My paint on my 73 is looking pretty bad. Whoever owned the car before me decided to have it painted. They didn't prep it right, they didn't use the right color code for the paint. It must have been a Maaco job. (nothing against Maaco, you get what you pay for). But it has left checking in the finish, bubbles, etc. I need to strip it. What chemical stripper can I use, and is there any special tricks to stripping it off?

 

Check in the paint & body section or do a search.
Tons of info here if you're willing to spend some time here

 

Auto Spray Strip, Cap'n Lee's, or anything similar safe for fiberglass. Chemical stripping is extremely messy, so gear up accordingly. Be patient and let the stripper do it's thing.

Good luck.

 

This is what I used, good results.

 

I used Capt. Lee's and it worked well.

 

I am currently in the process of stripping and repainting my '80 model. We started out using Klean-Strip remover for Fiberglass which took the paint off rapidly but would not touch the primer.

Looking for an alternative I found Citri-Strip praised on a forum and got a 1/2 gal. bottle at Home Depot. I would highly recommend it for the following reasons:
1) No bad fumes (smells like oranges).
2) Works quickly on paint.
3) Will allow you to easily remove primer with just a little help from some #1 steel wool.
4) No apparent threat to fiberglass so it's much safer than most other strippers.

In short I have found no downside to this product! However, if anyone has any words of caution or input I would be glad to listen.

One final note. Stripping isn't hard but it is a messy, time-consuming process so be prepared. However, the Citri-Strip took everything off with no damage to the gelcoat as sanding would have done which would have required body filler and lots of sanding to correct. Starting with a smooth gelcoat finish will in all likelihood save us a bunch of time when we get to block sanding our primer.

 

Vettes never had gelcoat

 

He just said his did, so 1 Vette has gelcoat!!!
Just kiddin, I've never seen one that had gelcoat.
I am not a big believer of chemically stripping fiberglass, so, if you must use chemicals to strip your Vette, use a fiberglass approved stripper. If the container doesn't specifically state it's safe for fiberglass, find another to use. There, my $.02 worth


BBTank

 

I'm going to give razor blades a try after seeing this guy.. check it out..

http://www.corvette-restoration.com/...ng%20paint.AVI

 

Pardon my ignorance. I just assumed what we found below the primer was a gelcoat because we don't see any glass fibers, just a smooth gray surface. Thanks for setting me straight.

I would appreciate some further advice. I was sold PPG JP202 Primer and in an e-mail with PPG the rep. said "The JP202 would be recommended over sanded and cleaned gel coat, we offer nothing to coat over raw fiberglass.


Thank You,
Refinish Technical Service"

So, am I looking at "raw fiberglass"? Do I need to get back with PPG on the suitability of this primer?

 

Over raw fiberglass use epoxy primer, check here in the paint section thats what the pros recommend.

 

I used Capt'n Lees on mine, and was very happy. It took some time but was well worth it.

 

i had mine media blasted and used spi epoxy to seal the raw glass. results are very nice.

 

Today I contacted the paint supplier and got the contact info for our local PPG paint tech.. He has over 20 years of experience as a painter and has painted numerous Vettes he has owned. He came out to our shop and set us straight. He recommended Z-Chome Rust Defender by Clausen which is a polyester primer to go over our bare fiberglass. It will keep the glass fibers from sticking up after painting. He has used it himself with great success. He recommended 2-3 coats followed by block sanding with more coats followed by block sanding if necessary. After that we can shoot the primer, base and clear with the normal block sanding etc..

This guy has obviously saved us an immense amount time and money that the poor advice we got from the salesperson at the paint store would have cost us. He even offered to come by as often as we asked him as this project progresses. I just got damn lucky.

The lesson to be learned is not to be afraid to ask a lot of questions if you are a novice as I am. Find the best brains you can find and pick them for all you can get.

Thanks again to those who offered advice in earlier posts. Had you not bothered to comment I would not have started to ask some VERY important questions.

 

We're using PPG K36 primer. It's a filler/high build primer and is also used for blocking. It goes over raw 'glass, gelcoat (aftermarket panels are gelcoated), etc.

 

j scott i would post or look in the paint and body section here, some of these painters have been painting cars for over forty years.

 

Thanks so much for the advice Car71. I am new to this forum and hadn't come across that part of the forum yet. It does look like it would be very helpful and I will be sure to use it as a resource.

 

go user cp then forum jump its in there

 

Thanks again car71. That makes it easy to get to an otherwise comparatively well-hidden forum. It didn't pop out on any of their drop-down menus that I could find. After some digging I had found it earlier, but only because you told me it was out there somewhere.

 

Before you suit up in your hazmat suit, resperator and double layer gloves to strip your car with paint stripper, try a razor blade. It's like scraping a sticker off glass, sometimes easier.
I just did my '69 that way. I Did use stripper on the hood, so I know the difference.
No all cars can be done that way, some paint is bonded too well, but try it, it's easy cheap and safe.

And no Gel coat, you're not building a boat!
Use epoxy primer, followed by sandable primer. Any glass hairs will be sanded off and firmly embeded in your skin...