Best way to remove paint? And some steps for bodywork

[Ranchero50]

Wow, thanks for the replies and I hope that this can become a sticky or something since we all seem to go down the slippery road eventually.

As to the chemical stripper, I did the door panels and steering column with clean strip and washed / scrubbed it several times with scotch brite pads and water. The little bit of primer that didn't come off caused all sorts of grief with the new primers and paint. The '69 door had so much paint on that it had cracked and cratered itself and had to come off. The rest of the '71 only has two coats one but I know I'm going to have trouble blending / building up the primers where I welded / bondo'd the old mirror holes to the rest of the panel since I ground down to bare metal.

I'm using a 4 1/2" angle grinder with a 60 grit flap wheel for the flats and a wire cup for the contours. I wanted to get the composite disc, but couldn't find one locally for the grinder (I didn't want to fight with a 3/8" drill motor). I have a couple good D/A's, but the craftsman 6hp air compressor flew apart for the second time in six years of ownership so I'm down to a little 1.5hp compressor feeding that tank. Luckily I don't have much D/A work to do.

Foggies tips are really what I'm looking for: steps for removing old paint, how to lay bondo smoothly (mix ratios, squeegy sizes, how to hold them when applying, etc) and then girts to sand in and what patterns (30-60 cross pattern, with the panel, working, around ridges etc). I'm using a 4" x 11" floam backed grout trowel as a sanding block with 60 grit to work the bondo down. I got some 3m spray adhesive and it holds the sandpaper really well. It seems so much about bodywork is 'art' and not science that it's harder than it has to be. Even the books I've browsed at bookstores on the subject just plained sucked to the point that I didn't buy them (Who cares about candy colors and basecoat clear coat when the body looks like a 50 year olds rear end)

For me, this '71 F250 is a primer to get back into the restoration of my '69 fastback mustang that's been in limbo for the last ten years because I sucked at the bodywork. So for the '69's sake please give some advice and help.

Thanks,
Jamie

[69twotone]

Thanks for asking about this. I too hope this becomes a sticky would love to see all of the advice that everyone has to offer as I will be starting the same things you are doing next spring.

[layedout72]

i have always heard good things about the 3m wheels. my buddy calls them cookie monsters. it's a blue disc that goes on your angle grinder. supposedly a single pad does a door and a little of the next. of course it depends on paint, adhesion, and how much is on there!

[MaxKlinger]

I went to Lowe's this weekend, bought some stuff for projects around my parents' house. 58-32 Crown Molding is a royal pain in the arse.

Anyway, while I was there I decided to look at some of the grinding wheels they had. Not a huge selection. What is 3M's product name or part number for those blue "cookie monster" stripping wheels?

Where can I buy them? I went on the 3MEstore.com and tried to look for them, but I don't know exactly what I'm looking for.