Now I'm doing all the stuff I don't have any real experience in! Stripping paint, repairing bodel panels and preparing the car parts to one day take new paint.

I've read a bunch of different car restoration books of which none really helped me. They were written by guys who were professionals with resources beyond that of a 2 car garage, an air compressor, a mig welder and just the desire to put a car back together. These guys showed me a bunch of pictures of hammers, different welders and talked about the same stuff you talk about with your buddies. No helpful. Most of these books will discuss the general overview on how to restore cars but no actual applications. Actually they point you towards other books or tell you what products to buy from the restoration supply company they endorse. So I hit the Internet and found some guys who had restored cars and given us details and/or pictures! Far better than books. Free, detailed and by real people.

Paint Stripping Procedures - Great Websites:

Eugene Blanchard's Do It Yourself Paint Removal - One of the first people I found who listed their methods for stripping paint. Helped me alot and gave me some great ideas on what to do and how to start.

Christopher J Many's 1969 Ford Mustang Restorations - Here is a guy who puts detailed pictures on the Internet of his restoration projects and then gives good information on procedures and reasons for what he did. Great information on paint stripping, body panel repair and just procedures on restorations. He's done several cars. I'd love to meet this guy.

With the help of reading these two individuals notes I've come up with procedures for stripping paint and have already stripped the paint from the cowl panel on my Mustang. As soon as it stops raining long enough I'm going to strip and repair the fenders, doors and trunk that I have to bring over from my fathers. I'll be taking pictures and posting them when I can. The main purpose of this page is just to let other people looking for paint stripping and body panel repair processes know that helpful information is available free on the Internet. Car restoration books, at least the ones I've seen, are probably a waste of money. -Jerry Odom, August 2006