[VCho455]

If it was my project I would talk with the body shop about your plans. They may use a different process and your process may conflict. Removal tools like the one you indicated have a tendency to polish the metal and may require the body to be completely sanded to remove that polish and give the metal some "tooth" so the primer will adhere properly.
I also would plan on removing the doors after removing the door panels and glass. If you are satisfied with the door panel gaps drilling a small hole (1/8" or smaller) in each hinge as an index will allow you to use the drill bit as an index pon to reinstall the doors exactly where they were.
With a color change I would remove the door and trunk weather stripping and the door sill plates at a minimum.
You may want to consider removing the carburetor before it goes to the body shop and bolting a block off plate over the intake. That insures no dust or sanding grit gets in your motor or carburetor.

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by VCho455

If it was my project I would talk with the body shop about your plans. They may use a different process and your process may conflict. Removal tools like the one you indicated have a tendency to polish the metal and may require the body to be completely sanded to remove that polish and give the metal some "tooth" so the primer will adhere properly.

I also would plan on removing the doors after removing the door panels and glass. If you are satisfied with the door panel gaps drilling a small hole (1/8" or smaller) in each hinge as an index will allow you to use the drill bit as an index to reinstall the doors exactly where they were.

With a color change I would remove the door and trunk weather stripping and the door sill plates at a minimum.

You may want to consider removing the carburetor before it goes to the body shop and bolting a block off plate over the intake. That insures no dust or sanding grit gets in your motor or carburetor.

Agree with everything said here, especially the very first part. Embarking upon a process like this where multiple people are involved necessitates discussion among all parties.

I would never perform any kind of media blasting ("dustless" or otherwise) on a car that still has the drivetrain, interior, or electrics installed. I witnessed someone in my shop have his '69 Camaro media blasted with the fuel tank, dash w/gauges & wiring, steering column, and a few other items still installed. Media blasting wrecked all of it, and the blasters were angry for having to even work on a car in that state to begin with because they knew it would cause problems.

As for dustless blasting, I am not a fan and here is why: https://youtu.be/HKBpU20cR-M. Instead of just having dry dust to clean up like you would with normal blasting, the dustless blasting gets a dust slurry into all of the hidden areas and is going to be nearly impossible to remove. That dried slurry is going to trap moisture in the future.

At the end of the day, if you want to save a buck I would tackle removing of all the glass, trim, doors, seals, etc. yourself, but leave the paint stripping to the shop. The expense of stripping the old paint off is going to be a small percentage of the overall cost to repaint the car anyway.

[HoovDaddy]

Sorry this is long winded.
I know your question is about removing paint, but that is usually just the beginning of a major project. I don’t know your car or the history, so based on experience, I naturally assume the worst.
1. Do you have a budget?
2. Have you done a thorough inspection of the car underneath to find out the condition of the doors, quarters and fenders? The top of the quarters above the rear bumper? Trunk drop offs? Outer and inner wheel housings? Floor pan? Even the frame rails?
3. Is your chrome and trim pristine? Nothing looks worse than worn trim on a new paint job.
4. Thoroughly research the shop you are going to use so you don’t get ripped off.

I ask because before you buy this tool you need to make of list of parts that are required for this restoration, the total amount may shock you, you need to be prepared. I had a couple cars that never got completed during my years because the owners ran out of money or their lives changed. I say restoration because you don’t know what is under that paint. Wavey doors and bondo in the quarters is a red flag for caution to me. And so is the vinyl top. I’ve been doing complete builds for almost 50 years and I always go through this with every owner and right now I’m guilty myself for under estimating my own project.

With covid parts prices have gone up considerably in the past 3 months, shipping is through the roof and delays are May through September right now for many restoration parts.
My preferred method is Aircraft Stripper and clean the remaining residue using 80 grit on a air sander. Use a grinder with 36 grit to remove the bondo (it will be a mess). To me, the Eastwood tool is a toy that will be very tiring after a few hours. If you are in Virginia, right now is not a good time to start, unless you have a heated garage 24X7 and can protect the metal with primer. The bare metal will start rusting in just a few days in this weather. Once the car is stripped you’ll be able to assess the job at hand. I would not disassemble any body panels until the car is stripped.

The Camaro below looks pretty nice in the “before” photo, it was a 3 year old paint job. Solid car underneath, we were just going to polish it when I noticed some bubbles on the rocker panel. Got in way more than estimated. You can’t cut corners restoring a valuable car such as a Z28 or a GTO.

The Mustang is a total basket case underneath. The owner had it at a shop that replaced partial quarters and front aprons. The wheel housings are shot, there is no floor left, torque boxes are gone. All the welds are edge welds, it’ll never hold up. Both quarters are cracking at the welds, and it hasn’t been on the road yet. I think the owner was too old to bend over to look at what wasn’t done. Very sad. The wheelbase is 1 3/8” longer on the left side. The floorpan has been on backorder since March 2021.

Just consider everything before jumping in.

[Va68goat]

Finished