn't always the case; the blasting media and equipment they have today is
much better than what it used to be (load the hopper with sand & let 'er
rip!). I much prefer media blasting, myself. On the '71 Mach I'm doing,
media blasting uncovered some sheet metal (part of a floorpan and a rear
quarter) that was very thin and needed repairs, and I don't think they
would have found that with a wire brush and chemicals. Also, there are
places where I just plain don't think chemicals & wire brushes could reach
as efficiently as media blasters. Then, of course, there's the issue of
getting all the chemicals out of all the nooks & crannies when you're done.

At 08:00 AM 4/25/2007, Lance Robaldo wrote:
>The shop working on my convertible called last night. Work is progressing
>and they "should" have the car painted with an etching primer by the end
>of the week or early next week. After that, they'll start working on the
>actual body work. I always thought the would prime it AFTER the body
>work, but he wants to get a coat of primer on it first, so that surface
>rust doesn't become a problem while they take their time doing the body
>work. I guess that makes sense to me.
>
>He promised to e-mail me pictures of the car once it's completely stripped
>of all it's paint. Now my car won't just be "topless", it'll be "naked"!
>
>They've removed all exterior trim and rubber and they've got the front end
>through 1/2 the door stripped to bare metal and "so far" have only found
>minor rust and old bondo body damage under 4/5 different colored layers of
>paint (fingers crossed that it stays that way for the next 1/2 of the
>car!!!) I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that when they
>get to the rear quarters, it may be quite a different story
..
>
>They're replacing anything bondo'ed with new metal, so I hope they don't
>find TOO much old bondo as they strip the second half of the car. They
>believe the proper way to use bondo is to smooth out welded repairs, and
>to fill in very small waves/dings, but rust should always be cut out and
>new panels should be welded in. I think I agree with them on that, even
>though it may be a bit more costly in the end.
>
>They're using a chemical stripper and manually scraping/wire brushing all
>the paint off the car. It's a labor intensive method of stripping the
>car, and at $40/hr, it adds up quick. The shop owner says it's the best
>way to strip the paint without causing further damage to the vehicle.
>
>On the other hand, the shop that did my son's car used a media blaster and
>had the car stripped in just a few hours. I didn't notice any "damage"
>caused by the media blasting. But I do have to admit that even to this
>day the "residue" from the blasting keeps falling out of various nooks &
>crannies.
>
>My question is which method of stripping the paint from a car is "best"
>for the end product? What are the pro's and con's of each method?

---

Dan O'Reilly
1966 Nightmist Blue Pony Coupe
1971 Bright Red Mach 1
2002 Black Deluxe Convertible
Colorado Springs, CO

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: keven (Coates, Keven)

I certainly agree with the "cut rust out" method. It's like a cancer
and you can never really get rid of it once it takes hold. In Nebraska
where they put salt on the roads there was no way around it. No matter
what you did, it came. It's only today with the better protected body
panels that it's not so bad.

Thankfully in Houston it's not bad at all, but it still bubbles up from
under paint if you don't get it all. Sometimes I think there are pin
holes from the back of the metal as well that they don't see, and the
moisture comes through there.

As far as media Vs. stripper, I don't know. I wouldn't think it would
take much difference in time either way, but I've never done it on a
whole car scale.

Keven

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: W427 (David)

I don't think there is one 'best' way to strip every car - or every part
of a car. I do, however, lean towards three methods. First is the razor
method. I learned this from a resto man with more experience than
anyone I know - and he uses the cheap 100 packs of single-edged razor
blades in a couple different holders to strip a car in a hurry. When he
first described this process to me, he indicated this was good for old
paints and repaints. He then took me to a '64 Chevy trunk lid and
stripped the whole thing in less than 5 minutes! It strips all but good
factory primer in most cases. Crease lines, floorpans, etc. can be
difficult or require other methods. If you want to try it first - take
some blades to the scrapyard and give it a try on a few cars with paint
and condition like yours. Very educational and free!

