Taking the paint off
02-16-2012, 09:39 PM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
Taking the paint off
So, after some comments in another thread and now some confusion on my part, I need to know what is the best way to strip the paint off a 1960 Corvette body. I'm just starting to think about getting this done and would rather not learn by my own mistakes.
Options are (that I know of):
1. Chemical - quick and easy but once it has wicked into the glass nothing but problems. Obviously a large range of chemicals!
2. Soda blast - always thought this was the best option as not too abrassive and leaves the surface with a neutral finish that just needs a bit of a wash with water (thanks AmericanRetroDave!!)
3. Garnet blast - too abrassive (though using tailings and a reduced pressure may be an option)
4. Walnut shell etc - don't know much about these but also not as abrassive as sand or garnet
5. Scraping and sanding - very labour intensive for a full body and not something you can outsource.
I guess there are also other variables... like gun pressures when blasting.
And to boot, I have a few replacement panels that are old/original and weathered with some areas where the glass fibres are starting to show that will be cut in to replace some damage in my rear body panels
I'd be very interested in hearing what you have done, what was successful and what came back to haunt you later.
I know POR make a surface prep to seal fibres that are exposed to the panel surface to stop wicking but that is about it.
Some good/sound advise with some figures if relevant would be very handy and much appreciated.
Options are (that I know of):
1. Chemical - quick and easy but once it has wicked into the glass nothing but problems. Obviously a large range of chemicals!
2. Soda blast - always thought this was the best option as not too abrassive and leaves the surface with a neutral finish that just needs a bit of a wash with water (thanks AmericanRetroDave!!)
3. Garnet blast - too abrassive (though using tailings and a reduced pressure may be an option)
4. Walnut shell etc - don't know much about these but also not as abrassive as sand or garnet
5. Scraping and sanding - very labour intensive for a full body and not something you can outsource.
I guess there are also other variables... like gun pressures when blasting.
And to boot, I have a few replacement panels that are old/original and weathered with some areas where the glass fibres are starting to show that will be cut in to replace some damage in my rear body panels
I'd be very interested in hearing what you have done, what was successful and what came back to haunt you later.
I know POR make a surface prep to seal fibres that are exposed to the panel surface to stop wicking but that is about it.
Some good/sound advise with some figures if relevant would be very handy and much appreciated.
02-16-2012, 09:50 PM
#2
Team Owner
Member Since: Feb 2003
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After about 3 weekends dad and I scraped and sanded down his 67 coupe it's a lot of work and a big mess but it's done.
02-17-2012, 12:05 AM
#5
Melting Slicks
Dave had trouble with the soda I just read that. He's one of a few that has had a chemical reaction. I'm thinking maybe it could of had leaching in his hood from someting else ? Strange ? I love the guy on you tube that uses a blade to strip the car he does a boot in ahoy 5 minutes. No chemical there. In the hard to get to places you could use a media blast. Stewy
02-17-2012, 01:16 AM
#6
I just saw this thread. You can read about the problems I had with soda on the thread "Picked up another C1"; that being said, my fiberglass guy had the same problems with soda on a '58 he did. He ended up stripping it down and redoing the entire car.
I've heard that washing it with vinegar will help, but I'll never get close to it again.
After painting my dune buggy, I was very pleased with the results (these were taken prior to cutting and bluffing);
Weeks later, after being in the sun for less than an hour;
First it was a couple of bubbles, then more, soon there was too many to count. Once you sanded, blocked, and blocked again, painted it, both base and clear, and then re-assembled the car, only to have the soda come back and haunt you, forcing you to tear it apart, forcing you to take it down to the bare fiberglass, forcing you to redo everything, all the time, not knowing if you're getting it or not. Trust me, you will never use soda again. Could I have done something different, sure, I thought I washed the buggy completely, I used $10 at the local car wash after picking it up. I then sanded, washed, primered, and sanded again. repeating the process for several weeks in the hot sun. Personally, I'm not sure that you ever get all the soda out of these old bodies, my buggy had a gel coat, I can't imagine using soda on the old, raw, no gel-coat fiberglass bodies of these cars.
I've heard that washing it with vinegar will help, but I'll never get close to it again.
