ok I am getting eady finnaly to start doing the body work on my 67. I mite have it media blasted if I have the cash but I m curious as to how i should approach this project. I am unsure of what I should be attacking first, the rear quarters, or floors or frontend. I have some sort of rust everywhere so what ever you guys pick out will be ok lol
body work
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VTStang66
Founding Member
I just did all that. My experience was that the deeper I got, the more rust I found. I started out just doing the partial floor pans, then the full floor, then trunk floor/quarters/wheelhouses/rear crossmember. The guys who built this thing were very good at covering up rust and hiding it. If you have already gotten the car down to the metal and know exactly how much rust you have, I don't know if it matters where you start. Just try to make sure you don't compromise the integrity of the structure (i.e., don't cut out too much metal at a time). I did the toe boards and got those completely done, then did the floor, then frame rails, then the back, one side at a time.
If you do have the cash, the media blasting would make your life easier. Cleaning up 40 year old metal and trying to get it ready to weld to is a pain. You have a lot of work ahead of you, good luck.
If you do have the cash, the media blasting would make your life easier. Cleaning up 40 year old metal and trying to get it ready to weld to is a pain. You have a lot of work ahead of you, good luck.
You can media blast, but most companies that do media blasting want all the glass out and the engine. If your going to media blast the interior, you will pull all the original wiring. We've done this on our '65 and it's a LOT of work because we completely stipped the body to a bare shell. we have pics under "adaminchains" and my name. depending on the degree of rust, media blasting is the best way to go. If you can find a shop that does soda blasting you can leave glass etc in.
if you want to have it done right definitely go for sand blasting. It cost money but it's much less mess and cleaner than stripping the paint chemically or by hand. The car has to be taken apart completely including wiring, sure glass (I have no idea why someone would say not to remove the glass!!!), all the chrome trim, fenders, hoods, doors, etc. After sandblasting painting it with primer is a must within max 5 days otherwise it will start to rust
78StangII2+2
Member
I chose to remove the paint by hand (razor blade) on the exterior as sand blasting builds up too much heat and causes warpage. With respect to the undergear, I did do sandblasting in stages, when I was replacing or repairing an area and then I sand blasted the undergear again after it was all completed. Before I did anything, I put in a set of subframe connectors that help keep the car straight during the process. After sand blasting the underside, I soaked everything with a marine based primer called Interzinc52. That stuff is so tough that it barely scratches with 80 grit sand paper.
While my car is no classic, I believe the process works. The full story is at my cardomain site.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2219901
/paul
While my car is no classic, I believe the process works. The full story is at my cardomain site.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2219901
/paul
VTStang66
Founding Member
You said that didn't take as long as you thought it would; how long did it take? Nice II BTW
78StangII2+2
Member
Thanks for the compliment on the II. As far as the time went, it took me approximately 12 hours to do all of the panels. I took it down to the first coat of primer which was the most difficult as it seemed to be etched into the metal. I sanded that final layer off. A buddy of mine was restoring a 68 GT Fastback. The owner in her mid to late 50s wanted to help out, so she removed the paint in the same manor.
/paul
/paul
LONN17
Founding Member
While screwing around in the garage last night I decided to try the razor blade all the while talking trash on the idea. 3 hours later my drivers fender and hood were stripped to factory primer (w/ 2 people working).
Basically, it takes a little effort to find a place that you can get the razor under, but once you do its not terrible (by that I mean not as bad as running a DA for 3 hrs straight). I held the razor at about a 45 degree angle or less and worked it until I got a technique down. I found that if you take the crimped back piece off (paint buildup actually pried it off) that blade is flexible enough to do the contours pretty well too. I'll upload some photos tomorrow.
I didn't find it to be as fast or easy as some claim (not saying they can't do it) but it is a good alternative. Based on how long it took thus far, I figure it will take myself and another person 12 hours to finish the majority of the car this way.
Also, it didn't work on areas w/ filler or rusty spots.
Edit: Photo update...
Basically, it takes a little effort to find a place that you can get the razor under, but once you do its not terrible (by that I mean not as bad as running a DA for 3 hrs straight). I held the razor at about a 45 degree angle or less and worked it until I got a technique down. I found that if you take the crimped back piece off (paint buildup actually pried it off) that blade is flexible enough to do the contours pretty well too. I'll upload some photos tomorrow.
