I just got my car apart on my 71 firebird the subframe is out and the firewall is stripped of everything that would come off. My question is, can anyone recommend a good way to strip the paint and goo off of the underbody, and the paint off the firewall? i could just use a wire brush for the firewall but that would take forever on the undercarriage! any products tips or hints would be great!

Cody,
Is the underbody coated with rubberized undercoating? If it is, it's probably hard and brittle by now. I made real quick work of stripping it off by using a heatgun and one of those heavy duty paint scrapers. It's got a sharpened notch on one side and it sharpened almost like a knife. They last forever and will scrape anything. I used a 2" and 3" putty knife also. The stuff came off like butter but it took a while to get all the nooks and crannies. It's a hell of a lot easier and a lot cleaner and safer than using a chemical stripper. Heat and scrape....
This is the type I'm talking about.... http://images.orgill.com/200x200/2385680.jpg
Just remember to wear good eye protection and\or a faceshield and maybe even earplugs to keep the crap out of places it shouldn't go. ;)

On the firewall, I used a palm sander and 80-grit, then paint stripper and a wheel on the hard to get spots. The sander got me down to bare metal in no time.

[ 09-30-2003, 11:55 AM: Message edited by: HwyStarJoe ]

I used a four inch angle grinder with a cone shaped wire brush attachment. It took about four to five hours to complete underside of body. I had the body jacked up about three feet ( be dang careful to support it and be on a level surface). I just got under it with a creeper and went to work.

Nasty, messy job. Use Easy-Off oven cleaner (not the off-brand, use the real deal) and rubber gloves and skin protection. It comes off "easy" but it is nasty stuff so be careful.

-Mark.

The best thing I found to remove paint is Mar-Hyde's paint remover. Some parts stores carry it. This stuff is nasty so wear gloves and eye protection. All you do is spray this stuff on and watch it bubble the paint when it stops bubbleing (depends on the weather it takes a little longer in the cold) scrape it with a plastic putty knife. I've used over 3 diffarent brands and this is the best.

http://www.bondo-online.com/bnd_cds/product_images/2811.jpg

I used a dewalt angle grinder with the heavy and light wire cups. I used the heavy cup on the frame and the lighter cup on the sheet metal. I spend a long day under the car but it was worth the trouble.

I completed the removal of the undercoating on my '71 Camaro a few years ago. The car had tons of coating on it from not only GM, but Ziebart as well.

I initially started removing it by using kerosene, carb cleaner, mineral spirits, etc. but it was slow going. I asked around and got the absolute slickest advice... ...A guy at a restoration shop told to specifically use a few cans of "Mr. Muscle" oven cleaner and a pressure washer to rinse it off. He told me to resist the urge to use less expensive brands of oven cleaner just to save money......So naturally when I went to the Wal Mart and seen the difference in price; I bought a few cans of the cheapest cleaner I could......

Well, they didn't work any better than the solvents I was using. I went back and bought two cans of the Mr. Muscle and it was awesome!!!

Spray it on let it set up for few minutes and blast it off like mud!! The difference between the brands and their results are due to the fact that Mr. Muscle is the only oven cleaner that does not require oven heat to work...the other cleaners require that you heat the oven for best results.

You will have to go over a few spots here and there and use the plastic scrapers to loosen it up before blasting it again later. Once it was blasted with the pressure washer it actually exposed the factory primer but did not remove it!!! It looked great when I was done.

**Things you will need**

6-8 cans of the cleaner(keep the reciept to return uneeded cans)

If you don't already have a pressure washer; rent one from a Sherwin Williams/or rental store.

A few plastic paint scrapers in various widths

Saftey Goggles...not just glasses, they need to seal to your face.

Gloves, work shirts that cover every inch of you skin!!

Danger...Danger!!!

This stuff will literally EAT YOUR SKIN OFF!!! Since I did this in the middle of Summer in a driveway on jack stands it was hot so I took my shirt off??? After I coated my car and was lying under it, a glob of this stuff dripped on my rib cage. It didn't even sting....well at first!! I got up a few minutes later and looked down at it and a long drip of blood was flowing down my ribcage....

Be very careful and enjoy!

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The heatgun and putty knife method works great. The thicker the undercoat, the better the results. After you get off the gook, the angle grinder with the cup wire wheel will finish the job.

I tried eastwood under coat remover - didnt' work.
Tried easy off oven cleaner- didn't work. tried heat gun with razor scaper worked great, followed up with wire cup on grinder then sandblasting. very dirty, messy, time consuming job.

Scrape it.... no need for rags, dripping chemicals, respirator.
Just sweep up the mess when you're done.