Wow...it has been some time since I have been deep in the C3 stuff.

Some of you may remember this project:

http://www.mcspeed.homestead.com/Vacation.html

I did the bird cage replacement on this car in exchange for the new Richmond Six speed and supporting hardware for Killer.

That was last year...this is now.

He brought the car back this weekend. We are swapping and trading again. He is hooking me up with a pair of LT1 engines and a 4L60E for my 69 Camaro project in exhange for my time and expertise in prepping the 71 for paint.

Phase II of this project requires me to strip the old paint, prep the body and get it ready for new paint. I am not doing the final paint work.

The old paint on this car just gums up the DA paper. It is a great candidate for chemical, media blasting...or in this case RAZOR stripping. Since I already jammed it with new paint last year and have tons of money tied up in freshly painted or coated frame/suspension parts...chemical and media blasting is out of the question.

Yes it is time consuming...but it actually takes less time, energy, and supplies to strip by razor than sand paper.

I will start making regular updates to my site as the paint comes off and the primer/filler goes on.

I hope those of you out there going through, or contemplating such a massive overhaul of your C3 can get some pratical ideas from this project to make yours go a little bit easier.

 

Way cool!

Thanks for sharing. I can't wait 'til the day I pull out the razor blade on my 74.

 

You know, it is kind of addicting. You find yourself on the pursuit of the perfect scrape. There is a strange rush when you start a line with the razor and as you push you keep trying to stretch it a little longer each time. Once in a while you hit the "PERFECT" scrape when you are able to go the length of the panel with one perfect swoop.

I know....I live a boring life!

 

I know the feeling completely! I've been scraping the paint off of mine, and the big open flat areas are great for that. My problem is the tight areas. I've got a few that I think I'll just have to chemically remove the paint, as I'm too afraid of seriously gouging the body. I can already tell that the high fill primer is going to be my friend in dealing with all the little nicks.

 

Cool, is this one going to also be flared & black ?

 

Nope, I can't talk him into that. He is however considering slapping a big block in there and a few other go fast goodies. We can only hope

 

Great website!

BTW, who is the hottie in the poster on the wall of your shop? YOWZA!

 

I am doing the exact same thing right now. My '71 is now down to the gel coat and I am replacing inner fenders and starting front end valance and lower fender repairs. Your progress will be very helpful to me [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG]


[Modified by Bnine, 10:32 PM 6/8/2004]

 

Thanks,

Actually, I am not sure who that is. My brother in law bought me those posters to decorate my shop with a "mans" kind of style. So, the wife couldn't say anything about it!

This car has THREE layers of paint. I am having to razor off the last paint job, then razor the next one down in a seperate action. The next layer is right at the facotry paint/gel coat surface.

Due to having to scrape the whole car twice, it is going to take a bit longer.

Here is the progress as of last night:







[Modified by 69Myway, 4:25 AM 6/9/2004]

 

Quick update.

This car came from the factory orange. It has been painted at least three times. It was brown when Mike bought the car. He had it stripped, gelcoated and painted blue. Several years later his brother damaged the paint on the front of the car with carb cleaner. He then had the whole car repainted...blue again.

The razor has NO problem stripping the upper coat of blue off the car. It comes off like butter. There is then a sealer/primer layer that requires more effort and takes far more time to remove.

Yesterday I started the DA process on the rear panels that I had stripped through both layers. At that point, it sands super easy and the mess is minimal (dust, etc).

This is a SLOW process however.

If all goes well by this Saturday I will be through both layers and have the whole car sanded down (80 grit). I will then start fixing the stress cracks and light filler to align the door skins with the front fenders to perfection.

The driver door has some waves in it (typical, the inner support and door are delaminated). This takes much more time and effort with the long air file, blocks, and lots of patience to see it through.

Nothing really to show in pics yet. I will save that for next weekend.


BTW, The USA made vs. China made razors make a HUGE difference. The only razors I can get that will effectively strip the car in nice complete and smooth strokes are those that have USA stamped on the upper sleeve.

So...if you have tried this and had bad luck, look to see what make razor you are using. The China and USA razors look exactly the same to the naked eye, but perform completly different.

 

can't wait to see the car painted!!!

 

I feel like I have been working in slow motion...but I finally got al the paint (except the hood) off via razor and took the first run around the car with the DA. Now I have to start fixing the cracks, feather fill and preparing for the first coat of primer. Pics to come...I have just been slow in getting anything done.

 

Progress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me take you through the steps. I stripped the car with the razor blade going over it twice. I then rough sanded and patched obvious cracks and (oops), razor gouges. Next, I ran the DA over the car to prep for primer. I shot eurothane primer on the car. Next, I began long blocking and repairing other now more obvious problems. After a full rough sand I shot the car again. This was followed with slow and easy long blocking on a 9" wet board at 320. I found yet more minor problems. Next step was to shoot the car again. Note, I have been blocking substantial amounts of primer off each time, so I am not just loading tons of material on for the heck of it.

After shooting this last run of primer I shot a light coat of black base on the car. This will allow me to guide coat and block down to find the low spots. A quick feather fill and sand in those areas followed by spot coating and it should be as ready as it will ever be.







Over the 4th weekend I hope to bust this all down in 400, find the problem spots then spot prime and step up to a final grit of 500.

 

I have a question about using a razor in stripping the old paint off; do you treat the surface with some kind of chemical before thr razor to loosen up the paint, or just attack it with the razor?

www.bigdogvettes.com

 

Not in this case. It depends on the type and condition of paint on the car to start with. You would be surprised how easy some paint just strips right off using a blade. The more flexible the paint, or newer that it is the harder a razor is to use. In those cases chemical stripping may work well, or media blasting.

 

Schwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooo oooooo

Man, this stuff will wear you out!!!!!!!!

I got together with the painter and went over the final details. He has a good eye and noted somethings I had missed.

The headlight doors were were repaired (aluminum welded), which caused some warpage across the door surface. The passenger one seemed fine, but the driver was a mess.

I "think" I have that taken care of now.

The painter wanted me to shoot the car in some stuff called Z Chrome. It is more or less a polyester resin type ultra high build primer with zinc impregnated into the primer material. It is a rust color.

He prefers this as it is high build, does not shrink over time (like the erothanes do), and is strong.

So...... on it went.

You basically activate it with the same stuff you activate fiberglass resin.

It looks kind of funky now, pics later.

I have to block the whole car ONE more time, then get the painter over to take a look.

 

Here are the latest pics.

Car went to the painter today.

The painter will need to go over every detail one last time, then put the slick stuff on.

My arms feel like they are ready to fall off.

I have over 100 hours of mostly hand work on this thing.



Here it is with the guide coat for the Z chrome.



Here it is on the trailer leaving for a while.

 

Thanks for sharing! My arms hurt just thinking about what you have been through.

You are fast too!

 

If you didn't work at 100 mph maybe your arms wouldn't be so tired.

Nice work!

 

Very nice work Chris...you will truely enjoy the fruits of your labor once it's back. Car surface looks real smooth and slick..can't wait to see it with the paint!!