After painting my dune buggy, I was very pleased with the results (these were taken prior to cutting and bluffing);
Weeks later, after being in the sun for less than an hour;
First it was a couple of bubbles, then more, soon there was too many to count. Once you sanded, blocked, and blocked again, painted it, both base and clear, and then re-assembled the car, only to have the soda come back and haunt you, forcing you to tear it apart, forcing you to take it down to the bare fiberglass, forcing you to redo everything, all the time, not knowing if you're getting it or not. Trust me, you will never use soda again. Could I have done something different, sure, I thought I washed the buggy completely, I used $10 at the local car wash after picking it up. I then sanded, washed, primered, and sanded again. repeating the process for several weeks in the hot sun. Personally, I'm not sure that you ever get all the soda out of these old bodies, my buggy had a gel coat, I can't imagine using soda on the old, raw, no gel-coat fiberglass bodies of these cars.
Last edited by americanretrodave; 02-17-2012 at 01:12 PM.
02-17-2012, 02:02 AM
#8
When I posted that, I had two other C1's (both '62's) so the '59 gave me three, plus the '59 was my 8th C1. Since that time, I picked up another one, a '61 (two weeks ago), but I resold it last week, so I don't really consider it.
Dave
02-17-2012, 08:27 AM
#9
Pro
In 1994 I stripped primer off of a 69 vette that I bought with spra strip from Ecklers. It came off easy enough but there were a lot of areas that the glass strands were exposed. Now I was a complete novice and at the time (and still am)I just thought who ever stripped the car before me did the damage. I say that because I found a few panels that had large cracks repaired with wire kinda like a stich so I just thought they did everything half a$$ed. But who knows maybe I did it with the chemical stripper. I sold the car about 6 months later do I also have no idea if there was an issue with the paint from that stripper. I never thought about any of this untill reading some of these threads!
Last edited by waltonb123; 02-17-2012 at 05:29 PM.
02-17-2012, 09:38 AM
#10
Melting Slicks
Having followed these discussions for 25+ years, the ultimate process for stripping Corvettes seems to be Plastic Media Blasting.
PMB was developed to strip aircraft, without affecting the aluminum skin. I've seen it done at an aircraft refurbishing company, and the results are perfect.
The downsides are cost and availability. Any airplane repainters in your area?
Walnut shell media is also very good for questionable panels. Buddy of mine in California had his '65 FI car done with walnut, and it came out beautiful.
Soda blasting would worry me...
PMB was developed to strip aircraft, without affecting the aluminum skin. I've seen it done at an aircraft refurbishing company, and the results are perfect.
The downsides are cost and availability. Any airplane repainters in your area?
Walnut shell media is also very good for questionable panels. Buddy of mine in California had his '65 FI car done with walnut, and it came out beautiful.
Soda blasting would worry me...
02-17-2012, 10:06 AM
#11
Drifting
Two well known NCRS body shops up in PA use media blasting. I don't really care for the chemical stripping process, but then to each his own...
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Last edited by rustylugnuts; 02-17-2012 at 10:09 AM.
02-17-2012, 04:22 PM
#13
Le Mans Master
If you do a search there is varied opinions on stripping a Corvette body.
In MY opinion chemical stripping is the best and least harmful method when done correctly and causes no harm to the body. I've had both of my Vettes stripped via chemical stripping and repainted and have no bubbling problems. Just make sure you use the correct type of stripper for fiberglass and use it properly and most importantly wash it off thoughly afterwards.
The painter that did my '65 uses this process:
apply stripper to one panel and let it sit to do it thing to dissolve the paint. Use a plastic scrapper to remove paint. Than wipe panel down with lacquer thinner to remove stripper and any remaining old paint (my '65 had lacquer we were removing). Than he washes the panel down with soapy water to clean it than clear water to rinse it. than he goes to the next panel and repeats the process until the entire car is stripped. Than he once again goes over the entire car with lacquer thinner, than the soapy water, than the clear water to make sure the entire car is clean and free from the chemical stripper.
Afterwards he lets the car sit, preferably outside under the sun during the day if it's not raining for a minimum of 2 weeks to let any possible remaining stripper residue vent out from the fiberglass before starting any bodywork repairs or priming the car.
