Hi guys I have decided to strip, sand, and primer my 240z myself. The question I have is would you guys reccomend sanding all the paint off by hand, or remove it with a paint remover from a can and then sand the rest down? I bought a bottle of this paint remover that bubbles the paint instantly and the paint comes right off. I used it on a spare fender and it saved me a lot of time. Anybody have experience with this type of stuff? does it damage the metal at all? after the paint is off what grit of sand paper should I use to prep the surface for primer? What primer should I use? Thanks

 

Be careful with the paint stripper, use strong plastic gloves. That stuff burns when it gets on your skin.

 

Oh, the paint stripper will not damage the metal. Personally, I would go with 80 grit on a 8" grinder to strip the paint.

Once the panel is down to bare metal I would sand it down with 100 grit before primer.

What type of primer are you going to use?
Do you have a compressor and spray gun?

I recommend Sikkens high build primer. You'll need the compressor and gun though.

I work in a bodyshop, if you have and questions.

 

Thanks smoke show. yeah, I got some of that paint stripper on my skin and it burned! Hmnn I posted on a couple other z forums and one guy told me that I dont need my car stripped of all its paint to get good paint adhesion. He said its a complete fantasy that you can get a better paint job by going to bare metal. He said the only bare metal sanding I need to do is where rust and body work is needed. What do you reccomend me doing? I planned on using the paint stripper then sanding and possibly primering the car myself and let the body shop paint the car. Should I do that or just let the body shop do a mild sanding and cleaning of the surface then painting over it? Also, should I get rid I strip all the undercoating off before I have the shop apply a new coat? Thanks

 

Who ever told you that you do not need to strip your car is full of crap. I made the mistake of letting a so called friend paint my car and he basically sanded the rust and just painted the rest. It looks like a 3 year old with finger paint did it.

 

To tell you the truth it is not necessary to strip the paint, but it all comes down to what you expect from the job. (Paint adhesion is based on how thoroughly the car is sanded.) If you're looking for just a basic repaint then fine do your bodywork and paint it. but If you're looking restoration quality you'll definately need to.

When you strip the whole car down to metal it solves all the mysteries of what's under the paint, you'll now know where borkwork is needed, or where someone else has repaired it. (A previous repair could of been done improperly.) You can make the bodywork much more straighter this way.

So......... what do you expect from the job?
How much experience do you have?
What kind of condition is you Z in?

 

From what I can see, my car has been repainted the original stock orange. Car looks fine, I only found two spots that were bubbling up. Im looking to just get my car comparable to shine and last like a new car. Not looking for a show paint job. Any rough estimates on how much this would cost? how much would the prep work including primer cost excluding getting the car painted? thanks

 

At the shop I work at (I live in Canada) we charge $1700 for a basic paint job. That's just a sand and paint with bodywork. I have no idea what shops charge around your area. Obviously if you wanted/needed it stripped it'll cost extra.

 

Hmnn I got quoted $2000 at a local shop. the basic $1700 paint job that your shop charges, is that a quality paint job? how long would that last on a z? would you reccomend that paint job for a daily driver? thanks

 

Make sure that you have seen some their work. The paint should last for quite a long time.

On a daily driver, I wouldn't have the car stripped. But if you got the cash then why not?

Ask the shop what the cost would be if it was stripped. Also, get quotes from different shops and ask question!

 

They do a bunch of the local show hondas and other imports. Looks good, they use dupont paint. Im just worried about them getting rid of rust. Thanks for all the advice. later