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sanding paint off vete

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  • paul bowers

    sanding paint off vete

    other than the time envolved, has anyone ever known of anyone that has sanded of all the paint on a vette to prepare it for painting, this is a (C1) with 2 or 3 layers of paint, a body shop I connected said that is how he does it. what are pros and cons? threads I read give me the impression if I use stripper best to let vette set in sun, well I live in midwest and wanted to do this during winter not much sun here in winter, thats why I'm asking about sanding
    thanks
    paul
  • G B.
    Expired
    • December 1, 1974
    • 1407

    #2
    Sanding Pros and Cons

    PRO:

    It is usually faster (cheaper) for the body shop to GRIND off the paint. After you leave they will assign the "new kid" making minimum wage to have at it with some 40 grit on a Dual Action sander.

    CON:

    GRINDING the paint off will permanently destroy the factory fiberglass surface and will round all sharp edges. The "new kid" might even sand through the fiberglass in some areas. I know. I bought a '63 Corvette that had the paint removed by GRINDING during the eighties. I can salvage the floor and the firewall. I don't know about the doors. Every other panel is junk.

    Comment

    • Stephen L.
      Extremely Frequent Poster
      • May 31, 1984
      • 3158

      #3
      Re: sanding paint off vete

      Sanding 2 or 3 layers by hand (no power equipment) is a huge job. Chemically stripping is messy but reasonably quick. I've seen "soda blasting" on a metal car and the results were great. No metal damage!!!! Don't know about glass cars.....
      I chemically stripped my car many moons ago in MN in the winter using a heater in the garage. Worked great. I wouldn't strip anything in the sun as you want the stripper to stay moist while it works and the sun just dries it out!!! After stripping then wash with lots of water to remove residue and then block sand, prime, block sand, prime,.... until things are nice and smooth and straight. Now you are ready for final seal prime and paint.

      Comment

      • mike cobine

        #4
        Jerry nailed this one

        The big problem of sanding fiberglass cars is that unlike metal, there is nothing to stop you. So if you don't sand through the fiberglass, you will at the very least scallop the surface.

        Unless you decide to sand using 600 grit and take a couple of weeks.

        The main reason for the sun is that you need to use lots of water to neutralize the stripper. If you strip through the sealer to bare fiberglass, it can soak up water, that will create bubbles in your paint later on. So strip only to the primer coat and allow the car to dry a LONG time before putting paint on it.

        Even in winter in the midwest, you can catch a few sunny days where it can sit out and heat up, if you have to. Or just get the garage nice and toasty with a good heater.

        Comment

        • Bill W.
          Extremely Frequent Poster
          • March 1, 1980
          • 2000

          #5
          Re: Jerry nailed this one

          No D.A.s please.. I use Captain Lees. Jerrys correct.Once the original waves,lines& flaws are sanded off they are gone forever...Bill

          Comment

          • Dick W.
            Former NCRS Director Region IV
            • June 30, 1985
            • 10483

            #6
            Re: Jerry nailed this one

            Ah for the good old days when lacquer removing solvent was still available. Scotchbrite pads and solvent, paint gone shortly. Then of course we did not realize (or care) that the methylene chloride in it could cause cancer.
            Dick Whittington

            Comment

            • mike cobine

              #7
              Re: Jerry nailed this one

              I guess I'd better quit washing my hands in the stuff, eh?

