Its all in the details

Here is an image of my headlight bezels before and after cleanup. Due to the fact that the car was painted twice in its past, first red, and then black later on there was quite a bit of over-spray on the bezels and I really wanted to get them cleaned up so there is no evidince that this car was ever painted.




This was one of the easier jobs I've had with paint removal because everything was just over-spray the paint came off rather easily. The first thing I did was to simply clean up the bezels with soap and water. Next I applied a chemical paint stripper with a brush and let that sit on the bezels for a few minutes to give it time to do its job, and then simply wiped it clean with some paper towels. Some more difficult areas required a second application of the stripper and a bit of rubbing with the paper towel to fully remove the paint. Be sure to wear rubber gloves when ever you are working with chemical paint strippers because it can really burn if it gets on your skin and it is a health hazard. Keepng your skin fully covered and wearing safety glasses also isn't a bad idea, and as always be sure to use this stuff in a well ventilated area.

The difference is quite remarkable, they look virtually new again and there is no evidence of the paint. The paint stripper that I am using is nothing special, I just picked it up at the local hardware store. There isn't a whole lot of damage paint stripper can do to metal, but it can melt certain plastics within seconds so to be on the safe side be sure not to get it on your fascias, door seals, etc.

More Electrics, and misc.

It has been a while since my last post, my wife and I have been working feverishly to get our old home that is for sale spruced up, so that (hopefully) it will finally sell. The house is 100 years old so it is constantly in need of maintenance.

I have been working on the car in my spare moments. I finished checking out the front wiring harness and everything there is good. I was initially concerned because the only thing working was a single high beam, and one front marker light. As it turns out I just needed to replace the headlights, and some bulbs. I thought for sure there was a problem with the wiring because what are the chances that almost nothing works? And historically with this car its always been wiring related, so I am beginning to look for monsters where there are none.

I closed up the front end where I had pulled everything apart to work on the harness, which was a good feeling because finally, something is being re-assembled rather than disassembled. I've also started stripping the paint from the front fascia, and also the drivers side front quarter panel. I've been able to remove the paint from the front fascia with just a razor blade and a little elbow grease. It seems the years the car spent baking out in the sun baked most of the paint on the fascia loose.

On the stainless I have not been so lucky. Who ever originally painted the car did a really good job and used a self etching primer, and that stuff is a real beast to get off. I'm using multiple applications of a chemical stripper, and the progress is very slow. The drivers side front quarter is about 40% complete. I have a long way to go in this area!