“You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
After a busy Monday at work, sticking strictly to my new schedule, I came home exhausted — yet eager to get something done on the Mustang.
I changed into something more appropriate, put on my ventilator, gloves, and eye protection, and headed out to the garage to start breaking away some of the rust. Before applying any chemicals to the bodywork, I wanted to assess the damage. That meant stripping away the paint to expose the bare metal.
I don’t have an angle grinder, but I do have a solid Milwaukee hand drill that can take a stripping disc. It took quite a bit more effort to remove the paint than I expected, which tells me I either have a bad stripping disc or the drill doesn’t have the RPMs needed for optimal performance.
I stripped three areas and found light surface damage on the roof and upper cowl vent. There’s some more aggressive rust around the front windshield — normally hidden under the front fenders — that will need extra treatment and possibly a few reinforcement welds.
The good news? It’s mostly cosmetic. Once treated, cleaned, and sealed properly, it shouldn’t cause any real problems down the road.
The Mustang Project 
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