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Sanded right through the metal

  • Thread starter Thread starter 603mustangs
  • Start date Start date Sep 23, 2020
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    80grit letters sanding
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603mustangs

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Sep 23, 2020
#1
  • Sep 23, 2020
  • #1
Never attempted to paint a car the right way. I immediately hit metal using 80 grit, didn't expect that doing it by hand. If I use an orbital sander am I going to create thin spots in the metal with 80 grit? I do want to take my time and do it right, but I don't have a lot of spare time, nights and weekends. Will the bare metal start rusting in-between days working on it? I also keep staring at the word mustang sunken in on the rear bumper, any tricks to sanding that without ruining the sharp edges of the letters?
 

HemiRick

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Jun 28, 2020
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#2
  • Sep 23, 2020
  • #2
If the only paint on the car is the factory 80 grit is complete overkill to remove it. It's thin and comes off easily w 160/200 grit. Yes if the weather is such that water condenses on the bare metal it will rust. use paint stripper on the bumper letters.
 
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Noobz347

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#3
  • Sep 24, 2020
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Use paint stripper on the metal. Be mindful of paint strippers on the bumpers. Some paint strippers will eat the bumper.
 
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Steel1

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#4
  • Sep 24, 2020
  • #4
If it's factory paint and it's not peeling, meaning it still has good adhesion, there is no need to strip to bare metal.
 
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General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
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#5
  • Sep 24, 2020
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You're in New Hampshire, it's gonna start to rust in about 20 min
 
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General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
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#6
  • Sep 24, 2020
  • #6
Steel1 said:
If it's factory paint and it's not peeling, meaning it still has good adhesion, there is no need to strip to bare metal.
Click to expand...
Good advice there!
 

nickyb

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever
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#7
  • Sep 24, 2020
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Where is thecarpainter? Bet he knows best.
 

603mustangs

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#8
  • Sep 24, 2020
  • #8
HemiRick said:
If the only paint on the car is the factory 80 grit is complete overkill to remove it. It's thin and comes off easily w 160/200 grit. Yes if the weather is such that water condenses on the bare metal it will rust. use paint stripper on the bumper letters.
Click to expand...
It's in my garage, b won't
General karthief said:
You're in New Hampshire, it's gonna start to rust in about 20 min
Click to expand...
On quiet nights in New Hampshire you can hear the Fords rusting
 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
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#9
  • Sep 24, 2020
  • #9
ARBOC39 said:
It's in my garage, b won'tOn quiet nights in New Hampshire you can hear the Fords rusting
Click to expand...
You say that on a ford forum? You eat with that mouth?
 
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Ryuk

I love your drawers
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General karthief said:
You say that on a ford forum? You eat with that mouth?
Click to expand...
That's disgraceful. However, I'd bet that everyone on here is up to date with their tetanus booster.
 
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603mustangs

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Sep 24, 2020
#11
  • Sep 24, 2020
  • #11
General karthief said:
You say that on a ford forum? You eat with that mouth?
Click to expand...
JD08 said:
That's disgraceful. However, I'd bet that everyone on here is up to date with their tetanus booster.
Click to expand...
I've been fighting the battle since '90 with my 10mm and cutting discs. My wet dreams are fluid filming brand new Ford's.
 
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revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.
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#12
  • Sep 25, 2020
  • #12
Wrap it. Painting a car these days is time poorly spent.

Kurt
 
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603mustangs

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Sep 25, 2020
#13
  • Sep 25, 2020
  • #13
revhead347 said:
Wrap it. Painting a car these days is time poorly spent.

Kurt
Click to expand...
Wrapping it is new technology, if I was 20 something probably. I'd paint it because it's what I know, sort of. Myself, I'd take pride in hours, years, of sanding and wet sanding to see a mirror black finish on my LX.
 

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.
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#14
  • Sep 25, 2020
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ARBOC39 said:
Wrapping it is new technology, if I was 20 something probably. I'd paint it because it's what I know, sort of. Myself, I'd take pride in hours, years, of sanding and wet sanding to see a mirror black finish on my LX.
Click to expand...

I'm over that . To do a paint job right, you have to pull all the rubber and glass. Old rubber doesn't seal when you put it back in. The new stuff you get from LMR is made in China, and it doesn't seal right either. I have had so many friends piss their money down the tube going for a perfect paint job. $10k and the car leaks like a collander. The point is that we are now passed the point of "doing it right" on these old cars. That quality replacement parts to do it right don't exist anymore. Things have changed a lot in the last 10 years. The vinyl they have now is so damn good, it's almost as good as a new paint job. Pay someone one time to shrink the vinyl on, and tuck the edges under the existing rubber in one day, and you can hardly notice the difference, and it's 1/3rd the cost at most. Get a chip or a tear in the vinyl, pull that one panel, and shrink a new sheet on.

