Topic: Undecided on Body Prep

[koski19]

Hey Guys....Needs some input here.

Spent another day talking with paint and body shops and I have become undecided as to which way to strip down my Mustang and I am hoping you'll provide some guidance so I can make a decision.

Some have said not to chemically strip the car i.e. using aircraft stripper and others say not to media blast, chemically dip the uni body or sand blast the car. Reason I've heard are that chemical stripping leaves a residue on the body that can interact with the paint going on and media blasting can distort the metal. Also, media blasting can leave some of the media in the metal that can affect the paint as well.

Most have said to sand the paint already on it, smooth the panels and apply the paint. This would be ok with me if I knew what was underneath.

I would really like to see what the foundation of this car is, repair any sheet metal that needs fixing, prep the body and send to the paint shop. I'll not paint the car in my shop. Not setup for it.

No one has addressed the underside of the panels such as the fenders and exterior floor pans, wheel wells etc as far as priming and painting. Looks like the interior of my Mustang has a red oxide primer, followed by a black paint for the dash and doors. The interior originally was black. Was this a black lacquer?

To date, the transmission is at the trans shop and the engine is at the machine shop. The body will need to wait until I have made a decision on which way to go on preparing it for paint.

What paints or colors where used for the engine brackets? The block, head and air cleaner are blue but is that old Ford Blue? New Ford Blue or Corporate Ford Blue? Seems to be many "Blue" ford colors. The engine bay, was that a black, black gloss or semi-gloss? Was the transmission C-4
painted or left natural?

Thanks for your replies........Jeff

[CharlesTurner]

I'd recommend media blasting, preferably with plastic media on the outer surfaces and then use an abrasive like Dupont star-blast on the rest of it.

Need to decide if you're going to do a full rotisserie restoration or just a rolling restoration.  That will determine how much of the car is stripped to bare metal.  If just rolling, you can still have inside the car, inside the trunk and the engine bay stripped.  Kind of doesn't leave much left, which is why sometimes cars are taken to a higher level of restoration.

Once the car is stripped clean, you should have a better idea of what needs to be done as far as sheet metal repair.

[J_Speegle]

Once the car is stripped clean, you should have a better idea of what needs to be done as far as sheet metal repair.

IMHO I would never dip a car again. Depending on what your starting out with (how untouched and rust free if very helpful - if possible - to leave as much of the original sound deadener and sealer since it can be a pain to get right the first time

As Charles wrote - stripping is the first step as it will allow you to discover what has really taken place since the car was new - hope your findings are uneventfull

[koski19]

Thanks for your replies. I have decided to media blast the car using walnut shell.
After talking with RDW the local mustang restoration shop and a couple of body shops
Media blasting is the way to go. My car leaves next week.

EDS Media Blasting with pickup the car, media blast 6-8 hrs depending on the condition and layers of paint
and return the car. $80.00 hr. Seems reasonable.

I spent alot of time this week with body and paint shops, local mustang restoration shop and custom car shops
along with this forum to come to a decision on what the best way is to strip down the car. It has been an education.

Jeff

[CharlesTurner]

Keep in mind that walnut shells will not remove rust.  So, you'll need to let the blaster know to use something more abrasive to get rust out.  Also, ask them not to use walnut shells inside the trunk/interior/engine bay as those areas are usually where you will find rust and it would be a waste to use walnut shells on it.  This might help keep cost down as walnut shells are more expensive than a general purpose media, like DuPont starblast.

[koski19]

Thanks Charles for the additional info.

[bryancobb]

I have my unibody on the rotisserie right now and am going through this "how to remove paint" decision right now. MY LABOR is free, so after a little experimenting, I have decided that a combination of twisted SS wire cup and rags with lacquer thinner is the least expensive and gives the best results ON THE INTERIOR FLOOR PANS, ENGINE BAY AND UNDERNEATH SIDE OF THE CAR.  I am NOT going to do this to the body panels though.

For body panels, I will probably use a light application of aircraft stripper to soften it a little and then scrape with razor blades.  Last I will D/A it with 80 grit after wiping down the panels with rags soaked with something to neutralize the stripper.  I will not let any liquid get within 1" of any panel joint or overlap.  That will keep the stripper from wicking into nooks and crannies.

I don't want to, but I will have to media blast some areas that are inaccessible using any other means, but it's use will be very limited.  No matter how hard you try, you can't keep trapped media from finding its way out and into your topcoat.

It's unbelievable how good the condition of the metal is in.  My frame rails and floor pans look almost new.  The factory drips from the belly will be very hard to re-create.  Each one had a bubble in its low point that "popped" and left a crater as the primer was heat cured.  I had considered just applying DP-75 over them but decided I'd just remove all the way to the metal and try to get "close" to the same look...SOMEHOW.