I didn't find it to be as fast or easy as some claim (not saying they can't do it) but it is a good alternative. Based on how long it took thus far, I figure it will take myself and another person 12 hours to finish the majority of the car this way.
Also, it didn't work on areas w/ filler or rusty spots.
Edit: Photo update...
10+ years ago when my car was stripped I used a metal putty knife. The car had about 6 coats of paint on it. All I did was at an edge of a panel get the knife under the paint (Witout gouging the metal is the trick) then scrape down the panel. the paint just peels off in flakes. It will not work on bondo as you will just dig into it. But it was a heck of a lot faster than using a sander to get through the paint, still had to sand after it was peeled off but it took way less time and lots fewer sand disk changes.
Plastic bead blasting
I'm in the process of doing a restoration and found a company in Texas that does plastic bead blasting. The upside of bead blasting is that it is easy on the sheet metal; the downside is that it doesn't really remove rust.
His response is as follows:
To remove the exterior paint from your '72 Mustang "rolling chassis" would take approximately 4 - 6 hours @ $125.00/Hr. While it's difficult, to say the least, to estimate the time required to remove the paint from any existing substrate until the actual process is begun, this should be an accurate "guess-timate" based on a LOT of experience.
I'm in the process of doing a restoration and found a company in Texas that does plastic bead blasting. The upside of bead blasting is that it is easy on the sheet metal; the downside is that it doesn't really remove rust.
His response is as follows:
To remove the exterior paint from your '72 Mustang "rolling chassis" would take approximately 4 - 6 hours @ $125.00/Hr. While it's difficult, to say the least, to estimate the time required to remove the paint from any existing substrate until the actual process is begun, this should be an accurate "guess-timate" based on a LOT of experience.
jcode68
Active Member
I'm surprised nobody suggested paint stripper yet. I took this approach to mine using some heavy duty aircraft stripper. You just brush is on, let it set and bubble and then scrapes right off with a plastic scraper or even a razor blade. Even handles the primer, although some of the top surfaces on my car were pretty well baked and I had to use a DA sander to finish up. The only downside is the fumes, but if you work in a well ventilated area, maybe even get a fan going and work 1 panel at a time, it goes pretty quick and the results were great.
78StangII2+2
Member
Maybe I was mistaken about the science behind the warpage, however, I have seen what it (sand blasting) can do, and I would certainly not take that chance. Removing the paint by hand adds to the satisfaction of doing work on your own car as well.
Regards
/paul
Regards
/paul
I was actuallythinking about maybe buying a blaster and media from eastwood. Has anybody else done this? will the paint stripper strip bondo also? I figured maybe if I bought a blaster I could blast the areas behind the quarters and paint them so they dont rust again.I think I might start with the floors then work my way up and out to the quarters and cowl. I mite try the razor blade technique also
78StangII2+2
Member
I used paint stripper on painted white aluminum wheels, but I would not recommend it for the body panels. My fear is that it would get into the seams and continue to remove the paint in areas that we cannot get to. There is also the possibility of once you have re-finished the vehicle, that the remover would then start coming backout the seam and affect your new paint. I am not a big fan of those chemical strippers. (used on the wheels because the aluminum is soft and you can gouge it if you are scraping off the paint, much like the bondo)
With regards to getting your own blasting setup from Eastwood, I find them good for small areas or parts but you woud need a lot of sand or media, a really good air supply and very forgiving neighbours. (IMO)
/paul
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2219901
With regards to getting your own blasting setup from Eastwood, I find them good for small areas or parts but you woud need a lot of sand or media, a really good air supply and very forgiving neighbours. (IMO)
/paul
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2219901
jikelly
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
I used it on my 73 and you're right about it getting into seams. You really have to be diligent about washing it all off to. That stripper is really good at what it does.
I would do the floors first because this is the least likely to be seen. It's a good place to learn. The patch pans don't fit perfect ( at least the ones that I have used) so you will have to make them fit. I don't know what part of the front you're talking about but I would do the quarters last since these would be seen by everybody.
zookeeper
Founding Member
I used 3M stripping discs on my fastback. They come in various grits, and you can tell them apart by the colors. I used the green ones and did my whole car in about 3 hrs total. The things cost about $20 per 5 years ago and I think I used about 5 of them. I'd gladly do it that way again for speed, ease of use and cost. I complete idiot (like me) could do it without any damage to the metal, and although it's a bit dusty, it's nothing a particle mask can't handle.
