Targa bar cover - To blast or not to blast?

[AirCooledExcellence]

Hi All,

Took my Targa bar cover off today (took around 2 frustrating hours).

Just wondered what the best way of removing the old paint is. There's a blast cleaning place not far from me, but is there any chance it could damage my cover?

Cheers,

Tim.
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1983 SC Targa

[epbrown]

I've never heard a story of one being damaged by blasting, but I personally prefer chemical stripping to blasting and grinding on metal - less chance of things getting screwed up or damaged.

Emanuel

[gr8fl4porsche]

Yes

Use paint stripper. Much cheaper and the paint will come off quite easily which is probably why you are reconditioning it in the first place.

You can also use lacquer thinner or MEK which will remove about any kind of paint, the downside is that they evaporate quickly which is why stripper is preferrable.

[michaelw]

Could you quickly walk me through the steps you had to take to get the cover off? I tried, with the advice of others and could not get it to budge.

Thanks,
Michael
87 Targa

[LeeH]

Here's a link to a thread from a few days ago where I describe my Targa bar removal in detail:

Click me!

After trying to just touch up my cover with self etching primer and a new top coat I gave up and used a chemical stripper to remove all the paint. Honestly, the $150-300 quotes I got for refinishing the bar started to sound pretty reasonable after a while!

My bar was faded and the previous owner mentioned he had used Back to Black instead of having it refinished. I think the chemicals in the protectant soaked into the paint and prevented the new paint from sticking! What a mess.

The chemical stripper worked well, but was very messy and time consuming. The paint comes off OK, it's just getting all of it off and the clean up that can be a challenge. If you go this route I highly recommend a respirator. Paint remover is serious stuff. Stainless steel is very hard, so I'm thinking bead blasting would be OK.

Make sure to use a SELF ETCHING PRIMER or you will be doing this again before long. You'll probably have to visit an auto paint store or use mail order to find it.

I used Rustoleum Satin Black over the primer and the finish is great. There's more dust specks in the paint than I would like. I'm trying to figure out what my options are for removing them and recoating. The can says "recoat after 48 hours," but I've sent e-mail to Rustoleum Corp. to make sure I'm not asking for trouble by adding more paint.

[AirCooledExcellence]

Hi Michael,

I followed exactly the same steps as Lee, except that I jacked up the rear and removed the wheels. I can't imagine trying to get them nuts off without doing this, it's pretty tight in there!

Like Lee said make sure you get all the screws out before you try and tug the bar off !!, I missed a couple hidden under mounds of old glue.

Good Luck!

Tim.
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1983 SC Targa