Suggestions needed on how to get to bare metal

[67 Sunroof]

'67 bug.
Primer, zenith blue, primer, darker blue, primer.
5 coats of paint!!
I started by sandblasting the fender wells and, although it worked pretty well, I read some articles about sandblasting heating up the metal and warping the metal.
I called around about soda blasting but no one does it around here. I used a wire brush on my grinder and it worked, but heated the metal too and was
S L O W!!
What to do?sandblasting get sand everywhere!!!
Btw: bug is in good shape with hardly any rust.

[vaughn bros.]

Try Aviation Stripper. Apply with cheap brush, cover with thin painters plastic, let sit for a while until surface lifts, then scrape off. Chances are you may do this a few times but the first time is the most effective.

[Bobnotch]

[67 Sunroof]

I used the aviation spray and let it sit for a few hours. It bubbled right up but still looks like I'll need to wire wheel. Seemed to work okay though?!
I'll let you know tomorrow!!

[BeetL62]

I like to use stripping discs on my angle grinder. I did from the belt line down in an afternoon on my '66 bus. This was stripping 2 repaints and body filler. http://www.eastwood.com/poly-x-paint-and-rustremoval-disc-7in-cup.html

[67 Sunroof]

Well it just took me about 3 hours to do most of one fender with a wire wheel attachment on my angle grinder. It came off pretty well and didn't gouge the actual metal once I got down to it. I'm afraid of sanding discs-don't wanna scratch up the metal.
What grit are the sanding discs?

[kman]

I go with 80 grit on a rotory buffer. Pretty much tears paint and bondo off but the grit isn't so course as to ruin the metal. Filler need 80 grit to bond properly anyway, so you can go to epoxy right after this step after working the metal the way you want it. If there are deeper dents get the filler out with the wire wheel. And go from there.

[67 Sunroof]

Bought the 80 grit discs but what speed would you recommend? My friend said kinda slow-if you go too fast it "melts" the paint instead of ripping into it. The wire wheel worked okay, but was S L O W!
I brought the body home tonight and it's on a roll around cart I made to wheel out of the garage on nice days.
I think the first step would be to wire wheel the bottom of the heater channels and apply por-15 to them and the lower parts of the rocker panels?
What do you think?
The chassis turned out amazing with the por-15!!! Very happy!!

[kman]

Start slow. Can go faster as you get more confident. Don't angle it much, you will dig a hole and gouge the metal. I'm sure por-15 is ok for the bottom of the rockers. I've used it a couple of times and it seems to be strong stuff, but a bit expensive and goes bad quickly after opening. I'm a fan of epoxy sealer/primer then paint.

[67 Sunroof]

Thanks for your help! I have two threads going on about bodywork now....sorry, I was just excited!

[jpjohns]

I am currently using the aviation stripper and I find if you don't use alot and cover it with plastic it dries out and stops working. The key is covering it to keep it wet. It takes off the 3 layers of paint on my 68 down to the factory primer. I usually need one more coat to remove the primer down to bare metal.
_________________
-Jared

"Scrapyards are for quitters" - Beetlenut (a Samba member)

[RLFD213]

I have been using paint stripper on my 69 bug. It is a lot easier and cleaner then sanding. I use a paint brush and brush it on heavy and then wait. Then I use a razor blade and scraper and it comes off super easy and just gets swept up or vacuumed. No dist and no noise. All I have to do is sand the rust spots afterwards and do my filler and priming.

[BerylGreen63]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-5-in-Disc-Sander-GV5010/202312074

I have one of these with and i use 50/80 grit discs. Rips through paint and bondo but is easy on the metal.