Not that this is the best way but this is what I did.
I used a chemical paint remover, the gel stuff that eats the paint (hands
too). I applied and then scraped it with a putty knife.
I started sanding it with a pneumatic sander, worked good but I almost lost
the wife due to my two car garage opens into the house !
You don't want to try and fix the dings before if you use a chemical
stripper. The stripper eats Bondo ! After you have it down to bare metal get
a two part barrier epoxy to spray over the bare metal.
Then prime with a good high build primer.
If your worried about dings that you can't see with the primer coating, most
of the nicer paint and body suppliers sell spray cans of black paint that
you can use to see the bad spots. Just spray and take a look.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff McNeal [mailto:jmcneal@ohms.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 1999 12:40 PM
To: Triumph List
Cc: Spitfire List
Subject: Removing paint -- where to begin?
Apologies in advance for such an amateur question -- but I'm an amateur when
it comes to sanding off paint to bare metal. My '68 eBay Spitfire restoral
project arrives today (if anyone wants a recommendation for California auto
freight companies, let me know -- I've found the BEST -- but they only
transport within the state of CA). The first thing I'd like to do is sand
off two or three coats of paint from the bonnet. I've picked up some books
on the subject, but I'd really rather hear from someone who's been there.
My understanding is that it's best to repair any small dings before removing
all the paint, since spotting irregularities on a painted surface is much
easer than on a primed one. The bonnet looks very straight, so I don't
think repair per se, is going to be needed. I'm just afraid of going about
this the wrong way and removing more than just the paint. I'd like to
remove the paint myself (just for the experience of doing it), prime it,
then take it into a professional body shop for final sanding, blocking and
priming before paint.
I'm also going to want to strip the floorpans and trunk as well for a
respray. Any kind advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
JMc
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