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Triumph TR6 - STRIPPING PAINT FROM BOBY PANELS HELP!

Hi All I'm just about done removing all the tar from the car and now I'd like to strip the paint off the fenders doors boot and bonnet and more if I'm not to pissed off by then! Please advise what method you may have used and how effective it was Thanks in advance Regards John OMeara Hamilton Ontario
jh omeara

I have not tackled such a big job...yet....but I've heard the best way is to buy automotive style paint stripper from any local auto jobber supply and brush it and on scrape off...it's a lot easier and cleaner than sanding. Just make sure you have a good size tarp under the car.
Charlie
Charlie B.

I have used Jasco paint stripper from the local store. It works OK. I used it for a complete Spitfire. I was young, poor and had patients. The last project I did I took the left front and rear fenders and hard top to a the Metal Works and had them dip, clean and prime them. That was something like $250.
skikir

Skiker has the right idea. If you really want to do it yourself, go to your local autobody paint seller and get a container of aircraft paint remover. Careful, thisstuff is hot.
Don
DON KELLY

Hi Guys
I'll try this method and report back soon. Thanks for your input Regards John
jh omeara

If you have an air compressor, try soda blasting. It does not heat up the sheet metal as sand blasting does and is highly effective in removing paint...completely. Google it on the web for full information.
db
Doug Baker

John:

A friend who restores Chevys says a nice thing to remember is not to apply the stripper right up to the seams where body panels meet, unless you are doing a frame off in which case it's not an issue. He says that if you do that, the stripper gets in the seam and strips away the paint and primer and therefore the protective barrier, and rust can start where you can't see it; below the seam surface. He says to mask off an inch either side of the seam and keep the stripper off that area. Once you finish stripping with chemical you have to sand off the one inch strips to make it all even but that's a lot less work than sanding the whole car and you don't get the problem of hidden, unprotected metal. Sounds like pretty good advice to me. If you think about the rear deck seams on a TR6 you can imagine how this could become a real problem after all your hard work. If I'm not mistaken, somebody else on this site also made the same observations on another thread. Food for thought.

Cheers,
Bob E
Bob Evans

John:

On second thought, try Doug's suggestion on soda blasting. I had a quote for $500 CDN to do my '76. What I hear is that you don't even remove chrome, plastic or rubber bits as the blasting process does not harm the other surfaces. Please get a guarantee before you take my humble word on this. Good luck.

Bob
Bob Evans


I did my whole TR with 80 grit sanding discs. I went through seven layers of paint and it was a big job. I asked alot of "body" people and most prefered the sanding method. Some still used the aircraft stripper but I hear the stuff is nasty. I took my panels off and sanded them to bare metal. I used an electric sander. I then had someone prime and paint and it came out great. The primer fills any scratches that the 80 grit leaves. I tried stripper on the hood and didn't like it compared to sanding. It is a big gooey mess. I suppose I felt sanding was the better of two evils...either way you go it's a @#$%^&*!!!

If you are really serious about this let me know and I'll look up a web link that I used that is packed with that kind of info and tips.

Henry
HP Henry Patterson

HI Henry
Yes I'm very serious and already a little delerious after four gallons of varsol and alot of scraping to get all the bloody tar off the insides! I have all the fenders doors hood and deck lid removed and the body off the frame so making a mess isnt an issue nor is getting stripper somewhere I cant see. I would like to see your link though and maybe try sanding instead of chemicals. Between all the POR15 varsol and aerosol spray bombs for the engine my wife might be the only one allowed to drive by the time its finished! Hey maybe thats her evil plan all along! before all the replies I have been a good boy and wore a resperator when using these mind altering products! Thanks again for all your interest and advice one day I'm going to get someone who lives here to upload sone pics so you can see my lifes ambition Regards John
jh omeara


Here you go John.

http://www.autobodystore.com/cgi-bin/config.pl?index

This is the link right to the bulletin board. However, the site has alot of info besides the board.
Check it out.

Henry

HP Henry Patterson

It's a messy job no matter how you do it. A lot depends on where you're doing it. The stripper is a lot quieter. Make sure you get all the stripper off, my experience is it leaves behind a waxy film, then get paint on as soon as possible. Primer is sometimes porous, so really dry until it's got sealer. You might look into phosphoric acid washes, too. My old body man buddy RIP, called it pickling. Once you commit to the job, get it done as soon as possible.
Tom


There is a product called Picklex to do just as you suggested Tom. It's a clear light liquid that you simply wipe it on the bare metal and it protects it from surface rust. I took a couple of months stripping and preparing for paint. I had bare metal exposed for a long time and did not have a problem with surface rust forming. Of course I had it in an enclosed garage which would be a must for that job.

Henry
HP Henry Patterson


Hey John...

How's the stripping going? If you're heavy into it you probably don't have much time to write us on the BB.

HP
HP Henry Patterson

If you chemical strip, coat the panel and then cover it with plastic. This keeps the surface wet and forces the chemicals into the paint.After 15 min to 1/2 hr remove plastic and scrape with a plastic putty knife(won't gouge metal).

