Removed the horn button on the steering wheel (it snaps in place), then removed the semi-circular horn switch (three spring-loaded screws).
Also began taking off the chassis plates and screws that hold the body to the floor. Lots of crud underneath the body, and sometimes the screws break rather than come out. They can be hard to get to without jacking up the car, since they are just about at the lowest point on the body.
The left rear quarter panel had impact damage from an accident, and there’s a thick (as much as 1/4″) application of plastic body filler over the damage. I want to remove the body filler, and try to correct the dents, at least to allow for a minimal application of (probably solder) body filler.
I hooked up a flap disc to an angle grinder and tried to remove some of the body filler. Seems to work well, although very dusty. Taking the surface down to the bare metal results in scratching and gouging of the metal, but given that the quarter panel is already badly dented, it would need some leading or filler anyway. I wonder if a sander will help smooth down the metal once all the surface paint/primer/filler is removed?
The rear bumper bracket has a nut and bolt to rusty to remove. Cut-off tool to the rescue. Purchased from Harbor Freight on sale for about $7.00, and cut-off discs (pack of 10) from there, also. Be sure to wear safety goggles.
The roof of Beavis has some deep scratches and surface rust caused by (I think) running the car through the woods under some tree branches. The paint needs to be removed, and I have a couple of methods to test:
1.) Chemical paint stripper, and some elbow grease with a metal scraper.
2.) A ‘flap’ disc attached to an angle grinder
3.) A coating removal disc like the ones from 3M
4.) Palm sander with coarse sand paper
The chemical paint stripper works reasonably well, but there’s a lot of manual work with the scraper, and it’s not a pleasant chemical. The flap disc removes the paint and primer very well, but also scuffs up the metal a bit much and leaves lots of scratches in the surface.