I've been researching the different ways to remove paint from my 69 and every time i've narrowed it down to a method I think will work best for me I read another thread that turns everything upside down again.

from my research. let me know if i'm forgetting anything.

Soda Blasting=expensive for the soda, makes a huge mess, don't have a big enough air compressor for it right now. Although it looked like it worked well but i also heard it can heard the glass if done wrong.

Hand/Block Sanding= I have at least 2 layers of paint and then primer so hand sanding would take years.

DA/Dual Action Sander= They say if you're not careful you'll go too deep and hurt the glass. Also can't get into small areas very well.

Chemical Stripper= Lots are worried about leftover residue when done. Plus it doesn't go through the primer layer which means more work at that stage.

Razer Blade Method= I've used this on my headlight area and the paint just flew off. But from what i've read people have trouble with nicking the fiberglass or going too deep as well. It's also cheap which is why i was leaning more towards this method. But still doesn't get into tight spots.

I just haven't found a definitive method that's good at all aspects of getting paint off so what's your opinions? I know i could have allowed for multiple answers but if you used multiple let me know what worked best for you.

 

I used the razor blade method for most of my car and chemical stripper for the tough spots. It worked pretty good, just make sure you wear safety glasses, its no fun picking paint chips out of your eye.

 

I did the same thing, just keep throwing away the blades often, they must be sharp. Then used Capt. Lee's.

 

I've found that life in general is not definitive, but that's just me. I use chemicals down to the primer, then DA, then hand sand. You may need to DA sooner if the car has multiple coats of paint on it otherwise you will be at it a while.

 

I used Captain Lee's on my 78 - PITA! I recently used Citrustrip on my 69. I found the Citrustrip the easiest to use and the least offensive smelling. I used the spray cans - about 4 - and stripped 95% of the car. I did not use their recommended method of removal - mineral spirits. I used water in a spray bottle and a green Scotchbrite pads. Worked great.

 

If the object is to remove everything, primer included, I'd say DA or chemicals... it's very likely that your primer may be fine. If that's the case (as it was with mine), go with the blade.

My .02,

kdlp

 

I chemically stripped my 77 with the Home Depot Bix brand stripper. It works real good in warmer weather. Disadvantage is it will also loosen up any bondo that is under the paint and I went easy on the stripper on the body joints as to not remove that factory bondo or what ever they call it that they use. I made sure I washed my stripper off real good with water and alcohol. My car has been painted for about 2 years now and no paint lifting from the stripper.

 

I stripped my 79 with Captain Lee's. After 4 years, the new paint is still holding up perfect. The stripper took it down to the last layer of primer and I hand sanded it from there. Then it was about 2 months before the paint was applied. If I had to do it again, I would do it exactly the same

 

stripper is messy slow and messy.

Razor blades are fast and easy. follow along with a shop vac and cleanup is a breeze.
I even did the inside corners with the razor. Very few nicks, and nothing through the primer.

Then you DA off the primer down to the glass, spray a 2 part epoxy, then a sandable primer and start sanding again...

I have seen paint that will not come off with a razor, then you are stuck with something else.

I highly recommend you at least try the razor blade.
Pictures;
http://www.corvettengineering.com/cg...hotos/Painting

 

I blade stripped the 77 mostly because it's practically free, and because my car is not on a concrete slab which meant chemicals would end up in my back yard... not the best of situations. It went quickly, did a fair job and I own a DA and sanding blocks to get the leftovers and crannies. A couple coats of epoxy primer, and just a few spots need a glazing putty. I'd do it that way again.

 

Heat gun and putty knife ....1982 .... 3 days & no panel damage at all .... Divorce stopped all progress till judgement was passed and then never continued, however it could be finished completely in a day with sanding the rest.

 

I'm using SpraStrip by Captain Lee's, working good. Tried Citra Strip and it wasn't working well at all for me.

 

If you use the razor method, round the corners slightly with a grinder or file(wear leather gloves for this). The round edges will help with gouging problems in tighter spots.

I know a lot of guys use chem stripper with good results, but I always worried about the glass absorbing some of it and causing paint problems later.

A D/A to me is out of the question unless you use one all the time and are very good with it. Our cars have hardly any flat surfaces, and you can REALLY screw up a vette if your not super careful. Get a few different size flexible sanding blocks and some PSA ( pressure sensitive adhesive) sandpaper (230 and 400) and go to town after you strip it. I used the newer polyester primers, and they seem to work very well. Epoxy is a good choice also, just make sure you give it plenty of time to dry( 6 or 7 days) before you finish sand and shoot your color.

 

I spent a lot of time contemplating all the options too ...in the end I just got the stripper and had the whole car stripped in one day. That's all it took. In the end I was wondering why I even spent so much time "wondering". I tried the Captn Lees, but I also bought a can of Kleen Strip Fiberglass Safe Stripper on the recommendation of a guy at a bodyshop. The Kleen Strip was much more effective and I had like 10 coats of paint/primer ...thickest paint I've ever seen was on the Vette. Slathered it on with a brush. The Capt'n Lees worked ok on the jambs where there was less paint. I would strip it outside on a cloudy day so you don't have to inhale dangerous fumes. Get some Neoprene gloves, a couple pairs, and put paper underneath the car. If you let the drippings fall on your cement, you'll be looking at the paint spatters on your floor/driveway for several years. After 5 years, I bet I still have some red spots out on my driveway where I had gaps in the paper.

