I'm right in the middle of restoring my 65 coupe and I took off my front fenders so that I could start prepping the wheel wells. My uncle, who also happens to be a Mustang enthusiast, told me that I shouldn't take it down to bare metal because it would create too much work. He suggested that I just wet sand as much as possible.

Before he and I had a chance to speak about it I purchased a coarse and fine steel wheel for my drill and I decided to give it a try. EVERYTHING came off pretty easy. I used the wheel after I used some engine cleaner and my pressure washer. Below is a photo of what it looked like before I hit it with the drill....

So here is my question to you all, should I go down to the bare metal or not?

Thanks!

 

He's right, it is a lot of work. But you never know what is really under the paint unless you take it off. It actually looks pretty solid from here. Do you have any reason to believe there may be hidden patches or rust under the paint?

 

I personally thought the steel wheel was pretty easy and quick, also, when I do paint I want somewhat of an even surface. Right now there are gobs of undercoat and other paint that was used in its previous life. I'm not so worried about rust, since on the wheel well there really isn't any.

I thought it would look better and the paint would apply better.

 

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If you take it clear down to the bare metal and then paint, you'll get a nice finish and ensure its good in there, but like said, that's alot of work. A steel wheel works great and chemical solvents work even better..

Against the bare metal is a reddish coat of primer and like Scott said, it is on there GOOD. When I cleaned my trunk up, the topcoats came off easy enough but that red primer would have needed sandblasting to get off completely.

I'd remove the large-scale junk, and buff down through the toplayers of paint. Once it's nice and smooth, POR15 it or just black rattlecan.
Nic

 

IMO the stuff like the inner fenders, under the hood, etc. you can either take the paint off or leave it on, doesn't matter much.

However, for external areas, it is good to use a the old paint for a good base, kind of like a primer. If the car is carefully blocked (with a long board), the old paint can help to get things smoother quicker. Whatever method is taken with an old finish, the edges of doors, fenders, etc. must be sanded back at the right angles, or you will get chips on the edges.

Of course if you are dealing with rust, peeling paint, or many coats of old paint, (successive paint jobs)your approach to the old paintwill change.

So,, sometimes it is good to take all of the finish off, sometimes it is not a good idea.

 

Wether you do the entire inner fender or not, you should atleast pay special attention to the cavity under the upper control arm. It holds dirt and other road junk and just sits in there, rotting out the metal.

 

baddog671 is right. I thought I had everything good, until I took off the control arm. It was caked with old grease, mud... just a mess. I used a wire wheel on a die-grinder to get it all out. I actually had some rust holes that I welded up...If I didn't dig deeper...It never would have been found...

 

I'd hit it with the wire wheel to knock off any loose paint/scale, wipe it down with Ospho or some other rust converter, then hose it down with 3 coats of Rustoleum.

 

From what I've learned, self-etching primer is a thing of the past. A good epoxy primer is as good as any available primer on the market today. However, I am not a professional body guy, but from talking to a few, I think the consensus is to use an epoxy primer over a CLEAN SURFACE.