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Questions about sanding a car

I own an 1989 Ford Mustang Coupe with a 306 ci engine. In December of 2003 I was involved in a accident. My car suffered damage to the passenger side fender, door, rear quarter panel and rear bumper. I got all the above fixed and now its time to get the car repainted. The individual who owned the car prior to me had the car painted but neglected to have the factory paint sanded off. I am wanting to change the color but I want to remove all the paint on the car prior to having it painted. My question is how do I do that. I have heard that I will have to use a flat surface sander and not a circular sander, is that true? Will I have to wet sand it and if so what is that exactly? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Levi Hubbs
hobbyist - Greenville, North Carolina
2004

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Mr.Hubbs,

Are you saying that you are going to do all of the prep work, but not the painting? If so, you will need a 6" D.A. sander, a fairly large compressor and a lot of 180 grit sanding disc. I would think that if you did the body repairs you would already have these. If you're using elbow grease, all you need is the sandpaper and a block sander. Either way, the rule of thumb is that less is better. The factory paint and primer makes for a good base, but if the guy that repainted it before took it down to the metal and then didn't prep it correctly, you might not have a choice but to take it all the way down again. Most people don't do that though. More than likely he just sanded the surface and had the new paint shot right over what was left. You will be very lucky if that is the case. Take your D.A.(or elbow) and remove all of the shine from the surface(make sure and remove the repaint and cut into the factory paint), do not completely remove the ORIGINAL paint or primer if you can help it. Make sure that there is no rust on the bare surfaces of the repaired areas. Then hot foot it down to the painters and have them repaint it ASAP or you will be paying them to do the prep all over again. If you want a paint job that is going to last, tell them you want an etch prime on any bare metal, then primer over the etch and Bondo [affil links] areas(THEY will wet sand after this application), and then a sealer over the whole car before the top coat. If they just prime it and spray it(in other words"do it cheap") the paint will start to deteriorate fairly quick. Don't forget that you get what you pay for. The 306 will run a lot faster with a new paint job.

Sheldon Taylor
supply chain electronics
Wake Forest, North Carolina
2004

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Which sanders/tools would you recommend for this job? Any suggestions on hvlp spraying or good how-to (idiot proof) sites/books/dvds? Tips on primers, paints and clear coats would be appreciated. Thank you so much.

Cesar Martinez Lloro
hobbyist - Barcelona, Spain
2005