As far as the primer goes, take a scuff pad at the end and some more stripper and work the primer off. Don't worry about getting all the primer off. Wash the car off thoroughly and use a brush. My paint has been on a good 3 years and no problems. I've been involved in several stripped vette projects and we've never had any problems. What I would do afterwards is let the car sit in the sun on both sides and then leave it be for a week or two. Use that time to clean/organize parts and collect new parts. The primer will harden back up in a day or two, then you can sand it off with a DA. You won't damage the primer because at this stage you would use 220 grit paper, not 80 grit. All you need to do is sand it down further ..feather it out, get most of it off. I assume you'll use high-build primer on it anyway and block it out. Don't use any wax and grease remover on the bare glass, but you probably know that already. I relesh the idea that the stripper will remove all the old bodywork. If it's an old paint job and you are going to do a nice, full paint job, I like the idea of 'starting over'. New products are pretty good and may be way better than what was used back in the 80's.

Soda blasting works great on steel bodied cars, and leaves a fantastic finish on steel, ..and vettes too if you have a really astute person behind the nozzle. But doing a whole car at home makes no sense unless you have the right equipment, and this involves a quite large air compressor, larger than any home compressor. Using one of those rinky-dink outfits from Harbor Freight are good for parts, but will take forever on a whole car. Plus it'll cost you a ton. And as far as mess goes, soda breaks upon impact and makes a huge plume of white cloud and dust ...gets everywhere. And on a hot day, there isn't much worse for comfort than spending a day in a Tyvek suite under a sandblast hood with a respirator on. Going a little further, Soda blasting is less invasive than sandblasting but doesn't wash/blow off quite as well people generally advertise. Going off what people say, you'd think you just blow and hose it off. In fact, if you don't get it all off with water, what remains in nooks and crannies gets caked up and very difficult to remove. Then you're down to digging it out with a screwdriver. Here's something else I never read about Soda blasting: it killed all the grass in my lawn near where I was blasting. Huge brown spot. Not only that, I couldn't get grass (or anything) to grow there for a good year, longer actually. It's finally come back looking good from last summer. It must have changed the PH of the ground. The last thing about soda is getting paint to stick. Soda leaves a powdery film. I washed the parts off that I painted, but there still must have been some sort of film left. For example, on my air cleaner assembly and almost all the other parts I initially did, they looked fantastic after being painted. Then I discovered the paint would easily flake off with my fingernail! So I went and stripped the parts again this time with chem stripper and re-painted. Maybe ya have to use soapy water, but that leads to rusty metal and sort of defeats the purpose of the soda stripping. So while soda is great and has it's place, I've run into a few issues that make it a 'tool' in the tool-kit, but definitely not a use-across-the-board solution.

Well, I hope that helps. Good luck on whatever route you decide.

Mark G

 

I used Citristrip, brushed it on and let it set for about 30 minutes then used a razor blade to scrap it off. The whole car took two applications and only one gallon of Citristrip. Then used synthetic steel wool (it’s similar to scotch pads) and lacquer thinner. Then washed it with Dawn and water and rinsed it several times wiping it dry. Then let it set in the sun for several days and repeated the washing. I repeated this several times for several days. Finally wiped it down with sprits and used a DA with 220 on it before shooting epoxy primer. Some agree some do not but this is how I did it.
Best of luck
Scott

 

I used a combination of several methods. I suggest buying a box of 100 blades so you are able to keep a fresh one on at all times to prevent nicks. There are lots of curves on these cars so those were done with either sand paper or chem. I used a DA to work through some spots as well but it is harder to control if you are looking for perfection.

I used about 90 blades. The best part is there is no prep or clean up. Anytime you have a few minutes you can just walk out and scrape a little paint off.

 

Plastic media blast is another choice. Had that done on my 71.

 

Just finished stripping my 81 with blades , its at the painters right now the Coors light beer can lookin vette will be no more !!! (silver on silver) ...went thru a box of blades , got the hang of it pretty quickly , started on the T-Tops to see just how far to go > Paint came off in sheets at some places , used a LITTLE heat from a gun on the low setting for the stubborn spots.
Best part about it I actually enjoyed it ! Got up close and personal with every INCH of the body !!! My teenagers jumped in too ,after seeing how much fun it was !!! and that was even more enjoyable ...just go slow and keep a few extra razor holders (and refreshments) on hand for a paint strippin party !!!
PS Painter had No problems with this method ...didnt have to worry about chemical residue on car

 

And in the curves and corners ? Sand/Chem ???

 

On the curves and corners....you will start to get a feel as to how much paint will peel and where to start a "strip" ....for the hard spots the heat gun on LOW!! and the blade or I also used a 100 grit sanding sponge or a piece of 100 grit wrapped around a bit of heater hose .Didnt use a drop of chemical stripper!