Engine bay.....sand or paint remover?

[firstgear]

I was looking at my engine bay, motor is still out....it needs to be freshened up before the motor goes in....I have power washed it....I know some have suggested sanding the various areas...but as I look at it would need a lot of sanding...to the point I look at ti and started thinking maybe I should just put paint remover of the various areas and go at it that way.

Comments??? Paint remover...what kind and where to get it...as well as how much for ding the whole car when it comes time.......

thanks in advance....

 

[magoo]

I did the fire wall, fenderwells, and transmission tunnel on my 62 with acetone when I had the engine out of it. I had no bad reaction to the fiberglass. It cleaned up very nice down to bare fiberglass with no signs of softening. I did not let it sit in puddles or anything like that, but I soaked rags and wiped. I didn't use it on the body outside but it worked very well under the hood. It also painted very nice. Someone with more knowledge will weigh in soon. Just my $.02 Hope it helps.

Mike

 

[IH2LOSE]

I did the fire wall, fenderwells, and transmission tunnel on my 62 with acetone when I had the engine out of it. I had no bad reaction to the fiberglass. It cleaned up very nice down to bare fiberglass with no signs of softening. I did not let it sit in puddles or anything like that, but I soaked rags and wiped. I didn't use it on the body outside but it worked very well under the hood. It also painted very nice. Someone with more knowledge will weigh in soon. Just my $.02 Hope it helps.

Mike

Acetone was my favorite solvent.I used it for everything.Years ago some one from the NCRS board was nice enough to foward me some information on acetone and its health dangers. I no longer use it but I am sure it would clean the heck out of your engine bay.

When I did my 66'S engine bay I used a gravety fed pot sand blaster at low pressure to dig into the several layers of paint on it. and then wiped the glass absolutely clean with accetone.

I also used accetone alone on the bottom of my 66 to clean all of the paint off the bottom of the car.

Again accetone is a great solvent for cleaning off paint but since I have been warned I no loner use it.I mean I used to just pour it into a broiler pan and then stick my bare hands in it with steel wool and rag and clean the bottom of the car.

Good luck and if you do use accetone remeber its highley combustable

 

[youwish2bme]

Amazingly enough the wire knot wheel that I used to clean the frame took the old paint off nicely down around the lower firewall. Didn't do any damage. I also just sanded the fenders smooth.. I didn't feel the need to take them down to bare. Dave..

 

[firstgear]

Acetone was my favorite solvent.I used it for everything.Years ago some one from the NCRS board was nice enough to foward me some information on acetone and its health dangers. I no longer use it but I am sure it would clean the heck out of your engine bay.

When I did my 66'S engine bay I used a gravety fed pot sand blaster at low pressure to dig into the several layers of paint on it. and then wiped the glass absolutely clean with accetone.

I also used accetone alone on the bottom of my 66 to clean all of the paint off the bottom of the car.

Again accetone is a great solvent for cleaning off paint but since I have been warned I no loner use it.I mean I used to just pour it into a broiler pan and then stick my bare hands in it with steel wool and rag and clean the bottom of the car.

Good luck and if you do use accetone remeber its highley combustable

I work at a company that makes painting equipment (liquid and powder paint applicators) and know the risks and dangers of accetone. MEK is right there with it......I had designed a system to apply body flange primer to car bodies for use in the car plants, it was put over the painted surface so that the urethane would have a good surface to bond to (urethane wouldn't bond adequately to plain paint) and it was a mterial that had MEK as a base and we used MEK to purge (applicator was mounted to an inverted robot) between cars (stuff was real nasty and would skim over the nozzle if we didn't purge with pure MEK and rub the nozzle on a wire brush). Nasty stuff those solvents for sure!

I liked the idea of using paint removers that were washed up with water.....anyone see a down side to that?

 

[IH2LOSE]

Amazingly enough the wire knot wheel that I used to clean the frame took the old paint off nicely down around the lower firewall. Didn't do any damage. I also just sanded the fenders smooth.. I didn't feel the need to take them down to bare. Dave..

Just a saftey alert on these wire brush wheels.Last week a fellow got hurt on a job site I was at and We had to get him to the hospital. While I was in the waiting room keeping him calm another fellow was there (a dentist)with one of the wire strand from a wire wheel brush in his eye , he explained he was stripping the paint off his iron railings and his saftey goggles were fogging so he took them off and got the strand stuck in his eye .If I didnt see it in person NO WAY would I have belived it. PS I just replaced the glass on my my saftey sheild after seeing this guy,mine was all scrathed up and i have not been using it because it was hard to see through

 

[youwish2bme]

Yep I ALWAYS make sure to wear goggles with that bad boy... I've had to pull more than one of those stinkin wires out of my arms and face.. They will go right thru you clothes... I always were a respirator with that thing to.. Lots and lots of distruction during use.... Dirt,dust,grease,paint,etc are no match for a 4" DeWalt angle grinder with 4" wire knot wheel attached... Dave..

 

[67HEAVEN]

I used a nylon flapper rather than a wire wheel.

Downright amazing results with no fiberglass damage and no flying wire.

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

1/2 case of "2+2" and 3 rolls of Bounty towels...and a window fan running at full bore under the tranny tunnel...Oh....and 15 pairs of Those blue colored latex gloves ....and a respirator.

After that I was ready to Party.....:crazy

 

[firstgear]

I used a nylon flapper rather than a wire wheel.

Downright amazing results with no fiberglass damage and no flying wire.

I like this suggestion....maybe I can find one of those do-hickies this weekend and try it....I have ordered the paint remover.....but I can always save that for pulling hte paint off the body...I will give this a try...thanks!

 

[67HEAVEN]

I got mine at Home Depot.

 

[67HEAVEN]

Note: To complete all four wheelwells, the engine compartment and the underside of the car, I used 5 or 6 of the nylon flappers.

They wear out.....but better that than the fiberglass.

 

[Al 65 Sting]

Can I use that nylon flaper thing on the outside of the body? I am getting cold feet about the chemical paint stripper and wouldn't go near my baby with a DA. I need to take off two paint jobs, factory and repaint with a bondo thrown all over the place.

 

[67HEAVEN]

Can I use that nylon flaper thing on the outside of the body? I am getting cold feet about the chemical paint stripper and wouldn't go near my baby with a DA. I need to take off two paint jobs, factory and repaint with a bondo thrown all over the place.

Having never used it on the outside body, I'm reluctant to say, "Go ahead."

The underside paintjob turned out extremely well, but I don't know how it would stand up to up-top scrutiny. There would be more effort required to achieve a suitable painting surface, that's for certain.

 

[firstgear]

I like this suggestion....maybe I can find one of those do-hickies this weekend and try it....I have ordered the paint remover.....but I can always save that for pulling the paint off the body...I will give this a try...thanks!

I went to several different sources including Home Depot and couldn't find that thing....I could get close to something that had nylon brissles, but nothing that had that nylon type of flapper....so I am going to go with paint removers and a wire brush.....yikes....carefully!!!! Maybe that flapper is something that you can get in Canada but not the US at least not near western Cleveland......anyone else find this thing?