Well, I guess I'm going to try to start stripping the vette body soon with paint remover. Do I have to remove the bumpers to do this? Removing them looks like a hard job. Also, do you think that stripping is the way to go instead of sanding off the old paint.

 

Paul,

I stripped with a heat gun, razor blades, and putty knife.

With urethane bumpers, you don't want to get any of the chemical on them. Even when you chem strip, you still have to sand.

It really depends on how much paint is on your car. If is factory only, I say just sand it. It it has more than two paint jobs, and is cracking from all the paint, then you need to strip it.

Take the bumpers off in any case. It will make a major difference in the final quality of the paint job. Plus, they can be painted off the car allowing for better paint coverage and less chance of getting runs or dry spots.

As you know, chemical stripping is messy, smelly, dangerous to your skin, eyes, and the environment. It can be done, several members here have done it. I have done it twice and will never do it again for a whole car. Everybody hadstheir own opinion-this is just mine.

We just finished a 77 in 2001 yellow. We simply blocked the whole car with 400 wet and shot it in ICI single stage. It came out near perfect. Stripping that whole car would have been a waste of time. Then again, he did not have any bad problems that required complete paint removal.

 

Paul, I don't know anything about painting rubber bumper cars, so I haven't a clue if the bumpers should be removed for stripping and painting. On later model cars, I think the bumpers are usually removed for painting.

I would check with my painter to see what he thinks. I am almost convinced that they should NOT be removed on early rubber bumper cars UNLESS there is a big compromise to the paint job. Reason: I have heard of guys trying to remove the bumpers having trouble with the fasteners being frozen, and when forced, they turn in the bumpers.

You might get under and try a few of the fasteners after a good WD-40 soaking. If they seem to be willing to come off easily, I think I would remove the bumpers for stripping and painting. If they are frozen, I would not mess with them.

Does your car have acrylic lacquer? If it does, chemical stripping is the way to go. You will be able to strip everything except the first primer layer, which will have to be wet sanded off using 220 or 240 grit paper on a sanding block. Apply the stripper to a small area about 2-3 square feet, allow it to set 10-15 minutes or as directed. Use a plastic body filler spreader to scrap off what will come off, then reapply stripper and repeat until you are down to the primer.

If the car has never been repainted, you should find one color layer, a primer-sealer layer (maybe gray), and a red oxide primer layer. Wipe the area down with lacquer thinner when you are done with the stripper, then flush the area well with water to neutralize the stripper. Then sand the primer off to bare fiberglass. Once you are done with that area, move to another 2-3 square feet.

If your car has been repainted in urethane BC/CC, I have heard that strippers are not very effective on modern finishes, but I haven't tried it myself.


[Modified by Chuck Sangerhausen, 2:58 PM 8/29/2001]

 

Here is a link to a tech tip I did last year on stripping the paint. I had planned on doing a few more on repair and painting, but several others have covered that.
http://www.corvetteforum.cc/techtips...D=66&TopicID=5

You do NOT want to get stripper on the bumpers, it will deform them badly.

Anyhow, I hope this helps,
-harry

 

Sounds as if everyone has given you the info you need.

BUT when using stripper........REMEMBER GET FIBERGLASS STRIPPER!! Some of the ones for metal are too harsh for the body. I bought Fiberglass stripper made by Klean Strip at my local PPG paint store....worked pretty well in the areas I needed it.

I don't have the urethane bumpers, but I've heard they are extrmely sensitive to stripper, so I'd be weary......but they may hold up to the fiberglass version.

 

Well, I emailed lars today and got his opinion. lars doesn't like stripper at all. Says he's seen too many Corvettes damaged with it. I guess that I will play it safe and sand instead of using stripper. lars says to use a long sanding board. I don't know how to really use one, but i guess I can figure it out. If I'm going to sand my 75 myself I guess I will go for a color change.
The winner will be #984 Datona Yellow.

 

Be REALLY careful sanding. Especially if you're not familiar with using a long board. There are so many compound curves and ridges on these sharks that it's real easy to screw up a body line in no time flat.

