Body prep

[bakerlaw67]

I have an '83 T with black over silver paint that is COMPLETELY crazed. There are cracks in it that take a whole mess of sanding to smooth out. My problem lies with the rumor that it was the original primer that caused the paint to crack. Is the continued shrinking of the primer going to recreate the problem? I can get it down to bare metal (here in Phoenix I can actually let the bare metal sit until the monsoons come without worrying about rust or a half-assed primer job), but if I don't have to, I won't. Just to let you know how bad it is, while sanding, some chips of paint vibrate out down to the metal. What grit, should I use, or should I go with chemical stripper? I'm not really keen on the stripper idea because my garage is connected to the house, and I would rather not have the fumes inside, but I suppose I could figure something out to vent it better.

I am trying to rebuild this girl on a budget (who isn't?!!), so I want to do most of the body prep before I have it professionally painted. Is there anything else I should know before embarking on this path? I already figured out to turn down the RPM's on the sander when working on the header panel. Got a nice little gash on one of the creases I'd appreciate any other little tips like that which will keep the painter from having to undo my mistakes (and charge me more), or any cost saving tips.

Also, I got all of the other chrome off, but how do you get that stupid piece of chrome off the bottom of the doors? Check my sig for photos.

 

[terryk]

Let me know if you are able to match that code 15 paint. I've been fighting it for weeks now. Everything is too light.

I'm getting it custom matched next week. I'll be curious what the difference in the mix it.

TK

 

[zam70]

razor blade the majority of the paint off and DA the rest. You won't believe how easy and quick it goes.

 

[bakerlaw67]

Thanks for the tips. Anybody else have any?

 

[Red Regal T]

Well, there's no doubt it has to go to bare metal. I know you were worried about the fumes but I don't think it smells that much. I prefer chemical strip to sanding. If you're not familiar with the procedure, let us know. It's all $hit, so pick your poison. Get it stripped and shoot on some quality epoxy primer. It's not cheap, but going through that much work, you don't want it messing up any time soon.

On the door strip, take off the nuts inside the door (2), pull the strip so the front stud clears the hole, push the strip down and pull the bottom out away from clip. There's about 6 plastic clips. They're probably original, brittle and broken, and no good anyway. Buy new ones. They're a couple dollars each.

Here's something that will amuse you......

http://hyperphoto.photoloft.com/view/Image.asp?s=cano&u=1715313&a=1300229&i=9666322

 

[bakerlaw67]

Thanks Red. Nice photo. I know for a fact that a couple of the door trim clips are already broken (Because I broke one prying!) Are they GM only or can I get them at AutoZone, etc.?

 

[Red Regal T]

You'll have to get them at a GM dealer. I just replaced all of mine last summer. 17 years old is beyond their life span.

 

[RobS]

Primer and sunlight

You mentioned in your 1st post you are storing the car outside.??
Primer does not like sunlight. My buddies dad worked for dupont. I wanted to prime one pannel at a time while working on my car. He said I could do it as long as the primer stayed out of the sunlight. Good luck

 

[bakerlaw67]

No. The car is in my garage. I was somehow able to talk my wife into giving me the whoe 2-car space. I guess buying her that expedition that doesn't fit was a pretty good trick! I bought a pint of Aircraft Stripper. I haven't had a chance to try it, but my brother used it on his 67 Mustang and says its really something else! Just have to double up on the gloves.

Got a part number for the clips anyone?

 

[hanly2]

You may be able to get the clips from a local body shop for cheaper cause they buy them in bulk. Also I thought someone mentioned on oldspower one time a place where you can order them but I can't remember.

terryk for the code 15 paint. I have code 15 on my 442 and I'm willing to bet that it's not the same color as your regal, When I called the paint shop they had 4 different paint's for the code 15 3 of them were shades of medium gray and one was Astral silver which is my color. I guess you have to find out which of the 4 is for your car.

 

[terryk]

Hanley2,

That's interesting. The first paint for Code 15 (Omni) was called Astral Silver Metallic and it was nearly chrome. The second Code 15 was called the Medium Gray Metallic. Darker, but not the darker gray of my car. The third was about the same as the second.

I called the owner and ask him if he had the paint code from when it got the recall paint job (they apparently painted the whole car). I'm starting to think they didn't use Code 15 but something more like 27-ish.....

My gray is dark far darker than the codes.

I wish they were using WA numbers back then. 15L 15U Lacquer just doesn't say enough if Code 15 can be several shades.

 

[hanly2]

I hope the astral gray does not look like chrome cause that sure isn't what my 442 looks like. Good luck with the code 15 though.

 

[hanly2]

I looked at the paint books yesterday and my car def isn't astral silver cause that is like chrome. Mine is the medium grey metallic that was used on gm cars except cadillacs that one is diff.

 

[webleyaz]

Just be careful when using stripper. If you get any into the little cracks and crevices make sure you get it all out. It can come back to haunt you when it gets painted down the road. We no longer use stripper for this reason. We bought a soda blaster for finish removal. This process is unbelievable! It blasts paint and primer off almost any surface with no damage to the surface. Even glass! It cleans rubber, chrome and wiring. Not cheap, though.

 

[bakerlaw67]

I went ahead and got aircraft stripper. After GENEROUSLY applying the stuff to 1/2 of the hood, all I got was tar! It appears that despite leaving the gunk on for both more than and within the recommended time, the stripper took off the black paint but is leaving the primer behind! There are some places that go down to metal, but only where its scraped hard. As some will recall, primer removal is the purpose here.

I saw the very same stuff work in 5 minutes on an old Mustang. Sure paint got better in the 15 years between the cars, but this much?

HELP

 

[Ttype83]

That's why I hate Chems...if they don't work you have a bigger mess. Do NOT SAND BLAST IT, you will warp the metal.
I don't know if any one does this any more, but Some places use to use baking soda to blast with. Doesn't heat the metal, wouldn't hurt the glass. Not sure if it will remove the tar stuff, sand it off.

Jim

 

[hanly2]

I am having the same issue with the stripper i just kept stripping then the primer comes of fairly easy with the 80 da pads makes the stripper worth it. I also have sandblasted the creases cause It was to hard to get the da in there. The blaster I have is soo weak it wasn't going to warp anything. And it didn't.

 

[Red Regal T]

When you get to the primer, most times you have to scrub it off with coarse steel wool. Paint on the stripper, then with lacquer thinner soaked coarse steel wool, scrub off the remaining paint or primer. Must be coarse steel wool. No fun, but get's it done.

 

[bakerlaw67]

I tried 80 grit on the orbital and it came right off. I was VERY disappointed with the stripper, but after doing the other half of the hood (the half that I hadn't stripped) the stripper side used fewer disks and was much easier to sand. It will still be a pain though, but if I can save some money and make sure that its done right, it will be worth it.

 

[Red Regal T]

Originally posted by bakerlaw67
It will still be a pain though, but if I can save some money and make sure that its done right, it will be worth it.

I agree........it ain't no fun. But with some time and effort, you can do it yourself and you don't have to worry about paying somebody to do a halfass job or warping your panel.