If you have the money have it media blasted.
Tim

Hi to all TR6 nuts! I thought I would drop a line and update you on my project. I went ahead and stripped the car with good quality paint stripper. It took three gallons to do the bonnet boot 4 wings front and rear valances front and rear deck and the doors. This also took alot of time! I have a heated shop near my home so I stripped the bonnet boot and wings over there the rest I did this weekend on the driveway. I also finished stripping the damn tar and grease of the underside and inner fenders. I brought home a Genie lift from work and was able to elevate the body to walk under it. Two varsol showers later and the underside was clean! The chassis is also complete I finished the suspension and brake and fuel lines so yesterday a bunch of us put the body back on the frame. Hopefully I can get it in for paint this week I used almost a gallon of pickelex to keep it from rusting but I'm anxious to get it painted and get on with reassembly. Well thats all I know right now I hope you were all driving your 6's this weekend the weather was certainly gorgeous for paint stripping! Regards John
John O'Meara

John it sounds as though you are working very hard on your car, and are a few weeks ahead of me.
I think I am going to have my outer panels dipped, to avoid distortion, and inner body sand blasted. I am getting the paint guy over this week so he may suggest something different, or based on his price my plans may change, and I may do it the hard way!
You mentioned you have already put the body back on the frame but not yet painted it, why would you di it that way? How do you paint under the floor with the chassis in the way?
Simon.
Simon

I certainly don't envy you cleaning the underside, John. What an ugly job. Nice to have it done, though, eh?
Tom

HI Simon Dipping the outer panels does sound inviting but I stripped by hand to save money Guys at the club that I've talked to dont recommend dipping the whole body because you cant get the solution completely out of the seams etc. and it's always in there afterwards. Sandblasting the inner fenders is an option but if they have the undercoating tar on them it will probobly bounce off. Sandblasting the outer panels will leave ripples and basically ruin your irreplacable sheet metal. I've been told by alot of guys that a bodyshop would rather see a rusty original panel any day instead of a crappy "British Heritage" made in Tiawan panel! I reistalled the body on my immaculate chassis temporarily just to get it to the body shop. I got a 3ft lenght of fine thread rod and cut some 4" pieces and put one in each corner of the floor. Then with some help from friends we lifted it on to the chassis in a couple of minutes When it gets to the shop they will take it off and work on it with slings. My chassis will be covered with a tarp until the bodys ready to go back on . I got referred to a body shop on Mavis road in Mississauga. Theres a Father and Son there from Jamica that are quite good and pretty reasonable When I went to see him last month he had three 6's on the go and when I called to book mine in he had 4 in the shop! The guy that is supplying all my parts and a guy at my club who had an MGA done by him highly reccomend him Appartently the MGA was in pretty rough shape and the owner was thrilled with it. My parts guy owns two 6's and had both painted there.His name is Fred from British Auto Sport and his number is 1-888-485-2277 Hope your project is going well Regards John
John O'Meara

It's all clear now! I had misunderstood; I have also been warned about blasting the outer panels making them wavy, but the inner body structure should be ok, I think.
Fred has also mentioined Kerr's in Mississauga, a long way for me to truck the body, but I have heard good things about them.
I am interested to know how theur price compares with other places, maybe you could let me know, (at my email if you don't feel this should be in public.)
My chassis goes out to CSC racing in the next few days to check alignment on their jig, have minor welding done and sandblasting.
Simon.
Simon

John:

This response is late considering the original date of yours. I just finished stripping my 6 with razor blades. I used a professional nickel plated blade holder. It's a comfortable fit in the hand and makes a bad job bearable and I bought a box of 100 industrial blades at a NAPA store. My buddy and I spent all day last Saturday, about 10 hours, so that's 20 hours total. Used about 50 blades. It was worth the effort.The paint came off reasonably easy except where the high solids primer had stuck very fast. Now the painter just has to sand with 180 and fill the uneven spots that we gouged and in the somewhat wavy bits of the sheet metal. If the state of the mostly bare metal body is any indication, the paint job is going to be really nice.

Cheers,
Bob
Bob Evans

HI Bob It sounds like you have a nice project in progress as well. Make sure to coat the bare metal with something until you get it to the paint shop to prevent oxygen from causing the dreaded rust. I spent the day on mine finishing the fuel line evaporative line and clipping the brake lines in the frame rail Put the body on for the last time My wife is really happy about this as she was usually on one corner of the car! I took my boot and bonnet hinges off and found that they were installed before the car was primed leaving some nasty rust in between esp. in the bonnet area I sandblasted the hinges and ground the mounting points on the body and panels couple cots of primer and I'm ready to reinstall tommorow. Glad I checked there I also finished the last of the scapping in the interior I got alot of weatherstrip adhesive off around the gearbox cover mount area as well as some clips I'd neglected before. I also removed my door check stops All you need is a little angle drill to get at the rivet that holds it to the door I think this will give my painter more room and it will give a nie clean look when its done Hope all is well with everyone Regards John
John O'Meara

I was sitting here reading all these posts and was about to suggest razor blades when there it was! I grew up in a body shop as my father owned one for over 20 years. I was the grunt. About all we used was razor blades because the resulting mess was a easy disposal job. Chemical, or sand, or soda makes a mess no one wants. The litle fine fragments of paint from razor blade stipping are easily swept up and thrown away. Bob can attest to this- once you get the hang of it, it is pretty amazing how fast the paint comes off. I stripped a XJS once in one day by myself. BUT, this is one of many many many that I had to do.
Gene Holtzclaw

Ok,not really a stripping paint question,. To the do it yourself painters out there,what brand of cup gun do you prefer? What about primer? and Nossle sizes.
Don
DON KELLY

This thread was discussed between 22/04/2005 and 13/06/2005

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