My $0.02 is to at least try out the stripper first. There are many of us here on the forum who have had excellent results with an appropriate fiberglass-safe stripper. Many horror stories come from Bubba jobs that don't neutralize it properly or use regular aircraft stripper on 'glass.

Shannon

 

I agree with ZR above; be sure to use a stripper suitable for fiberglass.

After stripping my car by the method I posted above, it is hard for me to understand how anyone can damage the fiberglass with stripper. There were times when I didn't think it was going to take the paint off! Those cases Lars is talking about must have been where clowns covered the entire car with stripper before starting to scrape it off. You can't leave that stuff on there any longer than the directions say, and you have to flush it thoroughly with water when the area is stripped. The wet sanding of the primer takes care of any residual.

A long board is easy to use, but as Shannon says, its use is primarily to keep lines straight and surfaces flat. An ideal place to use one is on the rear deck. Beyond that, you will find a conventional hand block will often be too wide, too flat, and too square. On those curves between the sugar scoop wings and the rear fender peak, for example, you will have to go to foam rubber sanding pads. There is no way to get any kind of block or board in there.

 

Give the razor blade method a try, it works well especially if you have thick multiple coats of paint :yesnod:

 

I agree yellow 72. I'm doing the same on my 68 and like I see in your photo, I have two kinds of primer color in like locations. Is this factory?
Thanks,
David

 

At the factory, the first primer coat during these years was red oxide. There was then another coat of primer or primer sealer that was applied. The color of this coat may vary according to the color to be sprayed. For my white car, this coat was a blueish-gray, and these two colors may be what you are seeing. When you are using stripper, the sequence including any re-paints is very clear since you go through one layer at a time

Sorry, yellow72, I could never bring myself to use razor blades on my fiberglass. I have heard of this being done, and I know folks are successful with it, but if you are clumsy, the corner of a razor blade can do a lot of damage to fiberglass. Then you have to repair all the little razor nicks before you can paint the car. I guess I just lack confidence in myself. :D

 

As you've seen many opinons on the subject, but I have to throw in with yellow72 & David 68. I used stripper on the right front quarter, took forever, the last coat of paint must be made of lead cause it took several coats of stripper to finally get it off. Then I left the body to work on the rolling chasiss. I read a thread a few weeks back about the razor blade and went no way. But I decided to try and see what happened and was I surprised. I got the door and rear quarter stripped off in about 2 hours. Got some good callouses now. Of course each car is different, the razor works for me. Good scraping, stripping, sanding ,blading or whatever works for you!

 

You see, DVG73, that's the thing: You are not supposed to strip the last coat of red oxide primer; the primer is supposed to be sanded off. As you said, that red oxide primer is nearly impervious to stripper, but it sands off quickly. I am not suprised it took you a long time if you stripped the primer.

Sanding the primer off is actually faster, and it guarantees that stripper will never come in intimate contact with your bare fiberglass. If stripper comes in contact with any bare fiberglass, I would wipe it away immediately with lacquer thinner, and then flush the area thoroughly with water after it was stripped.

But, like you said, different strokes for different folks. :D

 

All this good info has once again changed my mind. I guess that I will use stripper to start off with. My vette has been repainted so I guess stripper will be the first choice. I can agree that sanding the primer is the way to go. I hope getting to that point won't take forever. When you guys talk about sanding the primer or what ever, are you sanding by hand with a sanding block or you using an electric sander like a quarter sheet palm sander. Being a boater most of my life I have about every type of sander know to man, but I don't know which type is safe to use on the vette.

 

Look through my pics here. You will see a couple of shots of the rear clip after I did the old razor and heat gun trick.

Do what works best for you. The "long block" keeps you from causing little low spots all over the car and it also helps straighten out areas where there are imperfections. The C3 is very difficult to "long block" in most areas due to the curves, but it is wise to long block where possible (deck surface etc.). The trick is to change your sanding pattern often to avoid digging in at any one spot. Go at different angles to attack every possible high or low spot. Hand sanding takes the most time, but can yield the best long term results. Plus, you get a real feel for the finish of the car.

