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Hi, my 64 has had a repaint once over original paint, do I sand or use paint remover to get down to bare fiberglass, in canada we can no longer buy the 'good'paint remover, now the sh*t they sell
is very mild, does not smell as bad but very mild compared to the stuff I could buy two years ago. it's been 30 years since I tackled such a big job, maybe times have changed and u guys have found better ways
to get it right, I have also been told to final sand with 600 paper, I guess 1500 grit will be too shinny for paint to stick, I hope not to use water base paint, too expensive in Canada. $600.00 at least for 1 gallon. ouch..
Hi, my 64 has had a repaint once over original paint, do I sand or use paint remover to get down to bare fiberglass, in canada we can no longer buy the 'good'paint remover, now the sh*t they sell
is very mild, does not smell as bad but very mild compared to the stuff I could buy two years ago. it's been 30 years since I tackled such a big job, maybe times have changed and u guys have found better ways
to get it right, I have also been told to final sand with 600 paper, I guess 1500 grit will be too shinny for paint to stick, I hope not to use water base paint, too expensive in Canada. $600.00 at least for 1 gallon. ouch..
It would be best to remove all paint down to fiberglass 66racer
Sanding would work, but a lot of labor. You could try media blasting with walnut shells, plastic, crushed glass, something mild, but you should try a small area first to get the pressure and distance right otherwise you could destroy the panel. Can you buy paint remove from across the border?
I would finish sanding with ~120 grit before primer. After the body work is done, finish with 4-600 before base or single stage.
Many years ago I stripped my '63 using little more than a 'jack-knife' and a razor blade. Most recently I had it done by soda blasting. The results were equally spectacular, albeit took a bit less time.
I would do heavy sanding as a last resort, if you get carried away, or don't know what you're doing and you wail away on the original, sharp ridges and beltline and round them off - its an instant sign of an amateur job and unnecessary work to fix...
My ‘64 coupe (fat boy) was a victim of an incompetent hulk with a power sander and apparently he carried the label “professional”. I now have to fix several flat spots on the beautiful belt line edge around the front nose. Frankie’s advice is spot on, even professionals have challenges with power tools.
Striped my entire 65 coupe using razor blades. No cost other than blades. No sanding dust. No chemical danger. It left the primer to work with. Once you develop a good technique it is easy.
Striped my entire 65 coupe using razor blades. No cost other than blades. No sanding dust. No chemical danger. It left the primer to work with. Once you develop a good technique it is easy.
Any tips or techniques you can share? This is in my future for several panels and I’ve heard the razor blade, while time consuming, is very effective.
My split window had major portions stripped with a razor blade...
HOWEVER - part of the reason for an entire repaint was because the top coat had adhesion problems...there were bubbled up spots you could peel off with your fingers...
If you have later style paints,, properly bonded to the substrate, the razor blade technique may not go well...
I also went the razor route for the reasons Devajet mentioned. What I can share as technique is to start by going along the body lines, not towards. You can make an opening then work away from the lines. I attached a couple of pics here you can see what I mean. Start with the easier panels, save the rounded ends until after you've developed your technique.
Frankie the Fink mentioned not all paints are the same. You can see by the pic that my paint did not come off as easy is large flakes as the video. My paint came off as dust particles. Could have been the adherence, or perhaps several layers.
I would do heavy sanding as a last resort, if you get carried away, or don't know what you're doing and you wail away on the original, sharp ridges and beltline and round them off - its an instant sign of an amateur job and unnecessary work to fix...
If dustless blasting is not an option which also has to be done with care the razer blade method as already suggested is you best option.
Thanks for replies, I have not tried the razor yet, but taking off the original paint plus one coat I will be very surprised if it works, I would think the factory paint is really stuck on good, will post my attempt this week and really hope it does work, QUESTION: a few videos I saw mentioned ACETONE, what does this
product really do? is it just a cleaner after paint remover is used? how dangerous is this stuff? Thanks Mike
Acetone is primarily used as a solvent, in this case to clean say wax and grease from a surface, although is not the best alternative in this situation. It can dissolve some types of paint, but not catalyzed paint like what you probably have on a car. Its very volatile, ie it evaporates quickly and is rather smelly especially when used in a closed environment. Its also very flammable. I would used chemical proof gloves and a respirator to be on the safe side.
Some of my top painter buddies will tell you the razor blade technique just flat won't work in many cases and they're right...
I've seen cars with Imron paint that no razor blade is going to make a dent on.
Acetone is usually used to spot treat an area that has problems with some contaminant "leeching" into the fiberglass..
Brake fluid or silicone are good examples.... Acetone will 'draw out' the impurity eventually. This is my understanding.
I'll leave it to others to add more info...
The wife says I couldn't paint a birdhouse....bless her heart...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 03-31-2019 at 08:43 AM.
I would minimize any acetone on bare fiberglass - it can and does soften exposed fiberglass resin. A quick pass with a rag slightly dampened with acetone may be OK due to it's fast evaporation rate but soaking fiberglass with it can cause problems.
The newer epoxy resins may be OK with acetone.
Last edited by DansYellow66; 03-31-2019 at 08:46 AM.
Acetone is quite useful, but it's also a known carcinogen and can cause severe (and irreparable) lung damage - always use personal protective gear when using it (rubber gloves, respirator mask, etc.) and do the work in a well-ventilated area.
03-30-2019, 07:51 AM
64 coupe, paint remover or sand?
If dustless blasting is not an option which also has to be done with care the razer blade method as already suggested is you best option.
