body and interior Stripping down for a respray

[Cejay Grundy]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of stripping down my '02 for a complete body respray. I will be taking it to a shop to get the spraying done, but I just wanted to know how MUCH I should be stripping off myself?

Anyone out there who has resprayed, did you go so far as removing everything except the shell?

Also, will stripping it myself save me much money? Not that it matters I'm enjoying getting to know my car more - just curious.

This is the first restoration of a car I have ever undertaken, so help here would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[Roundeie]

Going for body and paint this weekend...

Less labor...

Edited January 15, 2015 by Roundeie

[Cejay Grundy]

Cheers!

[Hans]

The final job will look much better if you pull all the lights, grills, chrome, rubber seals. Anything you don't want painted body color. Front and rear windows should come out to check for rust, but you can work around those if need be. Rear side windows are more of a pain to remove so maybe leave them. Depends on what kind of re-spray you want: quick and dirty, or something you'll be pleased with down the road.

[Cejay Grundy]

The final job will look much better if you pull all the lights, grills, chrome, rubber seals. Anything you don't want painted body color. Front and rear windows should come out to check for rust, but you can work around those if need be. Rear side windows are more of a pain to remove so maybe leave them. Depends on what kind of re-spray you want: quick and dirty, or something you'll be pleased with down the road.

Hmm definitely something that will last a long time and I will be geuinley happy with. Thanks for the tips

[nbcbird]

It's not difficult--strip to bare metal the areas you want repainted. You will get a much more professional result by removing as many parts as possible, keeping in mind rust inspection, paint overspray/access, requirements for masking, matching of paint, etc.  My project intent was to paint all the interior areas (engine compartment, wheel wells, and trunk) and have the shell painted by a specialist. Quarter windows are not that difficult to remove once you access the sheet metal screws on the B pillar. The perimeter around the front/rear windshield (under the gasket) can hide a lot of rust.  Start from the top and work down. I removed the truck lid and hood, but left the doors on (for transport later).  I used about 3-1/2 gallons of Klean-Strip paste type stripper. It took 2 to 3 applications of stripper (plus lacquer thinner) to get every trace of paint removed, working a section at a time. I was told I would save $1500 to $2000 by stripping it myself (by a top line restoration specialist). Plan on replacing most rubber gaskets (which will get pricey). Hopefully you have the knack for remembering how to put everything s back together. Good luck.

Edited January 15, 2015 by nbcbird

['76mintgrün'02]

Hopefully you have the knack for remembering how to put everything s back together.

 

I read a suggestion on here a while back that said to 'use zip locs and a sharpie pen to label every little part you take off the car.'  It went on to say, 'you might think you will be putting it back together next week, but organize it as though it will be ten years from now.'  

[Cejay Grundy]

It's not difficult--strip to bare metal the areas you want repainted. You will get a much more professional result by removing as many parts as possible, keeping in mind rust inspection, paint overspray/access, requirements for masking, matching of paint, etc.  My project intent was to paint all the interior areas (engine compartment, wheel wells, and trunk) and have the shell painted by a specialist. Quarter windows are not that difficult to remove once you access the sheet metal screws on the B pillar. The perimeter around the front/rear windshield (under the gasket) can hide a lot of rust.  Start from the top and work down. I removed the truck lid and hood, but left the doors on (for transport later).  I used about 3-1/2 gallons of Klean-Strip paste type stripper. It took 2 to 3 applications of stripper (plus lacquer thinner) to get every trace of paint removed, working a section at a time. I was told I would save $1500 to $2000 by stripping it myself (by a top line restoration specialist). Plan on replacing most rubber gaskets (which will get pricey). Hopefully you have the knack for remembering how to put everything s back together. Good luck.

 

 

Thanks for that, very helpful. How much were you charged in the end after doing all that yourself?

I read a suggestion on here a while back that said to 'use zip locs and a sharpie pen to label every little part you take off the car.'  It went on to say, 'you might think you will be putting it back together next week, but organize it as though it will be ten years from now.'  

