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thinking about body work at home

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M

mightymidget

Jedi Knight
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All you need is a Bugeye, air compressor, and a lot of time
I had already started removing paint from the rear of this car, had some free time so I started back today. Thought I would post some photos for the ones wonder about doing it themselves
 


I purchased some aircraft paint stripper from a local paint shop. ($38.00) so I could just brush it on then scrap paint off. Not on the green Bugeye.

As you can see from photo, stripper did not penertate paint. must have polyurathane paint or something. tried a little on my other red bugeye and paint came right off. So paint remover useless on this car.
 


So I went back to using a air grinder with a 36 grit pad. Car has two thick layers of paint then some sort of heavy cream sealer on top of metal with body between sealer and metal (no no)

But I would grind paint down to cream sealer leaving some paint here and there, I did not want to hit metal with disc grinder. This rear top section of car has been worked from one end to the other with a pick hammer and bondo
 

My next step was to use a DA air sander with 80 grit paper to work off old paint and sealer. I did not replace sand paper very often on purpose so sandpaper would not take any metal away. It took a lot longer this way

By the way I need to mention I am not saying this is the way to remove paint from a car. It is just the way I did it with what tools and time I have available.
 


After I sanded the car down to the metal, I cleaned then sprayed with a rattle can primer.The area not primed have some rust so I have applied some rust converter on these areas to try and some rust.

Once I get the complete rear of car from the doors back paintless I will DA the primer off and then use by paint gun to prime with epoxy primer. then I will do body work.
 
Look in to high build poly primers for the bodywork, hides all the small stuff, I just use ther epoxy primer on everyhting except the exterior bodywork, the poly stuff blocks alot better then the epoxy does, but the epoxy is perfect for the rest of the tub.
 
I found some Scotch Brite type discs online that did a great job of removing the old paint (at least 3 layers) from my MGA project. Installed on a 4 inch grinder and really left a nice surface without cutting or scratching the base metal. They don't load up and don't create a lot of heat either. I used a medium grit (brown in color) disc. https://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en...4glW68XGDR1NKbl
 
Looks good! Reminds me, I have to start watching Harbor Freight for a good deal on a DA and a new paint gun. :smile:

My only suggestion would be not to use traditional primer to prevent flash rusting - primer is hydroscopic. Eastwood makes a phosphorous-based surface wash (Metal Ready?) that stops flash rust for several weeks. I'm sure others make similar products (Ospho springs to mind). That said, your garage looks pretty dry - I'm sure it'll be fine in primer for a while!

Can't wait to see more pictures, I love this stage.
 
Looks like its coming along. I to am doing the same on my 78 midget. Most of the paint is already flaking off so getting the old paint off is not an issue. The one point you mentioned was about the "creme colored" layer of paint. My car also has this and I was starting to consider trying to leave it and work from that layer. Bad idea?
 
Midget78 said:
The one point you mentioned was about the "creme colored" layer of paint. My car also has this and I was starting to consider trying to leave it and work from that layer. Bad idea?
Click to expand...

I think, yes, bad idea. Partly because if you are having issues of paint flaking now, you won't have a base that is any better if you leave the existing on. Partly because paint technology has improved exponentially over the past decades. Partly because most paint systems work together - ie. same brand primer - top coat -clear coat etc. Partly because if you are that close, finish the job, then you can assess the metal as well
 
Yup. You're there already. Take it down to metal. Anything you leave from original paint WILL come back to haunt ya. And the epoxy primers Hap and the others suggest are the way to go.
 


It was raining and wife was napping so I decided to remove Bonnet on the red Bugeye tonite. front hinge. layed on my back took out the 4 bolts from frame, diconnected wire pigtail.

Then took a heavy comforter laid on the floor then rolled bonnet off front onto floor
 
Im making progress on my car. I started on the rear drivers side fender and moved onto the door today. I start with paint remover to get the majority of the paint off then use a palm sander with 80 grit paper to take it down to the metal. Tape everything off and get the primer layers on. Im working around the car doing on section a day so by the middle of next week I should be all stripped and primered (weather permitting). Then I can go back and focus on all the small details so the prep is perfect.
 
I am glad the paint remover is working for you it makes the job a lot easier. Thanks goodness these are small cars, My wife first wanted me to get a 50s car to rebuild. one fender on those cars are the same size as 1/2 of a bigeye.

when I brought the bug home I knew she would fall in love with it and forget about the 50s cars
 
Yeah, I started with the fender and about half way through stripping and sanding I started to realize this is going to take a while. The door on the other hand wasnt bad. One thing that somewhat disapoints me is Im finding bondo patches here and there that I didnt see with the paint on it. My car isnt so solid after all.
 
Here is a better way to remove the bonnet by yourself. A couple of pulleys and a sailboat hardware cleat. Suspend from the ceiling and attach to bonnet by fender mirror holes. I get the bonnet on and off all of the time by myself. Now that finish painting is done and bonnet is reinstalled hopefully I won't need to do this as often.

I just happened to have some old sailing hardware in the garage but I've seen things at Menards, Lowes, a rope and pulley system designed to provide overhead storage in the garage. You could adapt the same thing to remove your BE Bonnet.
 
Jim, nice rigging. My 78 hood I can lift off myself with no trouble after unbolting from the hinges at the fire wall. I see on the bugeye the entire front end gets lifted. It almost looks like if I took off my front fenders and hood / bonnet that I could put on a bugeye front end? The rest of the car looks the same. Am I right? I wouldnt do this but I was just thinking out of the box.
 
you can throw a bugeye bonnet on a non-BE car.
 
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