Second is the dip-strip using big tanks. It's very thorough and
relatively cheap compared to hand-stripping but could be a problem in
the distant future if your car is a driver. Since literally
*everything* is stripped (including rust) it removes undercoating and
protective coatings inside framerails and other hard to re-coat spots.
In foul weather or poor storage moisture and junk can get in there and
cause new corrosion. Great for full-show restorations, though. I have
heard that some strippers offer protective dipping from the rocker
panels and down to protect the floorpan and framerails. The main
attraction is the knowledge that the car is totally rust-free when it
leaves the tanks. What happens after that is up to you.

Lastly is plastic media blasting. A guy near me does this and uses
plastic grains that remove paint, filler and surface rust. It has none
of the drawbacks that sand and other harsher media do - if the operator
has sufficient patience. The drawback to this is it only strips what it
can be shot at - so backside corrosion in an inaccessible spot may need
additional work.

There are many other methods (I'd like to try soda blasting), but I feel
that hand-chemical stripping is an unlikely choice for me, given the
labor and drawbacks that it has.

Just my 2?...
David

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: W427 (David)

BTW - my local resto guy also gave a great tip on using disc grinders.
He only uses 100-120 grit for stripping as it is faster and chews the
metal less than 36 to 60 grit discs. He explained that the coarser
discs have media with granules so far apart that as it bites paint and
removes it, it leaves more paint between the grooves. When you're
ginding away waiting for the granules to get the remaining paint it's
chewing away the metal as well. Imagine dragging a metal comb over the
surface. It would leave lines of bare metal and paint and require
multiple 'passes' to get all the paint while scraping metal as well. He
does use 36 grit for hogging filler though.

It's amazing to me how much there is to know about something like this -
and the more I learn - the more I realize how little I do. :-S

David


David wrote:

>I don't think there is one 'best' way to strip every car - or every part
>of a car. I do, however, lean towards three methods. First is the razor
>method. I learned this from a resto man with more experience than
>anyone I know - and he uses the cheap 100 packs of single-edged razor
>blades in a couple different holders to strip a car in a hurry. When he
>first described this process to me, he indicated this was good for old
>paints and repaints. He then took me to a '64 Chevy trunk lid and
>stripped the whole thing in less than 5 minutes! It strips all but good
>factory primer in most cases. Crease lines, floorpans, etc. can be
>difficult or require other methods. If you want to try it first - take
>some blades to the scrapyard and give it a try on a few cars with paint
>and condition like yours. Very educational and free!
>
>Second is the dip-strip using big tanks. It's very thorough and
>relatively cheap compared to hand-stripping but could be a problem in
>the distant future if your car is a driver. Since literally
>*everything* is stripped (including rust) it removes undercoating and
>protective coatings inside framerails and other hard to re-coat spots.
>In foul weather or poor storage moisture and junk can get in there and
>cause new corrosion. Great for full-show restorations, though. I have
>heard that some strippers offer protective dipping from the rocker
>panels and down to protect the floorpan and framerails. The main
>attraction is the knowledge that the car is totally rust-free when it
>leaves the tanks. What happens after that is up to you.
>
>Lastly is plastic media blasting. A guy near me does this and uses
>plastic grains that remove paint, filler and surface rust. It has none
>of the drawbacks that sand and other harsher media do - if the operator
>has sufficient patience. The drawback to this is it only strips what it
>can be shot at - so backside corrosion in an inaccessible spot may need
>additional work.
>
>There are many other methods (I'd like to try soda blasting), but I feel
>that hand-chemical stripping is an unlikely choice for me, given the
>labor and drawbacks that it has.
>
>Just my 2?...
>David
>_______________________________________________
>Classic-mustangs mailing list
>Classic-mustangs at lists.twistedpair.ca
>lists.twistedpair.ca/mailman/listinfo.cgi/classic-mustangs
>
>Visit the Classic Mustang Wiki! sauce.donair.org/~cm/
>
>
>