best paint removal methods

[Fifty8]

Sooner or later I am going to need to remove the layers of paint on my 58...

I am interested in any opinions I can get on different techniques...

Chemical stripping seems nasty and messy...

Media blasting is messy and seems a bit aggressive for glass....

Is DA sanding too tough on the glass?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[paintdaddy]

Ive stripped alot of vettes and have tried numerous methods.The safest and best way is to chemically strip and follow up with a da sanding.I have had about 5 of them done with plastic media blasting and havent been satisfied with any of them and the price more than doubled in a few years.

 

[Fifty8]

Thanks, paintdaddy!

-ca

 

[JohnZ]

Media blasting takes the paint off quickly, but it can literally destroy the fiberglass surface if done with the wrong media and by an inexperienced operator. Plus, you'll NEVER get all the little bits of media out of the nooks and crannies (until you're spraying it and the air pressure blows them out all over your wet paint).

Chemical stripping is a bit messy, but it's very effective and doesn't damage the 'glass surface if you use a plastic scraper and wash/rinse/clean the surface thoroughly after stripping.

DA sanding will take it off too, but it can also destroy the 'glass surface if done too aggressively; it's not fun to have to spray the whole car with Slick-Sand or FeatherFill to seal the damaged surface and then block down the whole car to get the surface back.

 

[paintdaddy]

it's not fun to have to spray the whole car with Slick-Sand or FeatherFill to seal the damaged surface and then block down the whole car to get the surface back.

I agree but it seems like most of the time too many bubbas have already destroyed the glass and it needs some featherfill anyway.If we could only get rid of the bubbas:eyerole

 

[C3forME]

What is the best and safest chemical stripper to use for this. I read in a restoration book where they say that using chemical strippers is a bad idea because no matter how much you clean and prep the surface you cannot get all the chemicals out of the pores in the fiberglass, and it usually surfaces about 6 months later and ruins your new paint job. I can't imagine no matter how much you clean the surface afterwards that you stiil leave chemical tracers behind.

 

[paintdaddy]

I have done alot of vettes and still havent found a stripper that will remove the paint all the way to the fiberglass .So regardless of which one you use you will probably have to remove the last layer of primer or so with a da sander.Even if it does strip it all the way to the glass,scrub the car down with a scrub brush and water.The water is supposed to nuetralize the acids in the stripper.Even after that you will have to at least have to lightly sand over the car with a da sander.Be easy on the crowns and edges.

 

[billybob]

As I just bought a new hood I figured I would experiment with heat stripping.

First thoughts.. I like it, clean safe and darn easy, even my wife wanted to try it.

I managed to strip half of the hood which included 3 different colors of paint including the original steel blue and primer coats. This hood has a gel coat on it and it wasnt even phased.

It will still require a minor bit of sanding but so far is the easiest and safest method I have used.

Bill

 

[C3forME]

I thought of stripping mine this way also but am not sure of the proper procedure. What setting on the heat gun would you use, and how far away should you hold it from the surface that your stripping? What do you use to remove the paint with once it's heated up? I am also afraid of warping the fiberglass or heat stressing it. I see several guys have done it this way and it seems to be the fastest and neatest way to do it without a big mess, besides you don't have to breathe in any chemical fumes this way or have to worry about not getting all the chemicals out of the fiberglass and having it ruin your paint job later on. What about using it on rubber bumpers, will it warp them once the rubber heats up?

 

[JonM]

I am curious about this product

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28892

 

[paintdaddy]

Ive never heard of it but would like to give it a try

 

[billybob]

C3forME,

I'm using a UNGAR 1095 heat gun has dual temp, 790-1200 F

Basically its really easy, grab a nice putty knife ( i use a small blade 1" ).

Put it on high and about 1" away start warming up the area you want to strip, you will want to hold the gun straight with a bit of an angle.

place the blade of the knife on the paint with a little bit of pressure, you will know when its hot enough as the blade will cut into the paint like butter.

Move the blade and heat gun in the direction you wish to strip you'll know when you have traveled outside of the heated area as you wont be able to strip anymore.

As for the temperature I used a Omega os102 ir temp sensor on the backside of the glass I was heating to strip and it never got above 250 yet the front on the paint was up in the 500 range, on freshly striped glass it went down really quickly.

I havent tried it on the rubber yet but should be interesting, I have an older car here that might be worth it to go at it

Bill

 

[C3forME]

Okay, I tried it on one of my t-top panels and the paint was coming off pretty easy. How do you know when your down to the gel coat, what color is it? I removed several coats and then there was a gray primer which had a white base underneath it that became very sticky when heated up, I hope I didn't take off the gel coat. There were a few spots that looked as though they had bondo on it, but when I scraped it off it was nice and smooth underneath. I am down to a brownish red color which I believe maybe the gel coat but I'm not sure having never done this before. How far down do I go without damaging the panel. Am I there or did I go too far. I'll try to post a picture so you can see what I'm talking about and hopefully advise me on what to do. Also once I get it all off what should I sand it with and then prime it with as well?:confused

 

[JonM]

For you guys that like the heat gun...here is an Inferred Gun...supposed to be good.

http://www.silentpaintremover.com

 

[JohnZ]

I hope I didn't take off the gel coat. There were a few spots that looked as though they had bondo on it, but when I scraped it off it was nice and smooth underneath. I am down to a brownish red color which I believe maybe the gel coat but I'm not sure having never done this before.

No Corvette panels made since mid-1954 have used a gel coat; that's only used on boat hulls and aftermarket body panels that are hand-laid and cured in an open mold. Corvette panels are molded in heated, matched steel dies under immense pressure, and the show surface is polyester resin with the same surface smoothness as the steel mold that formed it; the panels are the same material all the way through.

When you get to a smooth, hard surface, you're at the original molded panel surface; be careful at that point, as digging into it will expose the glass fibers below the surface, which will require treatment with sandable fillers/surfacers like Slick-Sand or Evercoat in order to seal the exposed fibers back down below the finished surface.

 

[billybob]

heres 2 images of the depth to which I strip

 

[billybob]

basically till I hit white, its a nice sanding surface and primer adhears to it quite easily.

Bill

 

[C3forME]

Here's where I'm at with it so far, the grey is a primer I believe, the white is that sticky stuff I was talking about which is underneath the gray primer, and the reddish brown surface is below the white surface, and I think is probably where I should stop, it's very smooth when I get down to there. What do you think, am I doing it right or did I go too far?

 

[JonM]

This is my car "Media Blasted" The guy had done many many Corvettes before mine...came out great.

 

[paintdaddy]

This is my car "Media Blasted" The guy had done many many Corvettes before mine...came out great.

Do you think he would consider moving to Atlanta?