Don't forget to guide coat. This works hand in hand with the blocking. It will reveal imperfections that are impossible to see with the naked eye alone, or even with feel. You will notice in one of my last pictures a few areas that the guide coat revealed.

Good luck and have fun.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/Album...1&showall=true

 

Paul, I would not use a sander. Machine sanders are agressive and get the job done quickly, but unless you are very skilled at using a sander, a half second at a spot beyond when the primer is completely gone, and you will have a slight depression. Start-up of the sander is also dangerous: I find when I start my DeWalt orbital sander off the work surface (probably not good technique) and apply it, I get a circular gouge as the sander speed slows to normal work speed.

Sand off the primer by hand using a standard rubber block where ever it can be used, and purchase several foam sanding pads for the tight curves where the block will not go. The sanding block is 3M "Auto-pak", part number 051144-03148. This block uses 1/4 sheet of paper, but the dimension is 2.5" X 8", i.e. across the width of the sheet. The foam pads are about 2" X 5" X 0.5" thick and the 3M part number is 051131-05526 .

You should be able to get these items at Home Depot, but if you don't find them, you paint supply store should have them. While you are at the paint store, also pick up six or eight 8X10 sheets of Scotchbrite scuffing pad; use about 1/8 of a sheet to scrub off softened paint that doesn't release. Preferred wet paper grit is 240, but I used 220 successfully. I wouldn't go any courser than 220 grit paper. Have a large bucket of water handy to dip your sanding block into often, and change the water frequently.

When I stripped my car, I was prepared for an agonizing task. What I found was that the work wasn't hard, but you couldn't rush the process. Just relax, work steady, and take your time. Make it a labor of love, and before you know it the job will be done. "By the inch it's a cinch; by the mile it's a trial".

P.S. You will need at least two gallons of stripper to do the car and maybe part of a third gallon, so I wouldn't start out buying it in quart cans. :D :D


[Modified by Chuck Sangerhausen, 7:03 AM 8/30/2001]


[Modified by Chuck Sangerhausen, 7:08 AM 8/30/2001]

 

In my case, the two colors of primer was a case of whatever they had on hand.
This car looked relitively straight but had a so so paint job. When I started to strip it, I found some amazing use of body filler. For eample, to fill the luggage rack holes Bubba the body man globbed filler over the holes and then covered the entire deck with a layer of filler to even it all out. :smash: :eek: :smash:

 

69myway- WOW those pic's are great on your site. I will study them tonight. Bottom line is that I am going to take this project on. Will begin taking everything off vette this week-end. Hopefully I will be able to pull both bumpers. Will use stripper to remove the 2nd coat of paint and will think about everything else when I get to that point. Overall looks like a couple of months to have newly painted Corvette.

 

We're in the process of stripping our 72 right now. We've known we were going to do it for a while, but have been "finding" mechanical stuff to work on because that's more fun. But this summer, we decided we were going to get the stripping done before winter set in.

A few "lessons learned" so far:

1. Be patient.

2. We are using Capt Lee's Spray-Strip. Good stuff. But it works better for us to brush it on. Just remember to use natural hair paint brushes; the synthetics dissolve.

3. Be patient.

4. Don't try to do too much at a time. 1 -2 square feet is about all you want to mess with; otherwise it starts drying out on you.

5. Be patient.

6. Don't try to do it too long at a time. About 4 hours is the max. We've been averaging a couple of hours in the evenings a couple of times a week. It adds up, and we're almost done now.

7. And don't forget: be patient!

Good luck. :cheers:

 

Make sure you look at 984 Daytona Yellow in person. This weekend at Carlisle I saw some Daytona yellow cars and realized that my car is actually closer to 72 Sunflower Yellow. Daytona yellow is more "lemony" looking. I'll post some pics to show the differences.

If you like that color more power to you, I just have found that a lot of people don't realize how light of a Yellow it is.

(On a personal note, I like Daytona Yellow, but my wife hates it, so we decided we both like Sunflower Yellow, which is the color we both agree on. I still may do Daytona, it is MY car afterall :D :D)