I am having a devil of a time removing lacquer from my car... The problem being when I apply the paint remover the paint gets gummy.
A real pain to remove.

Is there a better way?

I am using Jasco Premium Paint & Epoxy Remover.

I have had no problems with this remover softening the fiberglass.

Maybe I should just sand?

 

I have not used that brand of paint remover...so with it getting all 'gummy' may depend on if you are applying enough or of the lacquer is really thick.

The chemical stripper I use will almost liquefy the lacquer and cause it to get quite watery in many cases...but not all cases.

Now knowing how you are doing this may also cause the 'gummy ' issue.and how you are removing it also. You might not be applying enough when you apply it..and because you are not apply enough stripper on the paint...it soaks in and then it is gummy...or the stripper is weak in strength. Like I wrote...I have not used what you are using so I can not say for a fact.

Chemical stripping is s messy job but I have done it for so long it is all about keeping it under control and not trying to do too much and then it gets really messy and a pain.

The chemical stripper I use for decades is not made for fiberglass...but that is what the manufacture writes to protect itself from ignorant people who try it for the first time and screw up badly ( NOT referring to you) and then expect the manufacturer to pay for damage that they inflicted themselves on their own car because they were not paying attention. I have never had a problem EVER with it because I am watching what I am doing and pay attention to what is going on.

Think of chemical stripping like cooking a steak. If you coals on the grille are quite cold and barely able to melt butter...you can let the steak lay there for a while a slow cook and not worry about overcooking it. But if your coal are really HOT and you are not paying attention to your steak and you walk away and talk on the phone...then you have no one but yourself to blame if you come back and now your streak is cooked to death....and not like you are going to take it to the grocery store and want another one for free.

So...the intensity of the heat of the coals is what is the analogy to the strength of the active ingredient in chemical stripper. If the chemicals are stout...pay attention. If they are weak...then it can take much longer and more of it to get the end result the same. And the easiest way to find this out is do small test areas and find what it takes to get it off. Which is where most people fail to do this and then wonder why they have a problem. Because as like I mentioned to a forum member who called me today about chemical stripping...There is no set way of doing it or how long it stays on the panel...or how thick of a layer you apply because there are too many variables in what type of paint a person is stripping off and thus...a person must (should)test it first and find that magic solution of getting to off as quickly and easily as possible.

OR...sand if off ..which I would not advise unless you know how to correctly block sand or use power sanding tools.

DUB

 

Are you trying to remove the original lacquer paint?

I stripped the original lacquer paint and re-painted my 76 last year.

I used a combination of techniques: razor blade scraper, razor blade scraper and variable heat gun, and the orange biodegradable Citri-Strip. Nowhere did I use any power sanders.

In some areas the paint stripped right off with the razor blade scraper, some areas needed a little heat (not too much, lacquer will get gummy with too much heat) and on some of the more difficult areas, radius-ed areas, etc I used the citri strip.

Some folks on here reported stripping their car in a day. Mine took about five days - I went slow. If you use a razor blade scraper be careful. Every nick means more bodywork to fix. when you use the chemical stripper, make sure you wash the car down good every time you use it. You don't want any of that residue left.

I stayed away from power sanders because I am not a professional body man and a momentary lapse of attention can be a disaster if it tears into the fiberglass. I did everything by hand. Well, that's a lie. I did rout out the bonding strips with a Dremel tool and bit, but that was it.

After I had it all stripped, I filled all the bonding strips and defects with Vette Panel Adhesive and then block sanded it. Then sprayed on a good coat of Evercoat Slick Sand. I blocked that and followed with a 2K fill-able primer and wet sanded it and then did my base coat/clear coat followed by wet sanding and buffing.

I used the Tru Flex fiberglass front and rear bumpers. They required quite a bit of hand fitting particularly the front bumper. If I were to do it again I'd just go with a good quality fiberglass bumper. The Tru Flex don't really flex all that much and I think they are a bit thinner than the rigid fiberglass. The same company makes a rigid glass bumper also.

My car came out looking great. Everybody that looks at it asks where I got it painted. When I tell them I did it the response is either they think I'm kidding them, or they ask if I'd be interested in doing theirs. I usually respond with "sure, I'll paint it for $50,000 plus materials. at that, I'll probably only be making around $3.50 an hour by the time I'm through". I think the professional work is best left to the professionals like Dub, who was kind enough to give me some tips along the way.


The experience Dub is kind enough to share with us weekend warriors on this forum is priceless. A lot of it you could never get from a how-to book. It came from the school of hard knocks.

Dub, you need to put together one of those car shows on the Velocity Channel specializing in Corvettes like the guy that does the Dodges does. His show is interesting (except when he dances around) but I bet there are more Corvette people out there in TV land.

 

The only time I had "gummy" paint using stripper was on a hood that was shot with Imron which is a polyurethane coating. Took forever to strip that hood and a lot of stripper.

 

Sounds like you are brushing on a thin coat of stripper? Haven't used the one you're using, but used 'aircraft stripper' and it has to go on thick. It's also important not to brush it around. Just slobber it on there and let it sit and do its thing.

 

THANKS!! Hopefully any of the stuff I put on the forum or what I mentioned to you helped you...because that is what it is intended to do.

I am still in process of getting the 'book' finished...but it is a long process and goes through revisions all the time so it can be comprehended as easily as possible.

As for being on TV.....I seriously doubt I would get picked to be the host of any show dealing with cars. It would be rather boring and the only drama that would occur is when I was fabricating something custom.....or me cussing like a sailor when parts I have been waiting for come in and are total crap. I would want the show to be more high tech and showing how to do things....instead of the childish drama that some producers feel is the way to go to please today's audience.



Thin coats of chemical stripper can make it quite gummy.

Brush in ONE DIRECTION and try not to brush it again and again...due to it effects the 'skin' that the stripper will develop so the chemicals can go down and not vent out and make the chemical stripper less effective.

DUB

 

I think the stripper is what is sold at Lowes and other home stores. They sell Jasco brand and there is a premium paint and epoxy stripper. It's not meant for automotive paints and as for lacquers my guess is he's not putting on enough. The stuff is total garbage. Like every chemical sold at the big box stores it's made so the consumer can't get hurt aka watered down. Hope he gets it stripped ok.

 

somewhat...many products at these 'big box' stores have been 'dumbed down' so the public can use it and not get hurt to badly when they do not read instructions and get hurt.

About the only chemical I buy from the 'bog box' stores is acetone....they can not screw that up. About 99% of the time I buy my stuff from the local small hardware store literary down teh street to help keep them in business.

Although I know several forum members has used chemical stripper from the big box stores with success ( so they said). I will stick what what I have been using and not worry about it.

DUB