I am preparing to strip the paint from a used '63 hood using a chemical paint remover made for use on fiberglass. Since I have never done this before,I would appreciate the advice of members who have experience removing paint with a chemical solvent. I understand that after the paint is softened and removed with a plastic scraper, the panel must be scrubbed down with Laquer thinner. Do I have to wash the panel down with a hose to totally neutralize the stripper and Laquer thinner? Any and all advice is gratly appreciated.. Len
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Re: chemical paint removal
Len,
I will share with you the process that works for me. I use a spray-on stripper, and scrape the softened paint with a plastic body filler applicator. after scraping, I will spray more stripper on and scrub with a coarse, open weave scuubbing pad. You can continue this process until all the paint including the primer are gone and nothing but the bare glass is left. This porocess while a little time consuming, will assure that the stipper is not left on any longer than necessary to remove the paint and you will find that almost no sanding is necessary to remove any primer. after this proccess is complete, I will scrub the finished section with warm soapy water and rinse well with fresh water. I have never found the need to wash the entire car down with lacquer thinner, as the soapy water scrubbing does a real nice job of removing any remmnants of the stripper. I would reccomend that you do not do the entire car at one time, and only do the car one panel at a time to minimize the time the stripper sits on the car and allow you to do a better job.
Regards, John McGraw -
Re: chemical paint removal
That's a pretty good proceedure that John describes. It is imperative that all the stripper be removed from the fiberglass as quickly as possible, and that the surface be very throughly cleaned afterwards. Old fiberglass parts on cars, including Corvettes, have a bad habit of trapping solvents/strippers/ and other contaminates which sometimes don't become evident until after the top coats have been applied and baked. Then you get small blisters or bubbles.
Don't let this scare you. If you clean everything like John recommends, you'll be fine.Comment
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Re: chemical paint removal
John & Ed: Thanks for the speedy replies and the valuable advice you have given me. I feel pretty comfortable proceeding with the process given the benefit of your experience. Thanks to all. LenComment
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Re: chemical paint removal
Ed I stripped and painted my 70 in 1989-90. About 4-5 years ago some very small blisters appeared on my hood near he center section. I thought I cleaned it really good after stripping and washed it multiple times with soap and water, and painted it 6-8 months later. Have you heard of the stripper affecting the paint this many years after application?Comment
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Re: chemical paint removal
I have seen this sort of thing happen more than once. I don't know that it is necessarily stripper, but SOMETHING has gotten trapped under the paint. Could possibly be some solvent or something in the primer. I know that if the new urethane primers are not mixed just right and properly applied all sorts of nasty things can and will happen. Why it sometimes takes years to show up I have no idea.Comment
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So whats a good brand of paint remover?
I need to do my 69 I was going to go with plastic media
I have now heard enough stories about it that I will just strip the car myself
plus I don't mind and it saves me money!
anyway whats the best kind?
Im think spray type..
johnnyComment
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Re: So whats a good brand of paint remover?
Captain Lee works for me. sprays on so no waste. about 22/ gal. mikeComment
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Re: So whats a good brand of paint remover?
I have heard much about Captain Lee's stripper, but have never used it as I have never found it in this area. I have used the Bix spray-on stripper from the Home Depot for years with good results. The bottom line is, It probably doesn't make any difference which stripper you use since almost every one of tham has the same ingredients. It is simply a matter of body, and like Mike, I prefer the spray-on types.
Regards, John McGrawComment
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Re: So whats a good brand of paint remover?
I have seen captain lee's in the ecklers catolog.
it looks like a real good product nice spray on aplication.
better than what we used to use at work "baby sh*t" was the our name for it real messy paint remover.
So how much do you think it would take to do my car a gallon 2 gallons?
note my 69 is down to red primer and shows fiberglass fibers in some spots from the previous owners sanding to far so i wont need as much as someone with a painted car..
Also any ideas on removing bondo from my car?
yes bondo..
johnnyComment
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Re: So whats a good brand of paint remover?
I got Captain Lee's from Corvette Central. I also believe Keene and others have it. I worked very well on the laquer but struggled with the primer. I could not find anything that would take the primer off well except a lot of work with a stripper pad.
DaveComment
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Re: So whats a good brand of paint remover?
This question is slightly off topic regarding chemical paint removal, but I'll try anyway. For a future Top Flight candidate, how much of the vehicle's paint should be removed - exterior, of course, but what about jambs, interior, birdcage, etc.Comment
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Re: So whats a good brand of paint remover?
Most of the strippers are designed to cut to the primer, and leave the primer untouched. Then you can carefully sand the primer off in areas that you need to get down to the original glass. For my 74, I hand sanded the primer off, after the chemical strip. I did it so many years ago, I don't remember the brand of stripper, but it was a brush on and was a mess, but wored well. Seems like it was some type of aircraft stripper and mentioned was safe for fiberglass. But, sounds like this Captain Lee's is a great way to go...CraigComment
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Re: So whats a good brand of paint remover?
Personally, I remove it all...CraigComment
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