Although I rarely do things like this, after I get my brakes back
together, I'm going to remove my crunched left front wing and cracked
right front wing and strip the paint off of both of these, preparatory
to a straightening and reinforcing job at Morgan Spares in late-Sept.
I need some advice from my colleagues, (and Larry Eckler, you can weigh
in here too, once back from your West Coast debauch).
Do I have to take off that cowling in front of the radiator and the
bonnet to pull off the wings, or can I just unbolt those umpty-ump
fasteners to get the wing off? I tend to take cars completely apart and
then find there's an easier way, so I thought I'd ask the list.
What is the best way to strip paint off these surfaces? Can I take the
wings to my local dip shop and expect anything usable to come back? Do I
need to etch the metal with one of those preparatory compounds (like I
used twenty years ago on my PV544) before bringing all to my wing man
(the aforementioned Larry)? I know these wings are made of pieces of
metal & I am tempted to strip em with the same stuff I use on old
furniture, which , after all, is what we're dealing with here. But maybe
I'm being overly cautious. I am not naive enough not to expect quarts of
Bondo (TM) slathered all over said wings.
By the way, I've ordered a set of Carbotech brake linings for my 4 whl
drum brakes, and will be installing same over Labor Day weekend. I will
report back to the list on how this goes. They are expensive, I think,
but may provide the brakes that I need the next time I approach the
chicane at Pittsburgh for the eighth time in a row.
Best to all of you. Has been a long (glorious) Summer.
Chip Brown
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