I have done it this way also, and surpisingly it worked out well. I know the fender roller is the correct way, but, the bat worked for me.

git r' dun....

 

I wouldn't cut it. The paint will be tattered and there's a good chance it will rust. Here's what I sent stangitman in a pm:

"To be clear, there is always the possibility that the paint will crack. If it does crack, it usually cracks on the inside edge where it's difficult to see. Using the heat gun reduces the chances that this will happen or at least minimizes the amount that it cracks. There is no way to guarantee that it will not crack as there are too many variables. My wife's Cobra did crack and I flaked the little pieces of paint off which amounted to the total area of my little fingernail. It was on the inside and difficult to see but I put some touchup paint on it to prevent corrosion."

 

pm sent

 

You would probably want to do some relief cuts a couple inches apart. That will help the paint from stretching as much and flaking off. If you are worried about rust just paint the back edge once you are done.

 

^^ seems like it would be a good idea, but I tried this back in '95 and this actually causes the paint to flake and gives the paint a place to "start" cracking. It's almost impossible to correctly rust-proof the newly exposed/cut metal as well.