Sanding & Prep work for POR15

Over the weekend, I picked up a variety of tools from Harbor Freight (sister works there now, hello employee discount!).

I grabbed a variable 6-speed multi-tool (more on that later), with attachments
Six 2" steel-spring clamps
A full-face shield
Earmuffs
5" Orbital sander
Sanding blocks
Sandpaper

After sanding with the orbital sander for a while, I hadn't gotten very far.  I was using 60 grit paper, but the Mustang has a ton of curves and small ridges that make it difficult to sand over.  I was perplexed...  I bought the sanding disks and started manually sanding.  I had tried a wire wheel before but had gotten nowhere, as it wouldn't pull the coat of original paint off the metal.  Luckily, I spoke to my friend who informed me that wire wheels, while they look like they're still good, can lose their effectiveness.  I quickly swapped mine out for a new one I still had in the packaging, and it removed almost all the paint on the left fender apron.  I hope to have the rest removed by tomorrow, but I'll need to pull the transmission out of the bay to get to the firewall.

As for the sandpaper and Orbital sander, I guess I will just keep it for the hood, panels, etc.  Kind of regret buying that. 

The Oscillating Multifunction Tool was bought for one reason in particular - scraping the undercoating.  I have long heard horror stories about how much time & effort it takes to remove the stock undercoating from the Mustangs, and the de facto approach to removing it is a propane torch and putty knife, slowly scraping off what you can.  Well good news, the Multifunction Tool did both my rear wheel-wells in just a few minutes*.  It was worth every penny.  Now I'm sure I can use it for 1,000 other things,

* The wheel-wells are curved; the scraper is not.  You're going to run into this with the Multifunction Tool or a putty knife, so there will be some manual labor scraping off what is missed in the nooks & crannies.

The Unofficial POR15 Plan

I don't quite know if this is how it's going to be done, but I think this is close.  I need to write down my ideas because I'll forget them if I wait 20 minutes, then I have to think it all up again :-D

Remove undercoating, top layer of grease/oil/junk

Remove any paint & primer

Clean w/ Soap & Water

Apply Marine Clean

Wipe down with wet sponge, dry.

Apply Prep & Ready

Wipe down with wet sponge, dry.

Apply POR15 to engine bay panels, frame rails, and underbody, and floor pans

**After 2-6 hours, POR15 will become tacky**.

Immediately apply topcoat to engine bay and frame rails.  Still unsure on what Topcoat I'll use.  I like the Satin look.

---- (later) ----

Apply Marine Clean to underbody

Wipe down with wet sponge, dry.

Sand underbody with 300-grit sandpaper

Apply self etching primer to underbody

Reapply after 3-12 hours

Apply Red Oxide Primer to underbody (I'll be honest.  I don't understand really why the primer is the final coat?) 

Well that is all for tonight.