I have an 89 vert that I plan on repainting this fall. Local shops want anywhere from $3000 to $6000. :crazy: I don't plan on entering any "Best of" shows so perfection is not my goal, after all it's not a rare car. The car was stored under a carport for a decade and the sun did a number on it not to mention the dog that crawled all over it.

My one concern is this: I will need to strip the current paint layers because it has be painted. That alone is not the reason for the strip but what follows is. The passenger door has been schmacked sometime in the past and the repair job must have been done by a child. It's not a big spot, only about the size of your hand, but pretty sad and lumpy and the paint is darker on that door then the rest of the car. The rear deck has a bad case of crazing, I think you call it. The paint under the clear is cracked into a million pieces and gives the deck area a hazy, white appearance so this will need to be removed. I don't want to just sand and paint over everyone elses mistakes so I wanted to know if anyone has used the paint striper from Mid America called "Auto Spra-Strip". It is advertised not to harm the gel-coat. I will stay with the factory paint code of red but would like to add some metal flake.

Does any one have any experience they can share? My brother will be painting this. He has done 4 cars before and did a pretty fair job on all.

 

Well, I can say this much if you plan on using chemical to strip your paint off look forward to a big mess to clean up on. If you want my opinion I would stick with an old fashion DA sander and just take everything off that way. That way you will have a nice smooth surface to prime/paint. Also use an upgraded Primer that will help your job look allot better. I would suggest primer sand again and primer again if you have cracks it may be the Fiberglass body weakening and that would spider your new paint job! If you still see the Spider cracks after you sand or strip you should coat the section with resign and sand that smooth as well. Good Luck pick a good quality
paint too PPG or house of Color may help your job look just as good as a pro. And donÂ’t worry if you get imperceptions you can always wait till it dries and just wet sand it with 1500 and 2500 then buff with 3m perfect-it thatÂ’s what I used came out very nice.


by the way I used to run/own a body shop for about a year didn't like the dust so I moved on
hope it helps you

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[Modified by Albertgofaster, 10:34 PM 3/24/2004]

 

Thank you for the sound advice. It was just the little I needed to get me heading in the right direction. I never thought about the clean up so I believe I will use the sanding method.

:seeya :auto:

 

No problem Good Luck!


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:lurk: Please let us know how it works out. I plan on doing my own as well sometime down the road. I'm learning the technique for spraying cars, I've done a lot of body work and resto on various cars but have never sprayed a full automobile. I'll practice on some junkers before I tackle the vette. Good luck. :thumbs:

 

I repainted my 80 vette a couple years ago. I DA'd the body and used aircraft stripper on the rubber nose. The DA works, but it is time consuming and easier to smmoth oout the fender peaks and body lines than you think. The stripper works great on the flimsy rubber parts, but there is a mess. If you are going to use stripper on someparts of the car, like corners or edges drive your car onto a tarp or cardboard so when you scrape the stuff off, it goes onto the that and you just throw it away.
Some pics of the ordeal. http://www.geocities.com/eric_christie/vette1.htm
:lol:

 

I was nervous about the striper use on the rubber parts. I think I will strip the back deck and sand the rest down. I plan on starting late this summer simply because that will be when my brother will be available, otherwise I would start now and have it ready for the May 1 Georgia Plantation cruise.

I'll keep everyone posted and maybe even post pics of the process.

:cheers:

 

Brings back memories :rolleyes: My first vette, a 62 was in terible condition when I got it, like spinedocs. I went with the chemical stripper, yeah it was messy, but I did section at a time, using drop cloths, platic putty knives and alot of sweat! I think in my case it was easier and much faster than trying to DA it. Of course there's still Da work after the chemical strip. If I had to do it again, I'd still do the chemical strip. Just me. :D

 

I have to show my ignorance here.....what is a DA sander? :confused:

 

DA sanders are dual action sanders which move in an orbital and i guess a back and forth type motion. Help to remove paint and such without as much damage to underlying surface. In my case a DA was a brutal weapon that almost turned my vette into a shapeless mass. Don't push to hard!! :smash:

 

Be careful when sanding, it's very easy to remove the lines of the body!!!! If you haven't had any practice with a "DA", don't work on the car first..

I'd suggest getting your hands on a book or two, better yet, some videos that teach the proper technics. Also, learn about "guide coating". Mucho importanta......

Good luck.

:cheers:

 

:iagree:

 

Ah yes i didnt warn about removing lines because guys its a 89' not many lines like the C3 models but you guys are all right. The DA is a deadly weapon in the wrong hands lol just let the esander do the work dont push at all really. Heres the secret about the DA Sand Grit sto low then work high that makes it alot easier and faster. People make the mistake of trying to do it all with like 600 or 800 Grit big mistake as i learned the hard way. Oh well good luck again!

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[Modified by Albertgofaster, 4:15 AM 3/26/2004]