Complete Paint Strip - Rotissorie Resto

Machspeed

Member
Hey friends I just mounted my car on the rotisserie and want to strip it completely and get it in epoxy. When I say completely, I'm talking undercarriage, interior, engine bay etc. I had originally thought to take the car to a reputable media blaster in the Tulsa area, but they apparently have gone out of business. The more I read though, the more I'm thinking I don't want the body panels media blasted. I've read things here regarding stripping body paint with a heat gun and a razor blade, which I am going to try. If that fails, I may use aircraft stripper. These are body panels only. The undercarriage, interior, and engine bay may media blast with a friends cheap blaster. I guess what I'm looking for is a comprehensive guide to stripping the car, which would include specifics on addressing the metals after they have been stripped, as I will be taking the car to someone to apply the epoxy. I've looked here and am not finding any such thing, but suspect I may have overlooked it, as I find a similar thing for painting. Thanks!!!

BTW, this car was repainted years ago in lacquer.
 

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I would never try to do inside and out with paint stripper, i could not began to guess how many hours you would have in this cleaning every square inch.
Me it would be blasted or dipped and i bet it would be cheaper and better than using stripper.
 
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I would never try to do inside and out with paint stripper, i could not began to guess how many hours you would have in this cleaning every square inch.
Me it would be blasted or dipped and i bet it would be cheaper and better than using stripper.

Yes, agree. I spoke with an individual yesterday whom will likely be blasting the car for me using plastic media. As to the aircraft stripper, was thinking exterior body panels only. Barry, are you the same Barry from SPI? If so, I have spoken with you a couple of times, not just via the forums but also the phone. Thank you for the many contributions you have made here and elsewhere (autobody 101 forums).

If I may, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have the car media blasted. I will then turn it over to my painter to prime it with SPI epoxy. It may be a week before I get it to him to prime. What do you recommend be done to the metal prior to spraying epoxy? I note only an 80 grit sanding with a DA, but don't see anything in regards to cleaning the metal. Advise and comments appreciated.

Thanks,

John Lindsay
 
I have done 2 cars with a mixture of stripper/blaster/heat gun. I have gotten fairly proficient at it..... Here is my recipe:

Undercarriage, start with the heat gun and a very springy scraper (I used bondo spreaders) to get the 90% solution. Use an undercoating gun to spray stripper let it set for 20 minutes then use a high pressure washer to blast it out. Repeat. Get the tough areas with a wire brush on a drill or abrasive disks on a drill I then go after the rust with the blaster (coal slag). The rest of the car I used stripper and a pressure washer then blaster for rust. I then used the undercoating gun to blast dawn dishwasher water every where a few times and pressure wash again. DA 80 grit, SPI 700 then SPI 710 and epoxy.

Total cost for stripper was about $1000 and 2-3 bags of blasting media (I sweep it up and reuse it).
 
I would never wait a week between blasting and priming. Do whatever you can to minimize time and exposure to contaminants. Normally we blast and prime no more than one day apart.
 
If that is a '69 Mach 1 or even just a decent fastback, I wouldn't want anything less than media blasting or dipping.

Living in Arizona we have a very dry climate and metal doesn't surface rust overnight like in other places. I have pictures in the restoration section of my 1968 Plymouth GTX being sandblasted panel by panel and then epoxy primed. It's still sitting in this condition while I work on other people's stuff. :(
 
For around $600 to a Grand around here you could get the car plastic media blasted. Electrolytic dipping would be ideal if there is someone close to you that does it. Gets rid of all the rust, even between the panels. Caustic soda bath to remove the paint, then put in another tank for the electrolysis part. Last quote I got on one was around $2000.

Just an aside Machspeed, I see you have your car on a rotisserie. If you have any structural repair to do to it (frame rails, torque boxes, etc.) Be very careful about doing that on a rotisserie. At the very least do some cross bracing of the door openings and brace the front end as well. Cars like your Mustang will sag when on a rottiserie and if you do structural panel replacement while it is on one there is a very good chance you will have panel alignment issues later. If you got any structural work to do brace it.
 
I've been wondering if at our shop, we ought not make it SOP to do localized blasting, cutting and welding on rigs that need structural repair, or even quarters, before major disassembly so that those body alignment issues can be avoided. I've got the start of a plan in mind where we deal with things like frame measuring, hinge and latch repairs right away, to see how everything is lining up. It's a little backwards by some standards, but we've been a bit burned by remedial repairs that would have been easier if discovered sooner. Sorry for the off topic rant...
 
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