I finally got a chance to dig back into this project, and it couldn’t have come at a better time as I was starting to feel some withdrawal symptoms from it. Needless to say I was eager to get cracking and make some progress.
First up was cleaning the inner front fenders of all their undercoat and paint. Using a heat gun and scraper, I was able to remove the majority of the material. I then used a twisted wire wheel on a grinder to eliminate the remaining undercoating. Upon inspecting the cleaned inner fenders, I found additional spots requiring metal work. These spots had been previously covered by the undercoating. After finishing some patching here and there, I proceeded to strip the paint from the inner fenders using aircraft-grade stripper. It’s nasty stuff, but it works. Once all the paint was removed, I treated the fenders with a vinegar and water mix. This is to address the metal and deactivate any remaining micro rust spots. I’s inexpensive and works really well. After another thorough wash and dry, I sprayed the fenders with a few coats of POR15 paint. It really changed the look of the project, and made me feel like I was making headway in this monumental task. Allowing sufficient time to dry, I went under the car to continue with the wire wheel grinder, cleaning off all the debris from the bottom of the car in preparation for the same series of treatments that the inner fenders received.
Robot Rabbit 