1976 280Z Restoration Project

[gwri8]

What are you scraping with Mark?   I found that using a long handled razor blade scrapper worked best when I did mine. 

[wheee!]

Scraping after 7 minutes with a flat bladed putty knife.

Needs another pass.

Edited November 8, 2018 by wheee!

[wheee!]

Somewhat done...

[wheee!]

Overall I am impressed with the chemical stripper. At $40 a gallon, it is not cheap, but comparable to the cost of EZ Strip plastic wheels at about $12 each. The finish is left like factory fresh metal when done compared to a granular sanded surface. The amount of effort is minimal with the stripper and no piles of dust and debris (HUGE plus for me).

In the end, I will continue to use the stripper method and then go over the bare metal with an EZ Strip wheel to remove some stubborn primer/bondo that is stuck to the metal. This will reduce the dust and mess considerably versus not using the stripper first. I still have the remainder of the hatch, doors and one fender to strip.

[ksechler]

2 hours ago, wheee! said:

Overall I am impressed with the chemical stripper. At $40 a gallon, it is not cheap, but comparable to the cost of EZ Strip plastic wheels at about $12 each. The finish is left like factory fresh metal when done compared to a granular sanded surface. The amount of effort is minimal with the stripper and no piles of dust and debris (HUGE plus for me).

In the end, I will continue to use the stripper method and then go over the bare metal with an EZ Strip wheel to remove some stubborn primer/bondo that is stuck to the metal. This will reduce the dust and mess considerably versus not using the stripper first. I still have the remainder of the hatch, doors and one fender to strip.

Make sure that you get all of the stripper out of seams on the car before you paint.  There are a lot of those spot welded overlapping joints where the stripper can hide.  This will screw up the finish later.  I had a bad spot that I luckily discovered during priming.  I couldn't figure out why the primer kept bubbling up after a day or two.... 

[wheee!]

Apparently, this stuff says it evaporates into an inert coating that will not have residual effects. I am not going to be painting these parts for a while, but I will still clean them up as best as possible. I have wiped off most of the excess already, but the seams will get a lot of attention prior to primer and paint!

[Patcon]

Paint thinner is used to clean up Aircraft stripper. when it comes into contact with the thinner it becomes very rubbery and is essentially neutralized. I don't think I would try to strip just one layer of paint with aircraft stripper, because even if a layer doesn't come off it seems to be softer from the applied stripper.

Mark,

I love the look of factory metal after the paint is removed. Just think, that is how the panels looked in the factory 42 years ago! (Give or take)

[wheee!]

I worked on the inside of the rear hatch last night. It was a painted mess with old and new paint plus undercoating. The stripper cleaned it all up pretty good and revealed a lot of surface rust on the lower part of the hatch. But the bare factory metal.... gorgeous.

[wheee!]

Took the EZ strip wheels to the hatch and finished it up tonight. Some light sanding to do, a little oil can removal, and then primer.
Started cleaning up the old passenger fender. Spent the night removing the undercoating from the inside of the panel. Hopefully this is the very last of the undercoating!!!

[zKars]

Undercoating.  Love it....

Love it even more when you remove it, and find......   NOTHING!

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by zKars

[wheee!]

That was super thick...!

[zKars]

There was nothing over 3/8 thick, most was 1/8 or so. The usual buildup in certain spots. It was applied properly with great prep apparently. It was hiding absolutely NO rust and was stuck on like you always wish it should be. Nothing just fell off, it all warm and scrape, repeat.

It's a beautiful fall day here today, highs of 14C, so I'll have the big door open to get the draft going so I don't gas myself or go boom when I do the massive laquer thinner wash that comes next to get it down to pure virgin stock paint.  Yes Dad, I'll wear organic vapor breathing protection.... 

Edited November 13, 2018 by zKars