[Stangly]

I used this same method with good results.  Doing you own blasting is a good way to save also.  You need alot of air to do it however.  I rented one of those portable air compressors like you see at construction sites and did most of the car on a Saturday afternoon.

[silverfox]

Very nice work and looks in V.good condition.

I'm also using the same methodology  on my 70 Mach 1 and although labour intensive, you get the satisfaction of seeing what you have at close hand.

The only thing I have found is that that in areas like around the rear spring hangers you will need blasting.
Chris, England.

[koski19]

I have my unibody on the rotisserie right now and am going through this "how to remove paint" decision right now. MY LABOR is free, so after a little experimenting, I have decided that a combination of twisted SS wire cup and rags with lacquer thinner is the least expensive and gives the best results ON THE INTERIOR FLOOR PANS, ENGINE BAY AND UNDERNEATH SIDE OF THE CAR.  I am NOT going to do this to the body panels though.

For body panels, I will probably use a light application of aircraft stripper to soften it a little and then scrape with razor blades.  Last I will D/A it with 80 grit after wiping down the panels with rags soaked with something to neutralize the stripper.  I will not let any liquid get within 1" of any panel joint or overlap.  That will keep the stripper from wicking into nooks and crannies.

I don't want to, but I will have to media blast some areas that are inaccessible using any other means, but it's use will be very limited.  No matter how hard you try, you can't keep trapped media from finding its way out and into your topcoat.

It's unbelievable how good the condition of the metal is in.  My frame rails and floor pans look almost new.  The factory drips from the belly will be very hard to re-create.  Each one had a bubble in its low point that "popped" and left a crater as the primer was heat cured.  I had considered just applying DP-75 over them but decided I'd just remove all the way to the metal and try to get "close" to the same look...SOMEHOW.

WOW! That looks really great. The body is in great condition from what is shown. I think I'll give that a try and save some of the
$80.00 Hr that it would cost for media blasting. I'm now down to the unibody after spending last weekend stripping the car down.
I have break and fuel lines to remove and the switches in the dash. Did you buy the rotisserie or rent it? May I ask the cost?

Jeff

[bryancobb]

Thanks for the kind words. 

The car IS in great shape.  You are new here so I'll tell you something the older ones know.  I bought THIS car  in 1979.  I sold it in 1981 to an Air Force pilot.  He kept it for 31 years and I looked him up on the internet and talked him out of it in 2009.  He had only put 15,000 miles on it in 31 years and kept it in a dry garage.  That's how it looks all over.  When I get finished stripping, it will practically be a newly-bucked body just like Ford created.  My paint man (a World-Of-Wheels quality Hot-Rod Builder) tried to talk me out of stripping it but I just could not stand having 9 layers of paint/primer, no matter how good he could make it look.

I am a draftsman and I work for a steel fabrication company. The owner is an "Old Car buff."  I did the drawings on my own time, and bought the materials.  The owner provided the fabrication, and blast & paint labor using the welders in the shop.  It cost me $250 and I get to use it for 1 year, and then the owner gets to keep it.

It has a worm gear from a boat winch and you just turn the handle and you can make fine adjustments to the position of the car.

[bryancobb]

The more I strip, the more impressed I am with the condition.  I got the driver's side wheelweel/shocktower stripped today and didn't find a single spot of pitting or rust.  The factory sound deadener and some undercoating that I probably sprayed in there, in 1980, was very effective at keeping rust out I guess?

I did weld up the P.O.'s holes for the Arning Drop.  Now you can't tell they were ever there. 

[bryancobb]

More "Condition" blessings.

I stuck my camera up inside the cowl.  Look how good it looks, before I even touch it.  I expected it to be OK, but not rust free.  It appears to be rust free.

[roddster]

The key is the time/money thing.  If you are in a hurry, drop it off at the blaster and let'em have at it.  Aircraft stripper works also, but is is time consuming, and you end up - after the paint has been scraped off - with washing the car with thinner and either steel wool or Scotchbrite.
  I cannot understand using an orbital sander with sanding pads.  Seems like that will certainly create way more work with smoothing the body.

[koski19]

Today's update: The unibody went to the media blaster. Should be back by July 15th. I also ordered a full floor pan with seat risers and the cowl panel extensions. The cowl panel had only surface rust and the top hats are intact. The am radio has been restored to factory specs (Jim Shepard in AZ) along with the distributor(Tim O'Connor, IN) both mustang restoration experts. I finished the cylinder head rebuild this week and the block should be back Friday from the machine shop. Engine rebuilding next week. Oil pan, valve cover, exhaust manifold and air cleaner assemblies have been stripped, cleaned and painted. Tonight I rebuild the instrument bezel assembly. I'm thinking of building an engine test stand this week or next. So far, so good and I'm pleased with the results and completed work.

Jeff