Most of you may know I plan to do a few body repairs and repaint my convertiable.  After watching and listening to Karl and Mitch on our Nov meeting on Mitch’s   fender repair it’s obvious I need to remove all the old paint.  The body shop that is going to do the work is looking for way to remove all the old paint.  what about me sanding off all the old paint?  Is there a good way to have it media blasted?  Should I take the fenders, doors, trunk lid, etc into a place that will chemically strip them?

I have already removed must all the emblems, moldings, and door vent window assembly’s.  I could have the doors, fenders, and trunk lid off in about an hour.  Maybe have those parts dipped and sand the rest of the body.

I brush on a chemical stripper and let it sit for few hours before using a scraper to remove what I can. Usually do it in good weather, outside though.
Once that's done, I use a 3M clean & strip wheel on a die-grinder to get everything down to bare steel.

I also usually make my kids do this job. 

Inthermo, in Lakeville, will strip all the removable parts to bare metal, but they don't coat them with anything other than a flash rust deterrent. If you were able to take the parts right from there and have the body shop clean and seal them in 2k sealer/primer, it would be a big head start. The place Karl and I prefer, is in Milwaukee and after stripping, he takes the parts to another shop that immerses them in EDP, for total coverage. Long haul from here and more expensive.

Your shop is going to need to take all the paint off the quarters anyway to assess the previous repairs and filler on them. They have the equipment to do that quickly and efficiently and I would just have them strip what little will be left for them to do.

Thanks for the info guys.  I thinking about soda blasting so I contacted SPI today.  They said soda blasting was fine If you cleaned the surface properly. There is a shop near Lake City that could possibly do the soda blasting.  It appears most guys on Team Chevelle say to stay away from soda blasting.  This seems like this could be the easiest method if done properly.

Does InThermo remove everything like the sound deadening material from  the inside of the doors?

To clean a part after soda blasting is a very particular job to be certain the soda residue IS completely removed, or the paint will fail to adhere quickly.

Yes, the Inthermo method can remove everything, as long as you specify that, they will keep soaking and pressure washing the parts until they are bare metal. Body filler can be the most stubborn to remove, as the dip is not an acid, it's a non toxic blend that works slowly on filler.

OK, I will bite,

In a perfect world, with a major funding commitment the Milwaukee strip and dip is far superior to most other options.

Positives:

Exceptional coverage of interior surfaces, such as inside of panels not accessable by a spray application.

EDP, (Electro Disposition Primer) application uses a dipping and magnetic application.

A controlled application process, thorough cleaning, removeal of corrosion on panels and pitted areas.

All Caulking, chemical fillers are completely removed prior to EDP application.

The treated panels are well protected inside and out, ready for long term dry storage or immediate preparation for repairs and topcoats.

Negatives:

Cost Cost Cost.

Time, normally 3-4 months after drop off.

Inthermo

Inthermo will remove the majority of paint caulking and fillers.

Inthermo does help to clean most rust.

Some slag remains requiring additional efforts after the protective coating is removed.

The baking/dipping process also removes protective products from interior areas that will be difficult to recoat by spraying.

Panels only no body shells.

Very cost effective.

Sanding/Chemical paint stripper:

 Very dirty due to dust and fumes.

A lot of manual labor, utilizing protective gloves, Glasses and Breathing safety equipment.

Abrasive materials consumption significant.

Exterior surfaces of panels only.

Very difficult to clean braces and stamped inner structure framework.

Rusted surfaces and pits need additional attention after stripping.

A time honored, fairly cost effective process, it works with the above noted outcomes.

Media Blasting: 

Not as pricy and time consuming as some other approaches.

Not necessarily soda.

Does well on large exterior panels.

They can mask off areas not needing stripping.  Good example, doors, 1/4 panels and trunk lid can be done, body stays on frame, openings are taped, Edges will have to be feathered back.

Fenders and hood can be done separately if desired.

May not remove all chemical filler, rust and pitted corrosion.

Not sure of topcoats available.

in the past I have used a facility in Savage called, I believe, Master Blaster or something like that.

Not sure if he is still there.

Have fun!

Karl

  Those options seem costly and very time consuming. Do you really want to start the journey down the nut and bolt frame off path?

dashboard wrote:

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  Those options seem costly and very time consuming. Do you really want to start the journey down the nut and bolt frame off path?

 

  

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 No, just want to change to original Banube Blue.  Paint is currently bad.