weirdscience

I took the leap and decided to do a full repaint. Im doing it in my shop so Ill post my progress.

raidonzap

Wow, looks great, can't wait to see more.

I will be doing the same soon also.

devilinblack

Great pics. Very nice to see exactly what's hiding under the fenders.

Can't wait to see more!

Bill Ball

I'm curious as to why you pulled the fenders.

Mrmerlin

Looks like you will be busy now is a great time to wash the fenderwells they sure are dirty, it will also keep the dirt devils down when its painted.
Dont forget to add some zinc chromate to the fenders ( and any other aluminum parts) before you put any other coating on otherwise the paint may not stick as well as it could.
I had good luck with a media blaster on the front and rear PUs then refinish with some flex primer and base/ clear. i used Glassurit with a medium build clear, it took 3 wet sandings and 3 buffings but it was worth it you could read the news paper in the paint. Goodluck

icsmike

If your changeing colors its a must. I did it because of color change/jamming. But even if the same color you can get in there and make better edges.

Nicole

It would be interesting to get some detail (description and photos) of how to remove the various trim pieces. With many of them it's not obvious how they are attached. Once they are bent out of shape from a clumsy attempt to remove them, they cannot be refinished.

Bill: one reason to pull fenders could be to remove the side moldings and weld the holes. Or to replace the fenders with a set that has no holes to begin with. Or replace them with Euro fenders (small side flasher, rather than big marker)...

JHowell37

The only trim that is difficult to remove is the trim around the door windows, and once you get over the mental block to avoid manhandling it, it's not that hard. You can bend it a fair bit to remove it as long as your bends stay smooth and gradual. Once off the car, you straighten it as much as you can and then to reinstall you can tap it back into place with a small body hammer and most people would never know better.

As far as using zinc chromate, it can be found in etching primers and some epoxies. Etching primer is great if you don't plan on using any body filler, and you plan to strip the car to bare metal. But I've never known of a 24 year old car that can't use some body filler. Body filler and etching primers don't work well together because etching primers utilize some type of acid to "etch" the surface for adhesion. Unfortunately the acid doesn't get along with the body filler. So it leaves you with chromated epoxy as your best bet. If anything, the zinc chromate is more beneficial on steel because while it aids in adhesion, it also serves as a protective layer against rust/corrosion.

weirdscience

Ive always stripped as many of the parts off a vehicle I can when I do a repaint. Ill do all the stripping, prep, metal/mud work and reinstall the panels and check the fitment then Ill take them back off and do all the priming and sanding etc. When everything is ready for paint Ill temporarily hang all the parts on the car that need paint and go to town with my Sata Jet. This will ensure my color match from panel to panel is perfect. After that Ill remove the panels for wetsanding and buffing. You can tell the difference when the parts/panels are left on the car, theres primer and paint overspray in places you cant mask and there may be some tape lines. It just makes for a better job overall.

Nicole

I would love to see how you hang the parts temporarily, especially the doors, and then deal with the areas behind it (.g. door jambs). I'm not sure how you can ensure everything ends up smooth and even.

I think the part I never quite understood is why you have to go down to the bare metal. Wouldn't that also compromise the zinc coating that makes our cars' excellent rust protection? Why not sand down to the factory primer, and build from there?

dr bob

Nicole--

You can get to the bare zinc galvanizing just as easily as to steel on the steel body parts. Easy if you chem strip, tougher to protect the zinc if you use a heavy media for blasting, and gets even dicier when you do a lot of sanding as part of the bare metal prep. The galvanizing really only comes into play when the protective paint coating is violated.

Mrmerlin

one other bit of info since your going to paint the jambs heres how to remove the door jambs, without breaking any of the tabs..( the ones that hold down the outer edge of the plastic cover/jamb) First you need a flat blade ( butter knife works well) put a wrap of blue tape on it so theres no scratches.
First see if theres the factory installed push lock pin,( at the rear edge of the jamb) if so simply drive the center into the pin and remove the outer part. (The pin will fall into the metal part of the jamb and be gone forever)
Then Find the center of the jamb, look carefully under the numbers 2 and 8 ( along the bottom of the numbers)there is a clear pin there with a clear pin holder,.....pry up the jamb till the pin pops out,.about 1/2 inch....... then remove by pulling upwards the inner most edge that holds down the carpet, pull this part up about 1 inch , once you have unfasted all of the carpet hold downs then slide the whole jamb piece towards the seat, the outer hold downs will slip free, to remove the plastic hold downs turn them 90 degrees and they slide out of the rocker panel.. Goodluck

weirdscience

Great tip..

weirdscience

Ill take pictures as I go..

LightStriker

A question like that... How much it cost?

My plan is to change color of mine too... But I don't know how much it would cost.
(Probably more knowing I want some custom paint design)