So here's my How did you do it question

[jjstang 51]

I'm finally to the point that I start stripping the undercoat/sound deadener  from inside and out the whole car.  I know blasting is the best, but I decided to do it manually.  I assume this is going to be long process and I'm concern about flash rust taking over before I can hit it with the epoxy primer.  Again, I assume I will have to do it in sections, maybe a days worth of stripping and the next day to spray, and so on.  It will probable take longer than the 7 day window so I'll probably shoot a final coat all over in one day at the end.  Hoping I don't have to rough sand be fore the final coat.  Looking for advice TIA

[bigmal 225]

Hi jjstang, I did mine with a rotary paint tripping wheel as sand blasting wasn't an option. I was told afterwards that original sound deadener has a high asbestos content so make sure you take appropriate precautions.

 

[Midlife 814]

I did my car when it was on a lift.  I used a rag dipped in a pan of gasoline and a whole lot of elbow grease.  Kerosene also works, but gas is easier to obtain and a bit cheaper as well.  You have to do this in a well ventilated area.  The gas loosens up the undercoating/sound deadener like crazy, and I used a fairly small screwdriver to get into tight corners once the material was softened up.  The gas evaporates relatively quickly, leaving the original paint (and rust!) unharmed.  I wanted to preserve whatever was there before taking a paint stripper or stripping wheel to the damaged areas. 

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Did the same thing on a 66 GT fast back ,i didnt want to ruin the original primer . It looked freshly primed when i was finished ...it is very messy !

[jjstang 51]

Good ideas/advice. Didn’t know about the asbestos. Got a couple questions about the primer. It sounds like the pot life is only a couple/few days so I would want to mix just enough. Is there some coverage ratio like “10oz covers 5 square feet” .  And do I need to get down to bare metal or can I prime over original primer or sanded clear/base. 

[JayEstes 172]

For the underside, I jacked up the car to about 18in off the ground, basically everything on the car had been removed, and I went at the bottom with a wire wheel.  Mind set was not to remove paint/primer however.  I just wanted the big stuff to come loose - to get undercoat off and discover the real status of metal on the floor.  For PPE I got a face mask, a face shield, and a tyvek bunny suit.  I used a crawler to lay on and move around under the car.  it was tiring, but not too bad if you get the car height right.  Once I had the bulk of the crap off the car, I used PVC gloves, and a scotchbrite pad dipped in lacquer thinner to remove the rest of the gunk.  Again, the pad with lacquer thinner (AKA cleanup thinner) will remove paint and primer, but the idea is to leave that in place and just clean the gunk off.  I'd just clean until gunk was off, and the paint or primer exposed - I'd just stop there leaving as much of the original as I could. I found this worked well, and the final step was a clean cloth with fresh thinner.  In the few areas where I had cut thru to the metal, I touched up with rattle-can primer immediately after cleaning with cloth. 

Edited April 4, 2020 by JayEstes
clarity

[Mike65 475]

When I replaced the outer wheel houses on my 69 Coupe I had to find the seam where the inner & outer wheel houses joined so I used a soldering torch on a cylinder of MAP gas like you would use on copper water pipe. I heated the undercoating & used a putty knife & scraped off as much as I could to find the seam. https://www.bernzomatic.com/Products/Hand-Torches/Instant-On-Off/TS4000?gclid=CjwKCAjw4KD0BRBUEiwA7MFNTUbOEAnt5Esd1-DLa1Mxn5ljg1Exr2t0ukEDi_wa2BEBtHIUQ83YzRoC4ckQAvD_BwE

https://www.bernzomatic.com/Products/Fuel-Cylinders/Hand-Torch-Cylinders/MG9