Cleaning bare fiberglass
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 21
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Cleaning bare fiberglass
i just bought my first corvette, a '69. The previous owner took it down to bare fiberglass. It looks like there are a few stains embedded into the fiberglass such as oil and grease. What is your suggestion for cleaning these areas on bare fiberglass? Thanks.
Billy
Billy
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,709
Likes: 3
From: Savannah GA
Start easy and inexpensive and wash the car with Dawn dish soap and water; twice a day every day for a week. If that does not pull the oils out the next step would be to wash with Dawn and dry for 24 hours, mop with acetone and paper towels, and repeat as required until nothing else comes to the surface. In extreme cases you may need to cut out the soaked areas ad replace them with new panels. The key here is patience, persistence and a bit of luck.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,630
Likes: 293
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Acetone on a rag and set it on spot. My painter also said paint thinner and same thing. It'll soak in and evaporate. I had something in front corner of mine before it went to paint. Did this a few times and it pulled it out. My car has been painted for 2 years now and no issues at all in that same spot.
The dawn seems like an extra step, not saying it wouldn't work....I'd just go straight to the acetone. Evaporates quick and won't cause any issues.
Good luck!
The dawn seems like an extra step, not saying it wouldn't work....I'd just go straight to the acetone. Evaporates quick and won't cause any issues.
Good luck!
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,705
Likes: 983
From: Orlando FL
Billy, the guys on this forum are a Godsend of information! I`m also working on my first Vette, and the Dawn soap was suggested to me by a few members, and it worked very well! We just painted the door jambs, hood, tops, and other small parts yesterday, and it came out GREAT!
I washed it with heavy Dawn soap, rinsed 3 times with clear water, let dry for 24 hours, . (We didn`t have any of the oil spots to clear up though.)
Good luck with it!
I washed it with heavy Dawn soap, rinsed 3 times with clear water, let dry for 24 hours, . (We didn`t have any of the oil spots to clear up though.)
Good luck with it!
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
Laquer thinner is ok. Better yet, you can go to your local auto paint/body shop supplies store and get a gallon of "wax and grease remover." ( there are numerous brand names.) Even though my car is complete, I keep a gallon of this around at all times, and find myself using it often. Body men use it to wipe down car just prior to painting. It evaporates quickly, and also will not harm completed paint. Works great for getting grease stains off of upholstery, clothes, etc. Use it to wipe up spilled oil, or even to clean small parts. Removes grease well, and does not leave any residue.
