Got the roof stripped... It was like stripping a whole car!

Got tired of looking at the huge chunk of paint and bondo that was protruding from my roof.



So 18 hours, two gallons of water, and a pack and a half of camels later here's the results!



Now I just need 18 more spare hours, a bit of low pressure bead blasting, and some etching primer, then the real fun can begin!
I'll post as I go...

 

Nothing like getting to the bottom of things! Have Fun!

 

What a helluva lot of work, but if you're in it for the long term you're soooo much better off. Congrats on a great start!

 

Keep it going, I damn near had to chisel out bondo on my car before I got to bare metal.

 

On a portion of my 39 I actually used a chisel to get to metal on one of the side panels. it measured just under 1/2" thick for a couple of square feet. It was ridiculous!!!

 

Hey,

What was the reason for so much filler in your roof, someone jus' tryin' to even out waves and dents? On heavy fills like that, I like to bump out as much of the damage from the underside of the panel as I can. This usually pops the bond on some of the filler and makes removal alittle easier. I then get out the 9'' grinder and a 16 grit open coat disc. This makes for alot of dust, but rapid material removal which speeds up a job that basicly ****s from the gate!
Kool Delivery!

S****y Devils C.C.
" A government for the people by the people? ''

 

Damn, that was alot of Bondo. You might wanna go next door and change the neighbors pool filter...

-Abone.

 

I used a wire wheel to remove 1 inch (In some places 1 1/2 inches) of bondo from both side of my 53. Took me 2 weeks.

I feel your pain.

 

Well it's one way of covering the rust. A trick I use to remove old filler is a Propane or Oxy/acetylene torch with a Carburizing flame about 5" long and just warm up the old filler until it bubbles and then dig it out with a standard screwdriver. It's alot easier on the lungs and alot quicker. Then your good to clean up the metal and put some Epoxy primer on it.
A word to the wise, do One panel at a time and work around the car. Strip, clean prime, Strip, clean, prime. I've seen to many projects parked in the back of the garage because the owners been overwelmed.

The Old Tinbasher

 

WTF is with people and bondo??? I guess its the cheapest way...But not in the long run if you think about it...

 

that could be worse than mine, I'm in no hurry to start on mine either, good luck with it

 

propane flame and a putty knife removes bondo without creating alot of dust..works good..just heat it up and s****e it off

 

a torch is really a good way to go removing bondo. be careful though because if its covering up holes it can fall into the vehicle causing much distress! ask me how i know.

 

Wow, doesn't look bad man. Sadly those long roofs beg children to jump on them like a trampoline lol...

 

I can imagine that was a TON of work....and dust! The tin looks good though so it looks like you have a great foundation to do it right..
I've always liked that car..
The first photo reminded me of my truck when i was tearing it down. I actually saved a bunch of chunks of gl*** because of how thick it was..i too used a chisel for a lot of it..

Tony

 

Yeah, I saw the thickness of the bondo on the front and was kinda scarred, but I got pretty lucky, there's not many dents on the roof, and only one small depression in the front where the bondo was coming off. That one I'll have to make a wooden buck to push up on either side of the seam flanges with a bottle jack, and probably shrink the panels. I'm also gonna add another roof support over the seat... just in case.

 

nice car, i've always like deliveries. What kind of tires are those?

 

Thanks, those are remington g78-15. I can't find new ones anywhere, I think they may have been discontinued. I'm gonna replace em with firestone 6.70's

 

That's funny, I started mine by grabbing the bondo with my fingers, and breaking it off, then to the chisel, then I looked at my torch and said "nah, I'd better sand it off"...

 

Buy the 3M strip disk and hook and loop backing pad....9"er for all that surface area should get you good to go in about 4-5 hours.....4.5"er for smaller detail work

I ground 55lbs (that was what the dust weighed) outta my 49 and it was a TRUCK....that was the cab only.....I feel your pain....

 

I was just thinking I'm glad that wasn't me...then I realized that I'm about to tackle bodywork and it very well might be me in a week or two

 

Long run for sure, Me and my dad put this paint on 12 years ago, and neither of us had painted a car, so we didn't know better. We ground out all the cracks, and filled em back in with fresh bondo, and surprisingly it held for almost ten years, but then when it started to go, it happened fast. Then the car got plowed at an intersection (seperate thread).
Since we last painted it we've acquired the necessary skills and tools to do it all correctly, and have restored 12-15 mach-1's and a few oddball mopars.

 

damn man....that ****s. i am heart broke everytime i see the picture of it smashed, lying in the street. glad to see you are puttin it back together. that looks like alot of work and not much fun.

 

about time brother im ready to cruise mooneyes

 

nice looking ride , cant figure out why the bondo mason laid it on with a trowel , roof didnt look that bad in your photos

 

Hell ya brotha the ride is looking nice, are you planning on keeping it the same color it was or changing it up? Lets get some drinks soon!

 

Your ambitious project is going to pay-off. That is really coming along great...

 

Looks good!

 

Be careful when you get to the final paint of your project. Newspaper will bleed through sometimes ruining your new paint underneath.

 

Lookin good!!The first time I saw your other thread,when it got smacked,I sure felt bad for ya.