If you want to restore a car to its original glory, it is best to start with a clean slate. To do this, you will want to remove the drivetrain, interior and trim. This will give you a base to start working on your restoration and make it easier to remove paint and repair rust. You will also have a better idea of any hidden problems with your car that need to be addressed. Here are four things you will need to do to strip your car down for a complete restoration:

1. Removing The Drive Train

The drivetrain of a car is the motor, transmission and rear end. It is a good idea to remove these parts before you do anything. If you are going to be replacing anything, you may want to take the old parts for recycling. Parts like transmissions and engine heads are often made of aluminum and can be valuable. If you are going to use the old parts, sandblasting them can be a good idea to get a clean surface to repaint them to the original factory color, such as the engine blocks in many muscle cars that have a coat of paint.

2. Disassembling The Interior

After you have removed the drivetrain, removing the interior is the next step. This will give you a clean area to work and fix any damage to things like the floor pans, which in older cars can have rust and deterioration. This is another area where sandblasting is a good idea, and will give you a clean surface, as well as allow you to see any potential problems with the interior of the body.

3. Removing Trim Packages

You will also want to remove the trim package on your car. This is the front grill, bumpers and custom chrome pieces. If you want to clone a certain model car, this can often be done by just replacing some of the trim pieces to make it look like a different model. You may want to use a different type of grill and bumpers, for example, to make a car look like a different model than the original nameplate. It is important to remember that, when doing this, you will have to disclose to any buyer that the car is a clone and not an original.

4. Taking Fenders Off To Make Work Easier

To make it easier to do things like sandblasting and painting, you may want to remove the fenders of the car. This can be done by just removing the front end of the body. On many model cars, it may be too difficult to remove the rear fenders without cutting them out, which they will then have to be welded back in place. You may only want to remove the rear fenders if there is severe body damage that needs to be repaired.

These are some of the things you will need to do to strip your car down for a complete restoration. If you want to get it down to the raw metal, contact a sandblasting service like Powder Coating Specialties to remove paint and rust on your car.

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