okay, starting to tear down to the metal and i'm coming across a lot of rust spots, i was told not to try and grind them down (with the 40 grit DA air sander i have) but to sandblast them, so i picked up a sandblaster and some #8 glass beads (i think i got too small of stuff) and attacked them, im not sure how deep i need to go, i've had it make holes in the surface before i could get the little black spots to go away, do i need the surface to be perfectly shiney? (understood that it will be bumpy) or can i get away with the small black spots? or should i abandon all hope and grab the sawzall and a welder?

 

it doesnt look that bad no caner from what i can see, id guess and say it should be fine but im no body expert good luck with the build im tearing mine back down as well

 

advice i have learned the hard way


put the windows up and t-tops on

still cleaning sand from my eyes even through sunglasses and a full plastic face shield

those are the 2 areas i'm most concerned about, the other bad areas q-panels, rear rockers i'm going to cut and weld in new so my hours of sandblasting them go to waste as i can't get the black spots out without putting holes through, you can see in the first pic here

 

know how you feel bro, just keep at it. replacing the metal is always the safest bet.

good luck!

 

thanks for the heads up already found 3 different coats of paint on the drivers side rear quarter looks like sand blasting for me too

 

Definitely replace the metal there, you got it all apart so it's totally worth it. I'm thinking about sandblasting mine too. Amazing how the clear flakes off, but the basecoat, and factory paint are made of kryptonite. I've been sanding forever with no luck.

 

all told i think the job would be half as difficult if that van nuys primer/clearcoat didnt gum up my sandpaper, i'm lucky to have gotten 3ft³ before swapping to another disk

my 25$ DA air sander has paid itself over many many times, i would not even think of doing anything by hand again

i self etch primered over half the car then a coat of regular, i'm gonna get most of the car done then hand it over to my paint guy to finish, i think he would make it look like what i'm gonna end up payin for it. and i can't sand worth a darn (other than down to metal)

oh, my rear louvers i tried to sandblast the aluminum part of them and it seems to be working but would take forever, is there something you guys recommend to get the old paint off?

 

aircraft soap

 

Talstrip III, $40 a jug, and it doesn't warp your panels like sand blasting.