question about things learned while stripping paint...
 

So I'm in the process of stripping my 911 so I can get it repainted. I'm using the razor blade method (using this tool from sears) and I've started with the passenger door.

I thought my car hadn't been repainted but this door definitly has, the top layer of paint is very easy to scrape off. The odd thing is that i'm seeing spots with a brown layer between the 2 layers of white.

Why would they have only primed some areas? When I scape down through the brown layer I don't see any difference in the metal surface, it's just like the areas without the primer (well the primer does make the scraping process harder...)

Britt

Primer-surfacer, most likely there were some minor imperfections there that they leveled out and used a couple coats to smooth out sanding scratches.

ahh, so lets say the door was keyed, they would spray primer over the scrapes, and then sand that down to match the existing paint, then paint over the whole door?

B

I would worry less about the brown layer and more about your sanity after stripping paint with a razor blade!

If you are serious about removing the stuff you need to bite the bullet and either start using a decent aircraft grade chemical stripper or get it media blasted. Don't be scared of making a mess- you will. That's half the 'fun'.

Good luck!

I'll second that.

sjd

ROTFLMAO!! :D

Sorry but I was thinking the same thing. I have never heard of, or even considered stripping a car with a razor blade.

Well, now you’ve learned something new. :cool: I've stripped cars with a razor. Although it's a bit tedious, it works amazingly well. (Especially if it’s a fiberglass car.) It provides a lot of control over the stripping process. Plus, you don't have the cloud of dust you'd have if you used a DA, and you don't have to worry about a chemical stripper getting where you don't want it.

Yes, you understand perfectly. Although hopefully they feathered the scrapes first. Otherwise the scarpe marks would "telegraph" through the repaint in a couple months.

I know someone that had a 911 where the clear coat was in bad shape so they stripped the clear off with a razor and then repainted - car looked amazing

I did an entire VW beetle with that same kind of tool.
Simple aerosol gasket remover was enough to completely lift the paint and almost no force at all was needed to get right to the bare metal.

I have used the razorblade method, It works great on unmolested cars, but it doesnt work so good on cars that have had extensive body work done.

I doubted the razor blade method as well... I thought it was a giant hoax perpetrated by my mechanic and john walker... then i got a better blade holder, and found the magic touch...

With the proper angle and light touch it's one swipe down to metal. I like this method, no nasty chemical burns, no toxic dust clouds, $5 in tools. Just make sure you wear the safety goggles, when those blades break it's not fun!

Britt

Progress so far...

http://eludicate.com/~bolen/911E/pho...DSCN8059_t.jpg

I need to get that other fender off so I can get the front bumper off, but I don't think that hose between the gas tank and the filler neck has ever moved, and i'm not sure how i'll get that off!

Britt

I'm a fan of the razorblade method. done quite a few cars this way. The whole car!

I build and repair guitars for a living and after 30 years, I am done with slovents!

One thing to speed up the razorblade process is a heat gun.

fast fast fast

Is that bondo in a rust hole in the lower, front area of the door? If so, don't be surprised to find many peculiar things.

Uh, Britt?
You are a Great Man - with far greater capacity for patience than I. I've got your Nobel Prize nomination going in another window here, after you accept the prize I suggest you negotiate peace in the Middle East. If anyone can do it...you're the man. What a task!!

Hi,

Try using a propane or Map gas torch .. with one of those clip on flame defectors that come with a propane torch. Just heat up the paint till the surface just starts to bubble .. and you can just use a paint scraper
and the paint will peel off .. right down to the base factory primer.
minimal sanding .. and you can just sweep up the paint curls.Beats the hell out of D/A sanding a car down to metal , and the masive amounts of dust everywhere !
Dont use too much heat , and move around a bit on a panel , it wont get hot enough to warp the metal..your just softening the paint and bondo

Make sure you use in a well ventilated area, and use a mask .. you dont want to breath in the fumes.I stripped several cars like that and it worked great for me

Take care - Joe -

You guys talking about heat scare me. Don't bring me a door that has had too much heat and ask if I can straighten it out.

Seriously, sandblasting heats the metal enough to work harden the metal and distort it as well. You never ever sandblast a large, flat, thin piece. I know, he didn't say he was. I'm just pointing out that one has to be careful when doing bodywork. My personal recommendation is to not use heat on your door. Maybe hard to get to ribbed panels, but not flat exterior surfaces. YMMV with the amount of heat.

This will sound like a silly question... what does bondo look like when scraping a car? Is bondo this very dry brown stuff i'm finding in spots on the door? I had thought it was primer, but then i discovered it wasn't everywhere...

I scraped the bottom of the door down to metal, and there are these black spots, but nothing rotten all the way through...

No bondo in the quarter panel yet.

I'm going to avoid heat, don't want to warp anything. Only heating i'm doing is using a hair dryer to make the turn signal plugs push out of the body much easier.

I'm going to media blast the bumpers, fenders, and possibly the hood and decklid. Not sure on them, i don't want beads falling out of the deck lid and hood for the next 5 years...

Britt

My main concern with the razor blade method is the nicks in the metal that i'm getting from the corner of the blade when it catches... I think it's nothing primer and sanding wouldn't fix...

Britt