Kurt
 

603mustangs

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Sep 26, 2020
#15
  • Sep 26, 2020
  • #15
We called it black glue, it's commercial roofing adhesive. All that black neoprene, polyurethane, urethane, pvc found in cars, been using it on commercial and industrial roofs for years. Auto body shop stuck my door trim on with that doubled sided foam tape on my F350 after an accident was peeling off less than a month later. Put that seam tape on, it can't be removed. It's the equivalent to welded steel, just doesn't pull apart. They don't sell rubber roof products in small quantities. The cleaner, primer, and seam tape is about $600 minimum quantities, a car would use $1 of that. If you know a roofer use that. It's a permanent bond
 

Davedacarpainter

Chicks can make things hard if they’re inspired...
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#16
  • Sep 26, 2020
  • #16
So......using 80 grit on the car? Kind of like using a .338 lupa round on squirrels, maybe a little much.....but, no, you’re not going to wear a hole in the metal.

Use 80 grit to help prep the metal for bondo. Though if it’s a large area you’ll be muddying up you should actually go heavier, like 50grit.

80 is good for stripping paint off, though when I use it I will not completely strip the paint. Just to speed up the removal of several layers of paint. When I see signs of bare metal I’ll switch to 180.

Bare metal will rust really, really fast. When your working with thin metal like sheet metal, you’ll want to cover it with something fairly quick. Have a rattle can of etch primer that you can spray on the bare metal right after you’re done doing what you were wanting to do.

It‘s nothing more than a metal protectant at that stage, not a filler or anything of the sort.

As for the bumper? I have a cheap handheld sandblaster that I got from HF. I’ll use media like baking soda or crushed walnut shells for blasting plastic. Don’t use sand, it’ll eat into the plastic. You don’t need a huge compressor to run it either.

I use it at work as well for those pita bumpers that are repaired and have all of those little angles that your fingers and sandpaper can never get in to.
 
Last edited: Sep 26, 2020
Reactions: Gs1987GT, 02 281 GT, 90sickfox and 1 other person

603mustangs

Advanced Member
Sep 19, 2016
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Sep 26, 2020
#17
  • Sep 26, 2020
  • #17
Thanks for the info, I figured as much and stopped. Some tutorial video said start with 80. I thought 80 was a bit much, the car is going to look the dude's car if I keep going. The paint is paper thin, clear coat is gone, really flat faded red.
 

Noobz347

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#18
  • Sep 26, 2020
  • #18
Davedacarpainter said:
Kind of like using a .338 lupa round on squirrels, maybe a little much
Click to expand...


Oh

 
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603mustangs

Advanced Member
Sep 19, 2016
249
140
73
New Hampshire
Sep 26, 2020
#19
  • Sep 26, 2020
  • #19
ARBOC39 said:
We called it black glue, it's commercial roofing adhesive. All that black neoprene, polyurethane, urethane, pvc found in cars, been using it on commercial and industrial roofs for years. Auto body shop stuck my door trim on with that doubled sided foam tape on my F350 after an accident was peeling off less than a month later. Put that seam tape on, it can't be removed. It's the equivalent to welded steel, just doesn't pull apart. They don't sell rubber roof products in small quantities. The cleaner, primer, and seam tape is about $600 minimum quantities, a car would use $1 of that. If you know a roofer use that. It's a permanent bond
Click to expand...
Davedacarpainter said:
So......using 80 grit on the car? Kind of like using a .338 lupa round on squirrels, maybe a little much.....but, no, you’re not going to wear a hole in the metal.

Use 80 grit to help prep the metal for bondo. Though if it’s a large area you’ll be muddying up you should actually go heavier, like 50grit.

80 is good for stripping paint off, though when I use it I will not completely strip the paint. Just to speed up the removal of several layers of paint. When I see signs of bare metal I’ll switch to 180.

Bare metal will rust really, really fast. When your working with thin metal like sheet metal, you’ll want to cover it with something fairly quick. Have a rattle can of etch primer that you can spray on the bare metal right after you’re done doing what you were wanting to do.

It‘s nothing more than a metal protectant at that stage, not a filler or anything of the sort.

As for the bumper? I have a cheap handheld sandblaster that I got from HF. I’ll use media like baking soda or crushed walnut shells for blasting plastic. Don’t use sand, it’ll eat into the plastic. You don’t need a huge compressor to run it either.

I use it at work as well for those pita bumpers that are repaired and have all of those little angles that your fingers and sandpaper can never get in to.
Click to expand...
I'm being serious, I really don't know and have always wondered. Why couldn't I paint the car black with spray paint, say rust-oleum, wet sand it like real PPG auto paint, then get real actual auto clear coat and buff that to a mirror finish? It seems to me the black is like a picture behind glass in a frame. Dirty glass dirty picture, clean the glass, picture looks brand new.
 

Noobz347

Stangnet Facilities Maint Tech... Er... Janitor
Admin Dude
Jan 4, 1985
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Sep 26, 2020
#20
  • Sep 26, 2020
  • #20
ARBOC39 said:
I'm being serious, I really don't know and have always wondered. Why couldn't I paint the car black with spray paint, say rust-oleum, wet sand it like real PPG auto paint, then get real actual auto clear coat and buff that to a mirror finish? It seems to me the black is like a picture behind glass in a frame. Dirty glass dirty picture, clean the glass, picture looks brand new.
Click to expand...

Put in your chemist's hat. Here it comes...
 
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