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Time Saver
After spending a day
trying to sand the old paint off, I realized that it would take
me about a month to get it all. The guys at Sherwin Williams
set me up with some caustic stripping agent that peeled the paint
faster than a....well you get the picture. The $40.00 for the
stripper easily saved me $100.00 in sandpaper and of course time.
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To the Barest of the
Bare
After stripping the
paint, I cleaned the metal off with acetone which left it perfectly
clean. You could honestly drag a white cotton glove across it
without a hint of dirt. Thankfully the weather was nice enough
to do this stinky work outside.
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The Inside Too
You can see the stripper
at work here. The old paint would start to bubble, then actually
peel right off the metal. In some cases a second coating of the
stripper was needed and a wire brush helped in the really tough
spots
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Bondo time
I haven't developed
enough skill with the welder to make the seams so perfect as
to not need to fill them. I sandblasted all the welds and and
epoxy primed them before filling.
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Glazing Putty
In order to keep the
curves of the car uniform, I had to apply a thin layer of the
glazing putty over a large area and then sand it down to a nice
smooth surface.
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Turn it Around
I sprayed a coat of
high-building primer on the driver's side once all the work was
done. I then pushed the car out of the garage and turned it around
to work on the other side. This was done in three point turn
style in my driveway.
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Looks Good enough
to Me
When you sand the
primer down with 400 grit paper, the car looks stunningly clean.
You can see in this picture how nicely the contours of the body
have been preserved so far.
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Painting Equipment
As a rule of thumb,
it takes about an hour to do any painting procedure: 10 minutes
to mix the paint, 10 minutes to apply the paint and 40 minutes
to clean the gun and measuring cups. I have a really nice stainless
steel tray that contains the spilled paint, cleaner etc which
helps keep everything under control.
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Minor Refitting
To fit the fenders
properly, I have found that it is easiest to do the bodywork
with them bolted in place. I taped waxed paper to the fender
so that the putty doesn't glue the two part together. When the
fender is removed, the waxed paper comes with it and a perfect
impression is left on the car body.
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