BN1 Frame-On Restoration Plan

[rustynuts]

Today I took the door panels and latches off my '55 BN1. Also removed the aluminum trim pieces on the door sills. The screws came out just as easy as the day they where installed. Under the sills plates the paint is like new with a slight bit of rust in spots. The doors are solid and better than my 1998 blazer!!! Now I realise that this car is a rebuilders dream due to the low mileage (25,000) and near-perfect body and frame etc. But I will be driving this car and taking it to classic car shows, so I am going over all the mechanicals and repainting it, new interior. Colour was Old English then pale yellow by the previous owner and the interior is red w/red top. I had thought about stripping the paint with aircraft stripper then epoxy primer. Final colour? I have been following the colour thread with interest. Does this frame on restoration plan seem reasonable?

 

[GregW]

Hi Rusty,
I like the aircraft stripper for doing panels off the car or separate parts where I can be sure all residue is removed. I have found that the goo likes to hold on in the nooks and crannies.

 

[Cutlass]

I agree about the aircraft stripper, or any chemical stripping agent for that matter. As far as color is concerned, what color are the door jambs and engine bay? The door jambs are easy enough to repaint another color, but the engine bay is a bit more work than you seem to be talking about. In any event, whatever color you choose, it should be consistent between chassis and body.

 

[JamesWilson]

The chemical strippers for the out body panels should be fine, but they're much more trouble for the inner body if you're contemplating a re-spray of that too then media blasting may be more effective there.

 

[Cottontop]

In addition to ground up restoring my Healey which I had blasted,
https://ntahc.org/modifiedhealeys/Photos/1Moran/FullStoryAll1.html

I have stripped and ground-up restored 3 1966 Mustangs
(2 shown here - https://www.ntahc.org/SOBs/sobs.htm )

For closed cars, so as to keep all of the residual blast media out of the interior (you NEVER get it ALL out),
I use methyl cloride based Aircraft Stripper followed by a thorough rinse with a 1,800 PSI power washer.
A FULL face shield is a MUST !

For the cracks and crevices, I use a nozzle that puts out a .1" (2.5mm) stream rather than a fan spray.

That blasts EVERTYTHING out.

Tim

 

[rustynuts]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure if this thread had started since we had high winds here last night and the power went out just before I hit continue. I was on battery backup then.
Restoration is one of those things that starts and its easy to get carried away . What begins a a simple rebuild turns out to be more than you expected. I live in the country and have to drive about 5 miles til I hit the black top. Hence my reluctance to perform a show quality finish. Also I want this rebuild to retain some of the original patina so the contrast between a perfect paint job and aged engine bay ( which is black)along with the chrome and aluminum.
Dennis

 

[anthony7777]

ive done some aircraft stripping, auto and furniture as well and found that the 'aircraft' stuff is the same as whats called 'rock miracle'stripper works the same way and is probably one third to half the price because it doesnt have a picture of an airplane on the can.check it out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif