Today marks the day my progress begins. I am beginning to strip the paint and sand the rust down to bare metal and primer (for the time being). The car needs a lot of body work but will be sound when I am finished. Lots of small dents. I will be stripping one section per day (7 days a week) to keep my mind straight and be able to sleep at night. I figure at this rate I can have it stripped completely by 2 weeks. So far I have gone at the patina with a 3m paint & rust disc to get to metal, and now I am using Klean-Strip Aircraft Stripper to get larger sections at one time. So far it is looking good. How long ca bare metal go before start getting flash rust? There will probably be times when 1-2 days go by before I can lay down a temporary primer and I wanted to know if that is okay. Starting from worst (front) to lesser rust/paint (rear end). So far so good. I will update as my progress goes by. Wish me luck!
I noticed a lot of people saying to put the aircraft remover onto the paint and cover it with cling wrap and let it sit. Didn't work for me. Maybe it is the paint but I found that if I put on the stripper and then start peeling the paint within 10 seconds, it rolls right off. Got the p***enger section of the hood area (not the actual hood but above the headlights) stripped to bare metal. Now I just need to sand it smooth and get all the rusty lines out. What is a good grit for doing this? I will post pictures of my progress in the morning.
Rusting shouldn't be too big a problem where you are. I have a pair of bare metal hood sides and they didn't rust when I was in Sunny Central California. Even less than a problem here in Dry (most times) Arizona. Go over to Roadsters.com and take a look at the stuff they sell for putting on bare metal. It's had good reviews and I understand no probs in painting over it.
I use a product called Picklex. It works great, but the parts have to be kept dry. I would think in Cali that being bare a couple of days it would not surface rust. I am stripping a cabinet for a buffer and the chinese steel seems to rust quickly just sitting in the shop. Gibbs is a great product, but I still do not trust putting paint on top of it (just me). Good luck and let us see what you have done. Mike
I ususally scuff paint with a couple of p***es of 24 grit paper before I use paint stripper. The stripper gets in the scratches and penetrates faster...works for thick paint.Anyone else do this? I Patched the rust on this fender awhile back...then my lil girl was born before I got to prime it. It has been sitting for over 2 months and hasn't rusted. I just wiped on some corn oil from the kitchen like a true ******. HA ha, shouldn't be a problem cleaning it for painting when the wife and I get some free time.
Ok I am needing some help. I have one area down to bare metal metal and want to PROTECT IT. What kind of primer is good for protecting bare metal hat can be sanded later when it's ready for paint. I do NOT want to use krylon rattle can. Please give me some insight on what I need. Looks are not a factor, the protection of the metal is.
PPG epoxy primers work great (DP90LF is what I normally use its a light gray). Runs about 120-150 per mixed gallon. The PPG Shopline series is pretty good too and is a bit cheaper. Make sure you clean then scuff it before you prime again, or do any bodywork, if you let it sit more than a day or so.
Here is what I got done. It took me about 3 hours yesterday and less than one hour today. I had to add in family time+shopping and a labor day BBQ. Everything looks good. Only about 3 dents in this section. Notice though that I have some noticeable lines and tiny spots. Is this rust that needs to be taken down as well? I have used Aircraft stripper to get the majority, followed by a 60 grit 3mblock and a 3m paint/rust stripper for larger areas. Should I take a wire wheel to these areas, if so br*** or steel? I want this to be as clean as possible. More pics in the next few days!!
You don't need primer after stripping if you clean and degrease it thoroughly (after strip), and then use one of the commercially prepared metal preps or acid (usually phosphoric) etches. I use OSPHO now while stripping, cleaning, and etching to get all the lacquer primer off my floor pan parts, etc. on my '31 roadster. Then later when I've got enough stripped,cleaned, and etched to make it worthwhile to have to clean the spray gun I spray primer on them. My Gawd, anybody bought lacquer thinner lately, even the cheap grade? Whatever brand you use, follow the manufacturer's instructions on application. Once "pickled", parts kept inside, out of the rain and dew. will go for long periods, even months. without rust appeaering. While we're on the subject of stripping paint, Has anyone tried first using stripper, then a pressure washer to strip paint? Have a good friend who's affered the use of his 3500# pressure washer any time I want it. Will it work? Dave
I've not heard of it. Might work might not. I have been cleaning off the stripper with simple green and then water to neutralize it all Then a good wipe down with lacquer thinner. So should I wire brush the small spots and lines of black/brown in the metal?
So i got the other side down to bare metal. Lots more areas of rust, nothing a wire wheel brush cant take care of. Also, there are 2 huge dents in the area and whoever had it before the last guy put LAYERS of bondo to get the spots level again. That was a pain to sand off. Anybody know what I can do to tighten up the fender itself? I poked at it from the bottom and it has a lot of movement, also the wheel well moves. So far so good. Need to pick up some PCL epoxy primer and hardener for the polyprime and it will be ready to spray. What is an easy way to pop big dents on top of the fender back out?
Have you painted over Gibbs? I hear rumors, but don't know of anyone who painted over it. I did a Gibbs test a few years ago to see how it worked on removing rust, but never painted over it.
The fenders on those cars attach with a 90 degree bracket down at the bottom. They Might be rusted out. Its right behind the bottom of the fender where it meets the door. I just made some new ones out of angle iron. Also the edge of the whole fender has an inner support structure that traps dirt and moisture and rusts out the bottom from the inside. Your should remove the fender to get to the dents with a hammer and clean up all the rust thet might be in there. You will prolly find some other suprises like rust in the pillars and upper firewall area. The wheel well is pretty self explanitory as you can see the if the mounting screws and bolts are stripped or loose or gone.
this is where I'm talking bout. Didn't look as nasty outside. The fender was just floppin in the wind cuz the mount was gone. Hope your fenders are in better shape
The Jalopy Journal
