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71 paint stripped, now gouges!

Old Dec 7, 2005 | 05:21 PM
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Default 71 paint stripped, now gouges!

I spent the past day and a half stripping the paint off my 71 with a razor blade. Now I have some gouges in the primer, not deep, but deep enough that I do not want to sand them all the way out.

Is there an epoxy primer or filler I can put into the gouges before I continue?

I must now do the hard spots under the bumpers and headlights and do you have any suggestions on what to use to sand out those small areas?
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Old Dec 7, 2005 | 05:34 PM
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To fill scratches deeper than fingernail catchers you can use a small amount of body filler to fill the scratches. There are also some fillers on the market that have the consistency of cake icing and are very easy to sand. USC makes a product called "Icing", Evercoat has a comparable product. You can spread it on with a rubber squeegee (rather than a bondo spreader) parallel with the scratch. This will fill the gouge but not leave much build up around the edges. Then you can lightly sand everything smooth and level with some fine sandpaper (like 150 grit).

Evercoat makes a product called "Slick Sand" that is a very high build primer that is almost like spraying liquid body filler. You can use this to fill the more minor scratches, and level minor imperfections. I used this for my first guide coat/block sanding prior to paint.
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Old Dec 7, 2005 | 05:43 PM
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Originally Posted by larry hinterman
I spent the past day and a half stripping the paint off my 71 with a razor blade. Now I have some gouges in the primer, not deep, but deep enough that I do not want to sand them all the way out.

Is there an epoxy primer or filler I can put into the gouges before I continue?

I must now do the hard spots under the bumpers and headlights and do you have any suggestions on what to use to sand out those small areas?
Larry, when we stripped a 73 coupe the owner got a bit anxious and put some very minor gouges in the primer coat. He was sanding the difficult areas using a Porter Cable random orbital sander with a mild/medium grit to it. As I am sure you know, the random orbitals will do a great job finish sanding wood and other materials. The sander did a great job on the difficult to strip areas. I am sure some will cringe at the use of a mechanical sander but I can attest to the finished product - it did a superb job. We filled the minor gouges with a high quality finishing body filler. This was not the "pour it on by the bucket" type of Bondo but truly a finishing putty for very minor touch ups.

Gary
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Old Dec 7, 2005 | 06:06 PM
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Originally Posted by GaryS
Larry, when we stripped a 73 coupe the owner got a bit anxious and put some very minor gouges in the primer coat. He was sanding the difficult areas using a Porter Cable random orbital sander with a mild/medium grit to it. As I am sure you know, the random orbitals will do a great job finish sanding wood and other materials. The sander did a great job on the difficult to strip areas. I am sure some will cringe at the use of a mechanical sander but I can attest to the finished product - it did a superb job. We filled the minor gouges with a high quality finishing body filler. This was not the "pour it on by the bucket" type of Bondo but truly a finishing putty for very minor touch ups.

Gary
product name? And will it only apply to the base fiberglass? Or can it be used and will it bond to current sealers and or primers?
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Old Dec 7, 2005 | 07:04 PM
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I have never stripped a C3, but always thought that the paint was removed with a chemical stripper. Never heard of stripping a car with a razor blade. Sounds like a real pain in the neck (and hands).
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Old Dec 7, 2005 | 09:23 PM
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Originally Posted by proracr
I have never stripped a C3, but always thought that the paint was removed with a chemical stripper. Never heard of stripping a car with a razor blade. Sounds like a real pain in the neck (and hands).
Sometimes it is easy. Me and my 2 sons stripped 2 'Vettes in 2 days with half a box of razor blades. No fumes, no bad chemical problems.
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Old Dec 7, 2005 | 09:24 PM
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If you have only gouged the primer, there are fillers that are just a thick primer you can use to fill the gouges. Fill and Block sand. Don't take a DA to the car .

Orville
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Old Dec 7, 2005 | 10:04 PM
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I just used razors on my 71 and it was very quick and easy! I highly recommend it! I haven't finished sanded it yet but block and fill primer will do a great job!!
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Old Dec 7, 2005 | 10:39 PM
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razors work great if u just have to take the top coat of paint off. Any more and it is a pain...I know. But for the top coat it was super quick.
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 12:10 AM
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Originally Posted by LemansBlue68
Evercoat makes a product called "Slick Sand" that is a very high build primer that is almost like spraying liquid body filler. You can use this to fill the more minor scratches, and level minor imperfections. I used this for my first guide coat/block sanding prior to paint.

yep, covers loose fiber strands and fills gouges...you will have to apply multiple coats, but I would fill with filler first.
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 05:52 PM
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What kind of a holder do you use for the razor blades?

Any reason not to do this stripping in cold (near freezing) weather?

-Chris
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 06:04 PM
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Why no d.a. sander to car? Is all sanding done by hand?
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 06:44 PM
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Originally Posted by 73C34me
Why no d.a. sander to car? Is all sanding done by hand?
da sander uses a circular motion.. do you want the car to wave to people as you're driving down the road?
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 07:17 PM
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what sander to use? I know that one must be careful with a d.a. but...
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 07:41 PM
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 07:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Corz
da sander uses a circular motion.. do you want the car to wave to people as you're driving down the road?

That is why I said we used a random orbital sander. The end result was a very nice finish.

As far as what filler we used on the minor gouges, I don't recall. But any real good finishing filler will do. Again, do not use the Bondo product for this.
Gary
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 09:06 PM
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I have used a DA for many projects including my 76. Two of which went black with MINIMAL blocking. I prefer a DA (dual action) for curves verses block sanding. Knock out the big stuff with a DA and go back and do the edges & valleys by hand. If you pay attention to what you are doing and be patient to work the feathering (most people want to "dig" at the paint which is where most of the warping and waves come from) it will be fine. There are different DA's with varying oscillation. It's best to use a quality finish sander for anything not flat. They are slower but won't bounce like your using a muhog, as others will. Also, in the word of DA's (as with most power tools), you get what you pay for. It's what ever you are comfortable with and which ever way one chooses....BE PATIENT. There is a learning curve. You'll be glad you did. There's nothing better than looking at the finished product and saying to yourself, "That could have went black".
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Old Dec 8, 2005 | 09:46 PM
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stripped a 71 with strippa took three gallons the car had mostly two coats of paint some spots more and used plastic spachula and it went good then da car took out fender seams and filled with tiger hair if you dont the body seams will wave if you paint in base/clear car is in process now try to post pictures!!
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Old Dec 9, 2005 | 07:54 AM
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Hi

Haven't done this jet, but read a lot about the razor blade method. I recall that best it works when the paint is preheated with a air heat gun.
Any pro/cons ?

Günther
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