I'm holding the DA sander flat to the metal trying to remove the paint. There are some low spots in the metal where the paint remains. If I keep the DA sander on it I'll just be removing metal. How should I remove the paint from these low spots? I'm using 80 grit.
Thats a built in guide coat telling you that there is a dent in the panel. Hammer it out until the Da takes the paint off. Or like @alchemy said, lean the DA into it.
Some of these are in odd shapes and 3-4in diameters. What would be the best way to hammer this out? I have access to the back side on the panel. I'm learning. Thank you kindly for the help.
Be gentle, try to tap it up with a rubber hammer. If it doesn't move there's a hard spot that needs talented hammering. Me? For now I'd leave all the low spots til you're done sanding.
I'd listen the Highlander. He does this for a living, I do it as a hobby. With the paint off you have more options on pulling those dents out. Circle them in sharpie after you sand the paint out, so you don't forget where the low spots were. I like working out the majority of my panels prior to epoxy primer.
so many different ways to do this. Great ideal using the high spots that are difficult to remove with the DA as guide coats. I used a body hammer as a dolly with a tapered face to push up on the low spot from behind the panel and then slightly tapped around the "dolly" from the other side. I also used a straight edge. Very slow but I got this to work. When I used the DA back on the panel it started to remove the paint it could not before in the low spot. You guys are great! thank you