Am I killing my bay?

[penthink]

I recently bought a '78 bay in pretty decent shape except the PO rolled house paint onto the whole thing. I have a compressor and have been using a DA sander with 80 grit paper, and taking it down to the primer, and in some places, bare metal. I plan on having a body shop shoot the primer and top coat. Am I scratching things up too much, or is this okay? Should I go over the whole thing with 150 grit or something when I am done?

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks,
m

[BIG MAC]

You will be just fine with the 80g. I imagine it has to be taking a bunch of time to do. I would use a good aircraft paint stripper and clean up whats left with the 80g, should go much quicker. Just don't get the stripper on rubber if you decide to try it.

[penthink]

You are not kidding about it taking a long time! Where would I get aircraft stripper if I wanted to go that route - I am replacing all my window and door seals anyway, so it doesn't matter if it gets on the rubber!

Thanks for the help.
m

[BIG MAC]

You should be able to pick it up at any auto paint store or possibly auto part store. Look for an aircraft paint stripper. Kleanstrip is a brand that I am very familiar with.

[bigturkey]

I'm a penny-pincer, so here are some things that I didn't do, but would suggest.

Dedicate a big brush and seperate bucket just to the stipper.
By a real nice plastic scraper
Wear a respirator and gloves, this stuff is so freaking nasty. Get it on your skin once and you'll understand.
LAYER IT ON THICK, the thicker the better because the faster this stuff evaporates the less time it has to eat paint.

Also, when sanding make sure to wear that respirator, old paint has lead in it and that stuff isn't too good either. Good luck, and have fun becasue once its painted you can reflect on all the time it took to stip it. Very rewarding.

[penthink]

Thanks for the further advice. As for respirators, I always wear one, but the more I work on the car, the more I wonder if it is as high a quality product as I need. I bought it at Home Depot - and it does have refillable canisters, but should I be using a better quality mask? I really hate having lead in my lungs. It's a real bummer.

Thanks,
Mike

[buguy]

If you lay the stripper on heavy, let it work, then just shoot it with a pressure washer, it should come off pretty good.