 

 

I actually already do this haha! Little sandwich bags with permanent marker. Works a charm, plus shite loads of photos and video where possible works for me too.

Edit: Spelling

Edited January 15, 2015 by Cejay_91

[gwb72tii]

You do not need nor is it advisable to go to bare metal if there is no rust involved

What ever happened to the search function here?

The under coats/primer used from the factory are high quality and going to bare metal is a waste of time and energy

[Benjamin A.R.]

If you want it bare, grab a thing of "Aircraft Remover" (That's what it's called for some reason.) at autozone. It melts paint, even the shit we use on our Mac trucks.

[jgerock]

Removed parts storage and organization will be key.   Group things you remove from certain areas together (i.e. trunk,  engine bay, interior, dash, etc). and place everything from those areas in one plastic storage (tote) bin.  Buy a few sizes of ziplock storage bags in bulk (Costco, Sam's Club, etc).   Write notes on a sticky pad and place them inside the bag.

 

I highly suggest keeping a spiral notebook with dates and notes and hand sketches so you can look back on what you did.

 

Remove all the glass for a better paint job.

 

Remove the thin aluminum strips that are riveted to the upper door frame openings before sending off for paint and bodywork.   IIRC, they are $ 75 each new - but used ones can be found.

 

Worst thing (to me) is hoping your old trim can be reused on a new paint job but it won't.  Once you start replacing old trim with new, there is a snowball effect.

 

No matter how small the detail is when removing items from vehicles, you will never remember everything.  I removed the vinyl (black) trim from the A and B pillar interior sections LAST, so they should be installed FIRST (before the dash and headliner).  This conflicts with other information I have seen here on the FAQ.

 

Jim

 

 

[joysterm]

Having just gone through this process myself I can say that stripping the entire car is not necessary. I would suggest that you strip the entire car of hardware, glass and any removalble pieces to get a near factory quality result "IF" that is what you want at the end of the exercise. I think you may also want to decide what kind of money you want to throw at it to get the result you want;  some short cuts will save you money at the start but may come back to bit you in the ass later on down the road.

 

My suggestion is to  get all problem areas blasted to get to bare metal. Don't touch the good stuff. A quality restoration shop or this forum will be a big help in dertermining what needs to be addressed. BTW, find a shop that knows what they are doing if blasting is the way you are gonna go. 

 

In my case I was fortunate that I did not have to deal with any rust issues but despite this I still had some areas media blasted to ensure there were NO underlying problems or surprises. These areas were expoxy primered. The entire car was then sanded to identify areas that needed some attention. Once that metal work was completed the car recieved another pass of EP, then  a couple of coats of high build primer and was then blocked  between applications to flatten the surface. It has been a long process and not cheap but I think the end result will be worth the expense.  The car is scheduled to recieved its first coat of Stage 1 colour next week...... Start to finish it has been about 4 months now.

 

Good luck with yours, HTH

 

Mike

[nbcbird]

I forgot to mention that these days with increased liability, many reputable paint shops will be reluctant to paint unless the entire body is stripped to bare metal.  The only paint I did not strip was the primer on factory replacement panels. If you have a painter in mind, it would be a good idea to check with them on what they advise (as joysterm mentioned). I am still waiting for a body shop opening to have my 2002 painted.

Edited January 15, 2015 by nbcbird

[willys]

I hate overspray on anything - with that said, whatever is left that hasn't been removed point out to your body shop that it is not to be painted.  My pet peeve is the windshiled wiper motor - so many of them are sprayed body color, it makes me cringe

 

good luck, you have a great project which is well on its way!

 

Jeff

[Dusty Snowman]

I hate overspray on anything - with that said, whatever is left that hasn't been removed point out to your body shop that it is not to be painted.  My pet peeve is the windshiled wiper motor - so many of them are sprayed body color, it makes me cringe

 

good luck, you have a great project which is well on its way!

 

Jeff

 

Couldn't agree more.  My car was painted by a previous owner and the inca wiper motor, hood latch bar, and washer nozzels drive me insane.  High on the list of this to correct.