Okay all I'm down to having most of the parts off or out of my project a 1977 LT. My questions are:

What would be a proper way to paint the underside of the body? Should it be painted the same color as the visible areas?

What tool(s) are the best and fastest for stripping off old paint. I can't use chemical strippers where I'm at so it will be a manual job I was thinking of using an angle grinder with some sort of wire wheel or disk thats not too abrasive say 100 grit. Its a 4" grinder so any ideas are very helpful.

Does all the paint have to come off for a good job. Some areas will be very difficult to get to if not impossible.

Once the paint is off what should I use to prime the metal? Should the bondo/filler be first before primer?

Where the heck do you get the tool to remove the wind shields chrome pieces and what does it look like?

How do you get the wind shields out once you have the chrome pices taken care of?

Any and all advise is greatly appreciated. Don't hold back on directions and thanks in advance for your input.

C-Cars Rock

 

Dual action sander is my personal favorite way to go. It make take a hell of a long time, but there it holds less chances of ruining or damaging the metal than an angle grinder. The angle grinder will work, the wire wheel is a safe way to go. You can even use a grinding wheel, but that is very difficult. You can buy a cheap sand blaster and use that to strip the hard to reach areas. Make sure you wear proper protective clothing, a ventalation mask, and some sort of facial protection.
http://da.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do Glass bead
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=30979 Cheap sand blaster (SLOW)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40925 (faster)
All the paint does not have to come off for a good job. In fact paint sticks better to scuffed factory paint. As far as filler, I personally use and recomend a product called duraglass. It's a lot stronger, water resistant, and better than bondo. Yes that should be done and messaged before the primper coat. For the first coat of primer there are a couple types.
Epoxy Primer, probably the best out there.
Self etching primper, for smooth surface helps paint stick to it.
The chrome pieces, I actually made my tool. 1.5" wide piece of steel, cut a slit in it and it was thin enough to hit the clips.

You have to cut the glue that holds the windshield in place. It is a wire looking kinda deal. Or if you are really careful and I don't recomend this. You and a buddy can push on the glass from both sides and pop it out. Sloutch in the chair and put both feet on the glass. (NOT RECOMENDED!!!)

 

Wow thanks for all the advise and info. I'll do one of the fenders with the wire brush idea and see how it looks before going onto the body. Its a fender I don't intend to re-use. As for pushing on the glass I agree not a safe way to handle that part. I can picture me slicing my leg wide open and having to call the bride for help. Man I don't know which would be worse The problem with a sand blaster is the air. I don't have an air compressor with enough ummf to make it work The areas that are hard to get to I'll jsut scuff as you say. My guess is the local paint shop will have the duraglass? I'll try making a thin tool to remove the clips. Do you know of al ink where I can see what one looks like?
Thanks again for the input.
Greg

 

Well the glass is tempered and it is designed not to break, but to pop out in case of an emergency. (a little history. The first car to use this idea was the "Tucker". The big 3 put him out of production when he was 3 cars short of it being sellable. It used a V8 Helicoper engine, 24 volt electrical system, headlights that turned with the steering wheel, and the first car that would have production seat belts.) But anyways
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=38386 For the windshield trim remover
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94180 Winshield remover. Puncture a hole in the sealant and then thread the wire through. It becomes like a flexible saw. DEFINATELY USE HEAVY GLOVES!!!
Local paint shop should have duraglass. Napa has similar stuff called durastrand. They both need a hardner. Remeber to apply the filler beyond the damaged area to feather in the seams.
I don't know how deep your pockets are but you can get a Crafsman 35 gallon compressor for under $400 it's still a 120 volt outlet too. I personally recomend Husky cuz they're a little bit quieter.

 

Hey there's a Harbor Freight not far from where I live. Hopefully they have these tools. If not then I'll order online. I knew about the Tucker automobile. There was a movie made about it some time back and it's one of my favorites. My pockets are pretty shallow that's why I'm resoring instead of buying one finished. I know you never get the money back out of one of these you put into it especially when you consider the work. But that's not my intent here. I may still look into getting a larger compressor anyways. Thanks again for the tool links.
C-Car

 

If you need mechanical tools just let me know, I might have some that I do no use any more. Such as a front coil spring compressor.

 

Hey let me know what you have. I'll be rebuilding the front end and most everything else.

 

I have a pickle fork, the coil spring compressor (internal type proper for the Camaro springs), I have a rear axle pinion depth gauge. What else are you looking for?

 

Dude,
I just visited your website with the photos of the Camaro your doing. That thing is looking good man. I certianly can use the spring compressor and pickle fork. I'm not sure what else I'll need but when the time comes I'll get in touch. Get back when you can.
CCar