paint stripping.

[Mike]

guys and gals, since the weather is getting warmer, and there have been a lot of threads recently about paint/body work, i decided to take a bunch of photos of today's project and write up a quick article. it's not difficult, but it can be intimidating so i feel that it's worth it.

alright, long story short, my buddy picked up an 03 mustang for a great price recently, and the only problem with the car was the paint on the hood. he talked to my dad who agreed to take car of the paint for him, and since i am out of work, i volunteered to do some of the prep.

The paint on this hood was so messed up we decided the best course of action would be to get it down to the gel coat and start over. (aka, the right way to do it)

step one is getting the panel onto a solid working area (i used a bodywork stand but a small table will work) In the following pictures you will see the stand, as well as the condition the hood was in when i started. it seems the previous owner tried waxing it with a Brillo pad, but thankfully he stopped after the hood.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping001.jpg?t=1238039123
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping002.jpg?t=1238039155
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping003.jpg?t=1238039184
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping004.jpg?t=1238039204
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping005.jpg?t=1238039238

the next step is to gather all the needed supplies
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping014.jpg?t=1238039380
1. bottle of paint stripper (specifically for automotive or aircraft paint removal)
2. mixing cup
3. scraper (i prefer the squeegee because it won't damage the panel)
4. cheap paintbrushes (i paid 90 cents each for 2 inch wide brushes from home depot)
5. masking tape, any will work, mine is blue
6. GLOVES, GLOVES, AND MORE GLOVES. this stuff is evil, you don't want it on your hands.

once you have everything set up, you are at the step where you will be taping things off. i taped all the holes in the hood, as well as the edges because we ARE NOT painting the bottom of the hood, and i didn't want the stripper to work its way around to the bottom. if you want the entire panel stripped, then you can skip this step.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping006.jpg?t=1238039896
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping007.jpg?t=1238039919
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping008.jpg?t=1238039940
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping010.jpg?t=1238039975
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping011.jpg?t=1238040002
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping012.jpg?t=1238040028

when you have reached your desired level of masking, you are ready to start, at this point, follow the instructions from whatever brand of stripper you buy. with mine, it was one thick coat, while taking care to brush in one direction.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping015.jpg?t=1238040059

after a short time you will begin to see it work........
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping016.jpg?t=1238040204
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping017.jpg?t=1238040225
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping018.jpg?t=1238040245
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping019.jpg?t=1238040268
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/hoodstripping020.jpg?t=1238040292

simply let the paint stripper work its magic, and then use the scraper to pull the flaking paint off the hood, i put a garbage can under my stand and just scraped straight into it. More than one application may be necessary, but make sure to get all of one coat off before applying another.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/IMG00028.jpg?t=1238041460
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/IMG00029.jpg?t=1238041512

when i finished i washed thoroughly with warm soapy water to get (hopefully) all the chemical residue off of the hood, and then threw on a light coat of primer, and once it drys it will be ready to go over to the shop for finishing prep and paint......
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j142/cbrrmike/IMG00030.jpg?t=1238041572

thanks for reading this extremely long post, and i hope it is able to help someone in the future.

one last thing i would like to say, is please dont post or pm asking about getting this or other paint/body work done, as i am not a sponsor, i did this to help out the DIY folks. please send any of those questions to paul at rpm.

thanks,
mike

[HardcoreZ28]

Good article Mike. One thing I would add.....if you use chemical stripper, especially on fiberglass, be sure to wash THOROUGHLY with warm soapy water after to get all residue off. That stuff will seep into the pores and eventually pop back out from under the fresh paint if you do not. I've also found that scuffing the original paint first with some 180 paper helps the stripper penetrate the surface better.

[sweetbmxrider]

we should sticky really good tech articles, like this.

[WildBillyT]

we should sticky really good tech articles, like this.

The resto section is for stuff like this. We have a dedicated tech section coming (I think) that people can't **** up with post whoring.

Thanks for writing this up, Mike. This is great!

[LTb1ow]

Mike, can you get the stripping stuff at a local shop or is that a special order type deal?

[Mike]

paint supply shops should have it, and a quick google search brought back some online distributors........im not sure about other brands

[WildBillyT]

paint supply shops should have it, and a quick google search brought back some online distributors........im not sure about other brands

Napa has Martin Sr. stuff, and it worked pretty well for me. I'm far from a pro body man though.

[Mike]

Napa has Martin Sr. stuff, and it worked pretty well for me. I'm far from a pro body man though.

:lol: im just as far

[Mike]

Good article Mike. One thing I would add.....if you use chemical stripper, especially on fiberglass, be sure to wash THOROUGHLY with warm soapy water after to get all residue off. That stuff will seep into the pores and eventually pop back out from under the fresh paint if you do not. I've also found that scuffing the original paint first with some 180 paper helps the stripper penetrate the surface better.

thank you and done