My 1939 Ford Standard Coupe - The Tear Down

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The paint looks darker here than it really is, but it will get restored to original appearance. The gauges look real nice. I'll try to use all the original gauges, even though I'll be converting to a 12 volt system.

The dash is in fine shape aside from the paint and woodgraining.
Here's the reverse side of the dash. It looked perfect from this view.
The paint stripping job begins! I have room to work around all sides of the car. Because the body is up on blocks, I must use my stepladder to reach the roof areas.

I started with the driver's side quarter, and used "Aircraft" stripper to remove the paint. Do small areas at a time. Be sure to have plenty of ventilation so you don't ruin your brain cells or cause cancer in the rats running around your garage.

Here's where I discovered what was hiding behind that old fresh undercoating inside. Body panel repairs were made years ago on the lower quarters, using lead. It's nicely done and pretty smooth. They skim-coated the lead repairs with plastic filler before the paint went on.
The lead body repair extended on up the fender line as you can see here. The only new rust I found was in the inner fender at the bottom (toward the front) and it's very repairable.

I continued stripping paint on up the roofline, going across the rear window area. After I strip the paint, I wipe the chemical off the steel. Then I take mineral spirits and wipe it again. This leaves a film on the steel to help prevent new oxidation from occurring until the car is ready for repaint.

 

Page 8 of the Tear Down


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