easy newb question to answer about a metal CPO I am restoring

[dcsgguy]

Hello all,

I have a metal CPU which I filanny got the overlay and most of the adhesive off...wow, what a pain that was.  My question is.  I can see some of the grey metal but there is a black film over most of it.  It is not sticky anymore and if I scracth at it I get to the original metal.  My question is is it safe to take a sander to it?  I did scratch a piece on the underbelly which was painted black and it did come off but it was scuffed.  I plan on painitng it anyways (or maybe an overlay...haven't decided) but I want to make sure this isn't a mistake before I do it.

If it is okay to sand, what grit should I used?  I have 80 and 120 on hand.

Thanks a lot for your time.  I have attached a pic of the CP.

[dcsgguy]

That picture was halfway through the process...all the adhesive is gone...just a FYI.

[leapinlew]

Thats a labor of love right there... good luck. I wouldn't mind taking a sander to it - you possibly can use a solvent to make sure all the glue and residue is gone. If you sand, I'd start off with some 100 and see how that works.

[Apollo]

not to be a killjoy as you are obviously having a lot of fun with this project but a sheetmetal worker could have knocked you a new panel up for about $15.

[dcsgguy]

I know, but it is an old Tempest Cab and I want to keep as much as the original stuff as I can.  Plus it is sort of fun to restore something that was beat up and make it new again.

[leapinlew]

not to be a killjoy as you are obviously having a lot of fun with this project but a sheetmetal worker could have knocked you a new panel up for about $15.

Maybe, but I've tried looking for one and never was able to find anyone willing to do it.

[Paladin]

I did that exact thing with my first Tempest restore.  Sometimes the artwork comes off, but there is a thin layer of clear plastic still stuck to the panel.  I think it's a clear laminate.  You will find that it's stuck to the panel with adhesive. The panels were originally painted black, so just make sure you've removed ALL adhesive and only have black paint left.

Here's my web page showing what I did (picutres below):
http://home.comcast.net/~dark.paladin/tempest/page4.htm

Brian's website has a pictorial:
http://www.rgvac.com/restoration.asp?projid=19

Step one, remove all adhesive down to paint/metal:


Step two, epoxy metal scraps to cover any holes you don't need from the back side:


Step three, sand top of panel and add bondo.  Sand again until top is smooth, then apply primer:


Step four, paint panel the same color as your overlay just in case the edges show, and apply overlay:

[dcsgguy]

Thanks, it's funny I am reading this now but I just did he steps you mentioned except fopr Bondoing the holes.  There are quite a few and I may reuse a few for the controls I want.  I am not turning this into a Tempest machine so I could use some of the holes.  Here a re a few pics of my labor...phew, I'm glad that is done.  I can hardly wait till I finish restoring this Cab so I can get to the fun stuff.

[dcsgguy]

Oh yea, that clear laminate, by the way, was a major pain in the butt.  That is until I took a heat gun to it.