Removing Exterior Parts - Advice Please!

[Badge73]

Howdy Fellas,

Removing extra BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH from car bodies is not new to me, been doing it for 20 years, but I thought I would see if the gang all had better ways to do it now. I am including a picture as an example. Typical molded on emblems are easy to sand down, but what are you doing for those stubborn, larger parts? That emblem with the "S" in the middle protrudes at least 2.5mm from the body and would typically take me a gazzilion passes with sandpaper. Now, I suppose we could use a flat tipped xacto and get under it more, but then we risk damaging the body and having to use filler. Any ideas are welcomed!

Regards,

Zack

[johnyrotten]

I have glass files that basically polish plastic, and standard "needle" files. They move a lot of material quickly. Just be aware of where your working, you can accidentally file off details or scar up the body if you get crazy

[Fat Brian]

I have a chisel that's about 1/8" wide that I use to remove things like that or pin marks. I then hit it with liquid glue and said it smooth or slightly below the surface and putty over it.

[Badge73]

19 minutes ago, Fat Brian said:

I have a chisel that's about 1/8" wide that I use to remove things like that or pin marks. I then hit it with liquid glue and said it smooth or slightly below the surface and putty over it.

Thanks Brian, that's what I was going to move towards. Seems like it might be a safer way to remove larger protrusions on the body. 

[NOBLNG]

I might skip the chisel blade and go straight to the files.

[Shark]

If you are using a hot paint, make sure to use a sealer or some of those emblems will ghost up in your paint job no matter how smooth it was.

[Mark]

You might consider intentionally routing out the surface just below the emblem, so as to require filling.  Fill with a two-part spot putty, apply primer in that area with a brush, sand, repeat until smooth.

The ghosting can also be eliminated by brushing liquid cement over the affected area and sanding smooth.  It does work for me, I tend to do the same area twice over to make sure.

[StevenGuthmiller]

For something larger like that, I usually shave off the majority of it with a #11 blade, leaving just a tiny bit of it still evident above the surface, and then sand the rest.

For areas more difficult to get to, such as large pin marks on an interior floor, I use a flat chisel blade, but use a scraping motion with the blade at a 90 degree angle to the work instead of trying to cut or chisel it off.  Once you’re down very close to the surrounding surface, you can finish with a little sanding.

 

 

Steve

[Bainford]

Lots of good advice here. Another helpful tool can be made from a small curved knife blade, bent and trimmed as shown below.

I took an Excell rounded blade and clamped the pointed end in a vice, heated it with a pen torch, and bent the blade at an angle. Then I ground away the cutting edge to make the blade less bulky and provide clearance, leaving just about 3/32" of cutting edge at the tip. This allows me to get the blade down in between body features, or into low spots of the body contours while keeping the cutting edge level with the surface being trimmed. Be sure to clamp the cutting end of the blade in the vice when heating so the jaws can sink the heat and prevent the blade from losing its temper ( no one wants a blade with a bad temper 😁). 
This modified blade has been extremely handy around the bench, perfect for many hard to access trimming and scraping jobs, trimming features on the floor of interior tubs, etc. 

[1930fordpickup]

If you are good with a dremel tool and a burr or sanding drum you can make fast work of the high spots. If you are not good, you will be filling more than you wanted or worse. 

Micro mart have a few chisels and other tools for doing what you are looking for.

[Badge73]

16 hours ago, Bainford said:

Lots of good advice here. Another helpful tool can be made from a small curved knife blade, bent and trimmed as shown below.

I took an Excell rounded blade and clamped the pointed end in a vice, heated it with a pen torch, and bent the blade at an angle. Then I ground away the cutting edge to make the blade less bulky and provide clearance, leaving just about 3/32" of cutting edge at the tip. This allows me to get the blade down in between body features, or into low spots of the body contours while keeping the cutting edge level with the surface being trimmed. Be sure to clamp the cutting end of the blade in the vice when heating so the jaws can sink the heat and prevent the blade from losing its temper ( no one wants a blade with a bad temper 😁). 
This modified blade has been extremely handy around the bench, perfect for many hard to access trimming and scraping jobs, trimming features on the floor of interior tubs, etc. 

 

Great idea! I need to create myself this type of blade, I could see it being helpful in many ways. Much appreciated.

[Shark]

Since we're talking tools, I take a paper hole punch, the kind you squeeze, and punch out discs of various grits of sandpaper and glue them to the end of my hobby knives. Good for reaching tight places.