Thinking about tackling body and paint, advice?

[Patcon]

1 hour ago, charliekwin said:

Gotcha. I have a small compressor that's right on the border of big enough. It'll run mostly non-stop, but it's delivered enough air when I've used it for spraying or blasting. And, it's dry here.

Ok. Spraying paint takes a lot of air and the more the compressor runs the hotter there air coming out of it is. As the air gets hot it absorbs water. When the water comes out the end of the paint gun the Venturi effect cools the air drastically and can cause water problems in your paint or water spitting. No harm in trying with it but you need to get a couple of dryers to put in line...

[siteunseen]

I have a bigger one right off the compressor but the one that helped me the most goes before the gun. Bought it Lowes and has a valve core I press to release the water. Made painting, sandblasting so much better.

 

 

 

 

[charliekwin]

I saw a loose thread and pulled on it...a couple minutes with the air compressor and a razor blade and this happened. Guess I'm in it now!

[Patcon]

You have your work cut out for you now. All of that paint has to come off if it peels that easily...

[Mark Maras]

 I had the same problem with paint on my 260. I used a HF wood chisel to scrape it off. I was amazed how well it worked. Using light pressure, the paint flew off in a cloud of fine chips. Use eye protection. Paint chips are sharp.

[240znz]

As wisely said before, multiply your budget by 5.

Take all the badges off carefully, all glass out, doors off (as you will need to access the sills properly or it will look shite). Guards off, sugar scopes, hood, cowl, gas flap, rear facia out and tail light clusters. Tool hatches, rear deck also.

Here’s the killer. Are you prepared for all the rust repairs you will find? Your doglegs could need replacing, sills, rear arches, what about under the body issues?

Once you’ve done all that, the little things will grate at you. Like the cost of new door scuff plates, you may want to put on new badges. You’ll spend countless hours polishing stainless, maybe new door handles etc. It will soon turn into a major, if you let it.

Not trying to put you off, just letting you know what happens. Good luck.

 

 

[charliekwin]

I tried a heat gun and razor blade last night, and it seems pretty effective so far, at least for the big flat areas. Wife came down after her shower; she thinks I'm crazy. I count three layers of blue, and assume the first is the factory paint, so two resprays. Kind of surprised it wasn't more.

[wheee!]

Mine was five coats... original, respray same colour, respray same colour, respray same colour, then respray puke gold. I went down to bare metal. I also found two donor panels from another car under all the bondo and paint.

[w3wilkes]

If I missed a prior reply, sorry. On the paint question about single stage or base / clear. Here's my thought (I know this subject has many sides). Solid color - single stage / metallic - has to be base clear.

[240znz]

Make sure you use a protective coat if you get down to bare metal such as KEYFOS as the steel will quickly get covered in surface rust.

[esmit208]

On 11/18/2017 at 11:18 PM, wheee! said:

And multiply your budget by 5.... ask me how I know...

Multiply your time line by a factor of 5 also, ASK ME HOW I KNOW! The car below had a main harness fire in 2005 and I am still working on it. It might take six months just to find everything that needs attention. You could spend 2K on supplies alone. If you use it everyday multiply your fix time even longer. I too have a small garage but I make the most out of my space. Fortunately I learned to weld when I was 16 now 59 so I am comfortable. For 1K I bought a Lincoln 190C. Works great and doesn't take much space. The best thing it is argon gas mix. No need for flux core. Maybe rethink your plan and figure out how much you can or want to do yourself. I held a job as a welder so I know it could take a year and lots of frustration and wasted material before you got it right. You probably have enough garage space to move the car outside to work on it. These cars can reveal a whole lot if you really look so make sure you are prepared to see. Many have walked away or sold unfinished projects. DON'T BE THAT GUY. Maybe a better plan would be to save up enough cash to have the body done by professionals. You won't be disappointed. A MAACO job is something that will look ok for about 6 months even less if the car is outside all the time. You can learn the basic steps to panel repair and prep on YOUTUBE. There is lots of step by step information out there. I you lived in Florida you could even come over and watch me complete mine just to see how involved something like this can turn out to be. In 2005 I was thinking no more than a year. Well if my math is right..........! Anyway reaccess what you want to end up with. Done right now means never having to do it again.