Fender metal prep

[General23cmp]

Finally found a decent fender for my restoration. Real paint/body work is several months away (and I'm not the guy to do it), but I really need to take this fender down to bare metal and hit with rattlecan primer to save it until then. The front side has about 4 layers of thick paint peeling off with rust patches. The backside is mostly surface rust. What would you recommend to take it down to clean, smooth metal? I'm not a body guy and don't want to ruin it by using the wrong medium. I have a wire wheel on a drill and of course, sandpaper. Are those too aggressive? I know they make paint stripper that would probably do well, but don't mind elbow grease. Help...

[Elliot949]

I would have it media blasted should only run 50-75 and gives you a perfect base with all the paint removed... then I would get with your local Auto paint supply store and get a can of self Etching primer like Marhyde... you will want a couple of cans... This is not Cheap (25-30 per can) but will actually protect the fender... The "Duplicolor type primers are porous and allows the humidity to "weep" through and cause rust inbetween the metal and primer...

Hope this helps you...

[General23cmp]

Thanks for the quick reply. Ouch. That ends up costing more than the fender itself, just to preserve it. Maybe I should do better research next time. I can get a new reproduction (I know repro isn't original) for way less than I'd have in this fender that still needs a lot of work. Maybe I should just sell this bad boy. My luck, I'd go to all this trouble for my body guy to tell me I need another. It has some problem spots. Hmm.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by General23cmp

Thanks for the quick reply. Ouch. That ends up costing more than the fender itself, just to preserve it. Maybe I should do better research next time. I can get a new reproduction (I know repro isn't original) for way less than I'd have in this fender that still needs a lot of work. Maybe I should just sell this bad boy. My luck, I'd go to all this trouble for my body guy to tell me I need another. It has some problem spots. Hmm.

No you did right... you spend a little more on preserving a OEM but in the end the chances are you will have lees Cash involved doin this and having the fender "fixed then trying to get a ill fitting OER ( aftermarket) fender to fit... paying a body shop to fit a fender can be costly... it can take several things like cutting and moving metal, welding bending and shaping ... etc... it can easily take 5-10 hours to do this and at a shop rate of 75-100 you can spend easily 1000 just to get a aftermarket fender to fit plus the cost of the fender...

[swamp rat]

From what i have been told the best way to seal the fender is with 2K 2 part primer, its expensive too but impervious to moisture. so now that i'm in this same boat with a bare metal front fender i hope i'm right.

[General23cmp]

So, will a wire wheel on a drill hurt it?

[Orence1]

The wire wheel won't hurt the fender but it is going to be incredibly slow if you are using one on a drill. A better option if you have one would be a an orbital sander and some 80g sanding discs. An inexpensive unit can be had for $50 and 5 discs should do the job. Good luck.

[Chknlyps2]

Think of it this way, that OEM fender took many years to get that way. If you are only a couple months away from body work it probably won't change that much if kept dry.

I took the front group off of a 66 GMC to install a 396 and turbo 400. Did some sanding on a small dent to prep for bondo and then came across a real straight front group that I used instead. I just looked at the leftover 66 front group yesterday when my 25 year old son helped me move it to make some room and I thought dang, that thing is nice by today's standards. A few minutes of sanding and the surface rust on my unfinished repair would be gone..... I took that front group off before I met my 25 year old sons mom, it has been sitting in the same spot in my bone yard for about 28 years.