Sanding is a popular method but you must be very careful as it's easy to oversand on the edges and sharp body lines such as the peaks of the fenders and round them off. During previous bodywork and paintwork on my '65 this happened and my painter had to redo the fender peaks to bring back the sharp crease of the peak which means more work and more expense.
some people like the razorblade method of stripping but it's very easy to gouge or nick the body, again requiring additional labor expense to than repair the fiberglass before painting.
Others like media blasting but that's the last method I would use as it can be very destructive to a fiberglass body. Even the more mild medias such as soda powder have been known to cause a lot of damage if the media blasting technician doesn't have a lot of experience doing a Corvette body. Don't let a media blasting company convience you that they can do a Corvette body simply because they have experience going fiberglass boats as boats all have gelcoat on them which is a much tougher surface than the bare fiberglass of your Corvette. Many people have ended up with the fiberglass body ending up with major damage and the fiberglass all hairy afterwards. A number of people, including some here on the forum have successfully had their car media blasted but it IS a riskier method.
bottom line is that every method to strip the paint runs some degree of risk if it's not done properly but in my opinion chemical stripping is the least risky. It sure is messy though
In MY opinion chemical stripping is the best and least harmful method when done correctly and causes no harm to the body. I've had both of my Vettes stripped via chemical stripping and repainted and have no bubbling problems. Just make sure you use the correct type of stripper for fiberglass and use it properly and most importantly wash it off thoughly afterwards.
The painter that did my '65 uses this process:
apply stripper to one panel and let it sit to do it thing to dissolve the paint. Use a plastic scrapper to remove paint. Than wipe panel down with lacquer thinner to remove stripper and any remaining old paint (my '65 had lacquer we were removing). Than he washes the panel down with soapy water to clean it than clear water to rinse it. than he goes to the next panel and repeats the process until the entire car is stripped. Than he once again goes over the entire car with lacquer thinner, than the soapy water, than the clear water to make sure the entire car is clean and free from the chemical stripper.
Afterwards he lets the car sit, preferably outside under the sun during the day if it's not raining for a minimum of 2 weeks to let any possible remaining stripper residue vent out from the fiberglass before starting any bodywork repairs or priming the car.
Sanding is a popular method but you must be very careful as it's easy to oversand on the edges and sharp body lines such as the peaks of the fenders and round them off. During previous bodywork and paintwork on my '65 this happened and my painter had to redo the fender peaks to bring back the sharp crease of the peak which means more work and more expense.
some people like the razorblade method of stripping but it's very easy to gouge or nick the body, again requiring additional labor expense to than repair the fiberglass before painting.
Others like media blasting but that's the last method I would use as it can be very destructive to a fiberglass body. Even the more mild medias such as soda powder have been known to cause a lot of damage if the media blasting technician doesn't have a lot of experience doing a Corvette body. Don't let a media blasting company convience you that they can do a Corvette body simply because they have experience going fiberglass boats as boats all have gelcoat on them which is a much tougher surface than the bare fiberglass of your Corvette. Many people have ended up with the fiberglass body ending up with major damage and the fiberglass all hairy afterwards. A number of people, including some here on the forum have successfully had their car media blasted but it IS a riskier method.
bottom line is that every method to strip the paint runs some degree of risk if it's not done properly but in my opinion chemical stripping is the least risky. It sure is messy though
02-17-2012, 04:43 PM
#14
Race Director
I used Captain Lee's stripper w/o any problems. Yes, it's a bit of a mess but what isn't. It neutralizes with water. The usual process was to tape closed door, headlight bucket and hood gaps to keep it out and then you have a thin strip of paint to mechanically sand off to finish the job. Jambs were sanded out. As long as you use a paint stripper made for fiberglass it should not cause you any residual problems.
02-17-2012, 05:07 PM
#15
Safety Car
Member Since: Feb 2007
Location: Northern California CA
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No soda for me!
I hear both sides of the soda blast conversation. Unfortunately I can only relay my own experience with soda blast.
I completed a '55 Nomad that was soda blasted. The car was cleaned and washed several times prior to sealer and primer. The car was painted and sat in my garage for over a year prior to getting it out in the sun.
I took the car in for upholstery, dropped it off only to return about a month later.
