Stripping urethane bodywork?

[Gtmustang]

I have a 1992 Mustang GT that I want to get painted this year. I'm thinking of having the front bumper cover and side skirts media blasted with plastic media. Most of the plastic body panels are in good shape but I'd like them stripped to avoid issues later. I figure that stripping would be easier than trying to sand away 19 yrs of stone chips and paint cracks! Has anyone done this? How did it work out?
Gary

[Gtmustang]

17 views and no posts! I was hoping that there was someone that had done this. I'd like to hear someones opinion on this before I take the big step and head to the blaster.
Gary

[Gtmustang]

Well, no one could answer my question so I decided to give it a try. I took my bumper cover and side skirts to a media blasting company in the Detroit area which uses plastic media, walnut shells and other media. The bumper cover came out ok, with the paint removed it was easy to spot previous damage on the cover. Apparently at some time it struck something on the passenger corner which left small radial cracks coming from the point of impact. I'm not going to bother to pay someone to repair it and then hope that the cracks don't come back through the paint! The bumper cover is going in the trash bin. The sideskirts were of mixed results, some are pretty good and others have either developed a rough texture or have soft spots eroded leaving the surface uneven and in need of filling. In my opinion it was a big waste of time and money and I ended up ruining some of the pieces of the sideskirts. I probably should have tried urethane flexible parts paint remover first and avoided the media blast. P.S- I'm now in the market for some good used Mustang GT sideskirts!
Gary
Gary

[357windsor]

Originally Posted by Gtmustang

Well, no one could answer my question so I decided to give it a try. I took my bumper cover and side skirts to a media blasting company in the Detroit area which uses plastic media, walnut shells and other media. The bumper cover came out ok, with the paint removed it was easy to spot previous damage on the cover. Apparently at some time it struck something on the passenger corner which left small radial cracks coming from the point of impact. I'm not going to bother to pay someone to repair it and then hope that the cracks don't come back through the paint! The bumper cover is going in the trash bin. The sideskirts were of mixed results, some are pretty good and others have either developed a rough texture or have soft spots eroded leaving the surface uneven and in need of filling. In my opinion it was a big waste of time and money and I ended up ruining some of the pieces of the sideskirts. I probably should have tried urethane flexible parts paint remover first and avoided the media blast. P.S- I'm now in the market for some good used Mustang GT sideskirts!
Gary
Gary

Think my buddy has a set, I'll check. I just had my stang painted and just sanded the nose, primed and painted-did the same w/ the rear facia too. Even w/ different parts you're still going to need to prime,sand,fill,etc if you want a good paint job.

[Gtmustang]

Originally Posted by 357windsor

Think my buddy has a set, I'll check. I just had my stang painted and just sanded the nose, primed and painted-did the same w/ the rear facia too. Even w/ different parts you're still going to need to prime,sand,fill,etc if you want a good paint job.

I now wish I had just sanded the parts instead of blasting. The hockey stick shaped ones were the worse, had hazing and cracking of the factory paint from repeatedly scraping while loading and unloading from a trailer. I figured that if I just sanded them, there might still be hidden cracks which would come back threw the new paint. I realize that anything will require sanding filling and more sanding, but I was hoping that I could avoid having to pay somebody to repair cracks and do major reworking of the pieces. If you start with good stuff, it shouldn't take as much expensive labor to refinish them.
Gary

[357windsor]

Originally Posted by Gtmustang

I now wish I had just sanded the parts instead of blasting. The hockey stick shaped ones were the worse, had hazing and cracking of the factory paint from repeatedly scraping while loading and unloading from a trailer. I figured that if I just sanded them, there might still be hidden cracks which would come back threw the new paint. I realize that anything will require sanding filling and more sanding, but I was hoping that I could avoid having to pay somebody to repair cracks and do major reworking of the pieces. If you start with good stuff, it shouldn't take as much expensive labor to refinish them.
Gary

If yours are tha tbad you right in starting w/ better pieces.

[CARiD]

Urethane is definitely the right thing to go because a fiberglass even in combination with other flex resins is not as tough and flexible. Be ready to spend more money, but it will save you from a cracked bumper. Besides that it takes much more time to fit a fiberglass kit properly. Body Kit Installation | Weekend DIY, or Professional Shop?

[michael06]

Aside from using the correct paint, remember that prep plays an important role to achieve the best possible result.