69myway

[topless82vette]

chris

I bought a industrial heat gun and want to try stripping my car in this manor, what is the best heat setting to run the gun at mine operates between 120 - 1050, I kinda am hoping to be able to strip the red paint off the car from the doors forward and get down to the original white paint, would the white paint be the best starting point for new paint, currently this red paint literally just falls off the car if you look at it wrong, and where it does flake off it almost looks like the the white paint has never been sanded, however the doors back is in real bad shape the glass is nice just the paint is all in bad shape looks like its been painted like 3-4 times, my bumper covers shouldnt be a big problem since I can bend & twist the cover and the red paint quikly flakes off leaving the white paint as well.

thanks for all the help you have given me so far.
Jeff

 

[69MyWay]

My gun had two settings (low/high), and I can't recall the temp. I ran it on high and uses a putty knive to push the paint off. When you heat gun it off it will get soft, and wrinkle and peal off the car much different than when you razor it off with a cold razor blade.

You will have to experiment. Not all types of paint will heat gun off. You will see when the paint surface starts to change color and lift/swell, then you run the gun just ahead of the putty knife and watch it roll off.

It takes some time at first to get the hang of it, then you are off and running.

I will be doing the same very soon on the 71 I am now working on.

 

[GerryLP]

Chris,

What precautions should we follow to prevent heat damage to the fiberglass resin?

 

[69MyWay]

Good question.

You have to use common sense with this procedure much the same as you would if chemical stripping, or using aggressive grades of sand paper to basically grind the old paint off. There is no one full proof "easy" way to do this.

It is something you just have to get a feel for. Fiberglass can handle some significant temps.

I think this is a really good procedure because you not only get the paint off, but you do ensure that the surface is fully cured.

One big problem with Vettes is getting one that the prior owner had laquer based fillers and paint (not two part catylist). This stuff will come back to haunt you if you don't get rid of it before putting on new paint. Often the solvents in the new paint will reactivate the old laquer based paints and fillers and cause them to swell up, bubble, or just cause visual distortions.

The heat gun cooks them out.

It can be debated. However, my car is living proof that it is a good safe way of getting the old stuff off.

 

[topless82vette]

chris

so far all is going extremly well on the heat stripping, Im getting down into the factory primer, however some of the original white doesn't seem to peel off it seems like chalk and is very brittle Im sure its the factory white since its right under the red paint, what is causing this it really seems to be a problem on the hood and the tops of the front fenders, everything else is coming off very nice, should I D/A the factory primer off as this is my first choice to start the car new paint from bare glass, or would block sanding the original primer be the best way, Ive been real careful to stop when I get to the black colored primer as theres just one layer under that color and then it seems to be bare glass, also what is this primer its all over the car its sort of like a glazing compound is this what the factory used to fix imperfections, the white paint seems to be in very poor shape so It was probably best to just start all over, have you ever tried this stripping method on urethane bumpers

 

[69MyWay]

Don't use this method on the bumpers, just sand those down.

You can use like a 180 da if you like right after you finish the heat gun trick, then go to hand blocking.

Remember, the more you long block in different angles and patterns by hand the straighter and more flawless results will be produced. The DA will do the trick, but will leave imperfections in the final finish.

After you get it down where you want, and 180 sanded, put a good medium coat of urethane primer on the panels. Now you can really bust loose some block sanding and making skim coat repairs to problem areas. You will move to a guide coat not long after this to perfect it on out.

 

[topless82vette]

chris

I've come across a few area's where theres been glass repairs and then bondo'ed I believe is what it is to blend it all back, do you recoomend removing all the bondo, Ive got about 1/2 the car stripped right now. Also I know theres supposed to be a filled joint where the fenders and upper fender area were pieced together, however my car has no such evidence of filler do I have a replacement 1 piece front end the inside of the front clip looks to be press molded or are 1 piece front end press molded to, I would like to get rid of any bondo on the car and use the glass reinforced bondo is this stuff better to use or should I stay with regular bondo

 

[69MyWay]

You only need to remove with the heat gun and knive anything that is loose. You can sand out the filler later.

If you can't see a bonding strip on the back side of the inner front fenders, then you have an aftermarket front clip.

The heat won't bother it anyway, and it never hurts to grind in and spread fresh filler on those joints while you are at it.

Sounds like you are getting close now.

 

[topless82vette]

chris

I'm just curious have you ever messed with after market fiberglass ( urethane replacement ) bumpers, I've noticed my original front bumper is getting deep indentations almost like dents, so I'm just curious how well do these so called direct bolt on bumpers really line up, or is it true no 1 corvette is identical and a perfect fit won't be possible without blending it in.