I stopped for a cup of coffee and began to look closely at the car while it was sitting on the trailer. I began to notice several small bubbles showing up on the paint. Again, this is over one year later. I left it out in the sun and the bubbles began to appear over the entire body of the vehicle.
Needless to say, it was pretty disheartening watching all the time spent, let alone the work and money go completely down the drain.
Since then, I've talked with several individuals as well as paint and body shop representatives and their first question is if I used soda blast? Of course I did! And just about 100% of the individuals stated it was the soda. Furthermore, they stated no matter how clean you think you can get it, soda residue will remain in place. Of course this is their opinion and like most items, they may be disputed.
Now three years later (from the original start date), I'm just about back to square one. Only this time I had the body media blasted and will be hoping that I will not suffer a major setback a second time.
I will not ever chance a soda blast again.
Years ago, and I do mean years ago, back in the '70's we chemically stripped a '61 Corvette. I remember working several hours removing several layers of paint, but in the end the car did turn out very good.
My current '62 was blasted with walnut shells just a bit over 20 years ago. So far, the paint has held up real well!!
Whatever method you choose, best of luck to you! I don't wish my soda experience upon anybody!
I completed a '55 Nomad that was soda blasted. The car was cleaned and washed several times prior to sealer and primer. The car was painted and sat in my garage for over a year prior to getting it out in the sun.
I took the car in for upholstery, dropped it off only to return about a month later.
I stopped for a cup of coffee and began to look closely at the car while it was sitting on the trailer. I began to notice several small bubbles showing up on the paint. Again, this is over one year later. I left it out in the sun and the bubbles began to appear over the entire body of the vehicle.
Needless to say, it was pretty disheartening watching all the time spent, let alone the work and money go completely down the drain.
Since then, I've talked with several individuals as well as paint and body shop representatives and their first question is if I used soda blast? Of course I did! And just about 100% of the individuals stated it was the soda. Furthermore, they stated no matter how clean you think you can get it, soda residue will remain in place. Of course this is their opinion and like most items, they may be disputed.
Now three years later (from the original start date), I'm just about back to square one. Only this time I had the body media blasted and will be hoping that I will not suffer a major setback a second time.
I will not ever chance a soda blast again.
Years ago, and I do mean years ago, back in the '70's we chemically stripped a '61 Corvette. I remember working several hours removing several layers of paint, but in the end the car did turn out very good.
My current '62 was blasted with walnut shells just a bit over 20 years ago. So far, the paint has held up real well!!
Whatever method you choose, best of luck to you! I don't wish my soda experience upon anybody!
02-17-2012, 05:25 PM
#16
Pro
I used Captain Lee's stripper w/o any problems. Yes, it's a bit of a mess but what isn't. It neutralizes with water. The usual process was to tape closed door, headlight bucket and hood gaps to keep it out and then you have a thin strip of paint to mechanically sand off to finish the job. Jambs were sanded out. As long as you use a paint stripper made for fiberglass it should not cause you any residual problems.
02-17-2012, 06:02 PM
#17
I just had my 66 done last spring and the man that did the work suggested doing it by blasting with polybeads. He has done many that way and mine came out without any flaws. My body shop man has a stripper he works with and he strips the paint down and leaves the last coat. The body shop then stripped the remaining paint with sandpaper. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I first saw the car after it left the stripper. It was so rough I could believe it, but in the end the paint job came out really good.
02-17-2012, 06:07 PM
#18
My '59 was chemically stripped about 23 years ago, and that is where the previous owner stopped. I sanded it from there. I just started on my '62, I took the doors, hood, trunk and boot cover to them to blast using a combination of plastic beads and Aluminum Oxide, the results were fantastic.
02-17-2012, 08:00 PM
#19
Drifting
Selecting the blasting compound "media" is directionally proportional to the hardness or softness of surface to what is being removed. In this case plastic media is selected for removing paint because it is harder than the paint, thus removing the paint, but is also used because it is softer than the original fiberglass resin base, thus not harming the original glass/resin when proper air pressure is applied. When done properly will leave the original fiberglass looking like it was just molded. Slight sanding may be needed before sealer primer is applied.
rustylugnuts
rustylugnuts