I need the hood and roof and maybe the trunk painted on a cheaper car so I'm doing part of the prep work to save almost half the cost. The paint is in rough shape so it needs to be stripped. I'm using the Tal-Sol II aircraft stripper and have done most of the hood in just a few hours. (Not actual time since you brush it on a section, go away for a half hour to do something else and then come back to scrape it off and maybe do a second application.) Anyway, since I’ll probably end up doing this over a couple of weekends, how should I prevent the bare metal from rusting. I don't want to spray on a primer since the stuff in the spray can isn't as good as the professional primer the body shop uses, not to mention the application isn't in a controlled environment on pristine grease and dust-free metal. I can imagine if the paint starts peeling a month later the body shop would say I used bad primer. Can I use something like WD40? I tried it on half the hood already and it seems to work great, no evidence of rust after 4 days. It comes off easy with lacquer thinner so when its time to paint, the body shop just needs to wipe it off. The car is outside and it hasn’t rained yet but I can cover the hood with plastic trash bags as I progress. Is this a reasonable idea?

You could use a few things. Oil will work! As well as vaseline! That is off the top of my head. There are probably other things as well.

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~Jamie
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2003 Pewter C230K SC C1, C4, C5, C7, heated seats, CD Changer, and 6 Speed. ContiExtremes on the C7's.

1986 190E 2.3 Black, Auto, Mods to come soon.....

Any non-oxidizing substance that keeps the oxygen away.

Car wax should work too.

I would spray catalyzed primer on each panel as its done....regular primer is porous and would not stop rust on its own. Then lightly sand and spray another coat on the entire car prior to your finish coat.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

That paint stripper stuff is pretty nasty. I once tried to strip a VW Bettle with that stuff many many years ago. With methylene chloride? yucky. I got a small drop of it on my arm and didn't notice it. After about 10 minutes the spot was a little itchy so I scratched and the skin came off with it. Left a scar that turned a little wierd after a few years. Dermatologist removed it with a scalpel and had it analyzed by a lab. Turns out it had become "pre-cancerous". Now I'm fair skinned and have a spent a good amount of time in the sun so there may not be a connection with the paint stripper but I stay far away from that stuff.

I have to redo the hood on my 92 300e. I've got an electric orbital polisher that I've adapted to hold wet sandpaper for restoring a classic ski boat with gelcoat. Works great, no nasty chemicals, no dust, excellent finish. Is the body shop going to do the priming and finish sanding? Even the bare metal won't provide a perfect surface. How are you keeping the paint stripper from getting on the weatherstripping and other parts? You probably don't want that stuff oozing into the rain drains as it'll remove the paint in there as well.

I think I might put a cheap paste wax on the bare metal and not wipe it off if I wanted to prevent rust. I would be much more inclined to get a decent spray-on primer and finish sand it myself, then just have the shop spray it out with a sealer and finish.

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89 300te 222,222
92 300e 190,000