 

[billybob]

69MyWay or topless82vette

Shot in the dark here, but did you get pics taken while you were doing the stripping?

This subject is of great interest, as it will take off roughly 2k worth of the re-painting price tag.

Bill

 

[69MyWay]

It does not really save any prep time money. It does however effectively strip the old paint off and allow you to get the factory sealer/primer quick. You still have to sand it and block it out. It is safer than chemicals, and creates less deep scratches that can come back to haunt you than stipping the car with 36 grit or something else aggressive. Plus, it is kind of fun.

 

[topless82vette]

billybob

I will be taking some of mine probably this weekend, with the heat gun process after two days about 75 % of the car is down to almost bare glass, the paint for the most part came off mine effortlessly, best thing after the removed paint cools off just sweep it up and toss in a bag.

 

[billybob]

69MyWay,

The shop that I have just about decided is going to get to paint 'Sleeper' has told me, that if I get them to remove all the accessories (side markers, lights etc) and strip down to glass it will cost me an additional $1700 less taxes. And will take an additional 2 weeks. They use a razor to strip (not fond of this technique)

If I want them to just tape, do some minor body prep and shoot then no difference in my quote of $3200 (these guys do classic car restorations) Earliest I can get the car into them is May 2003 as they are booked.

And I like their work hence why I'm leaning towards them. But 1700 towards them doing the prep work which could be used to buy upgrades... well I guess you can see which way I'm leaning.

I've stripped with chems and sandies on metal cars, and heat on wood, but never on glass. Hence the interest.

With the current engine rebuild taking place I expect to be finished mid to end Jan 2003. Then the interior I've alloted about a month or so for that. It leaves me with about 1 month of usable time ( in work on vette hours ) to prep the vette for painting.

topless82vette,

Would be appreciated. I have ordered the book Automotive Paint Handbook, but nothing is better then hearing it first hand. Or from the horses mouth if you will

Bill

 

[69MyWay]

Okay, Bill, I hear what you are saying now. Yes, no doubt you could save money. However, must shops will wash their hands of the "warranty", and leave you out in the cold if anything goes wrong with the final application of the paint. They can blame it on the prep work.

So, I only caution you to make sure this is clear before you jump into it. You may find the shop come back and demand an extra 2,000 to re-sand, fill, and primer the car because they don't want to take any chances.

The heat gun method is more gentle, but you can still gouge the surface. Anytime you slip up and do that, the area has to be finish sanded, two part skim coat filled, and primer/blocked back down. Since the whole car is getting sanded, primered, and long blocked it really does not matter anyway if there is some small damage.

The razor knife does work well on the right kind of paints. They why it is nice to have alternatives as well. Some paints that are still flexible will not react to a razor at all. Thus, chemicals or heat, or heavy heavy sanding.

 

[topless82vette]

chris

I am noticing alot of glass imperfections on the car (waviness) Im just guessing that this is normal & probably nothing to be overly worried about I HOPE, question is do you block sand the glass prior to the first primer coat, also on my front end theres some odd primer looking stuff not found anywhere else on the car this stuff almost looks like black paint with white spots in it do you have any idea what this is, so far the entire rear clip is to bare glass the rest of the car is to the black primer and the bare glass is just under that, so all and all things are going extremly well considering Ive never done anything like this before, cant wait to build another vette project for myself.

thanks again Jeff

 

[69MyWay]

I would run a quick D/A sanding in like 180 grit over the whole car when the heat gun work is done. This is to knock down the ridges/high spots if any left, and rough it up.

Then come back with a wet coat of Erothane primer. Now you are ready to long block. You can save time and do the intial long block with an air file, but can easily gouge and create grooves, so doing it by hand will yield the best results. After you have wet sand/long blocked you can recoat in primer, and shoot a guide coat on. Now you can start blocking those waves out.

If they keep showing up, you will need to spreak a micro thin coat of final filler/ icing / etc. then block that down and prime it back in.

 

[topless82vette]

chris

how did you strip the paint from inside the decklid & hood jambs looks like that is going to be the toughest area's to do on mine, maybe next weekend I will post pics of the car ..... oh your going to like this after dying all the interior a pretty shade of dark blue my wonderful wife was on that l81 registry website and saw a 80's vette that was two tone red I believe its referred to as garnet anyways she prefers that color over the two tone blue now, I got a bad feeling this car is going to be a never ending project

 

[69MyWay]

You can just D/A the open surface of the rear body jam, and hand sand the rest. I used a heat gun in my 69, but I hand sanded TZracer's car.