              Comment

              • Barry K.
                Expired
                • March 1, 2004
                • 164

                #8
                Re: sanding paint off vete

                I'm another one that agrees with Jerry. It's way too easy to go too far and destroy the body lines of the car with sanding not to mention damage to the fiberglass itself. When my car was just repainted my painter had to repair a lot of areas on the body from previous damage because of someone oversanding during prior bodywork or painting of the car.
                Media blasting can get downright scary on a fiberglass car and although people have been succesful with it too many media blasting technicians overdo it and destroy the fiberglass completely.
                Personally i'd suggest the chemical stripping and that's how my car was just done. It's a messy, messy, messy job but it won't damage the body lines of the car. Just be sure to work in a small area of the car, let it sit and do it's job than scrap the old paint off with a plastic putty blade or something similiar - not metal or you can gouge the fiberglass. Than be sure to THOROUGHLY wash that section down before moving onto the next. My painter would strip a section, wash it down with lacquer thinner, than soapy water, more lacquer thinner than clear water before going to the next section. After the entire car was stripped ( and he used the stripper all the way to the bare fiberglass not stopping at the last sealer or primer layer) he once more thoroughly washed the whole body down again with lacquer thinner than water. After that the car sat for a few weeks before he started any bodywork to let it "vent" any possible remaining stripper from the fiberglass.
                My paint job was finished in July and has been driven a lot and at a lot of shows since than there is NO problems at all on any kind of solvent popping. With the chemical strippers the key seems to be thorough washing and allowing it to vent and than you should be fine.

                Comment

                • Michael H.
                  Expired
                  • January 29, 2008
                  • 7477

                  #9
                  Re: sanding paint off vete

                  As far as I'm concerned, it's not possible to sand the paint off of a Corvette AND restore it. When the original texture is removed from the fiberglass in the sanding process, all of the character and texture is removed permanently. This may not be as critical for a C1 as most of the panels are flat but with C2, there are a lot of areas that were never sanded and the texture in areas like louvers and lower body panels would have showed this. Most of the panels were sanded on the large flat areas before they were shipped to St. Louis and some of the upper areas above the body line would have been sanded/ground after the body was assembled but there was no little old guy sitting on the floor sanding areas like inside louvers, door jambs, inside the grille opening and probably 50 more areas that I can't think of at the moment.

                  The only surface that was important when these cars were produced was the body ABOVE the side body line. Just about everything else was secondary and little or no grinding/sanding was done, at all, on the assembled body so areas like rocker mldg tabs clearly show heavy fiberglass grain. Open the door of an original paint car and look closely at the texture in the jambs. Nothing will be smooth and sanded. Not the fiberglass or the primer and the texture certainly prooves this.

                  To me, at least, nothing looks further from a Corvette than one that has been completely sanded smooth everywhere during restoration. It completely looses the look of a real Corvette and looks more like a Mercedes. I wouldn't even walk across the street to see a car that has been "restored" that way.

                  Over the last 25 years, chassis restoration has come a LONG way with more and more restorers trying to correctly duplicate what it would have looked like when new. Shim marks, dates and a hundred more subtle items that would have been on a new chassis are common and required for judging. It amazes me that people will search for weeks/months for the correct bolt head markings on a fuel line clamp that will never again be seen when the body is back on the car but then prepare/paint the body totally and completely incorrectly.

                  Someone should have a real "body restoration" class at one of the major events. An all original paint car would be an excellent tool for the class just so everyone could see what these cars are really supposed to look like.

                  Michael

                  Comment

                  • paul bowers

                    #10
                    Re: sanding paint off vete

                    thanks everyone for your responses
                    I will just try to find someone who will strip it and hope setting it outside in Ilinois winter is good enough
                    paul

                    Comment

                    • mike cobine

                      #11
                      Re: sanding paint off vete

                      I would leave it in a warm garage before setting it outside in winter, unless the sun is shining.

                      Comment

                      • Ralph Harlan

                        #12
                        Re: sanding paint off vete

                        I took all the paint (2 colors - factory & repaint w/2 coats) off my c2 back in the '70s using a putty knife. I wound up with very few scars from the corners of the blade, and it went fairly quickly. I did have to burnish the edge of the blade a few times on the belt sander to keep the end of the blade squared instead of rounded. Don't try pulling the putty knife like a paint scraper, push it into the edge of the paint film holding the blade approximately 30 - 35 degrees to the surface and the paint just chips off. After the first few times at it I built up more endurance in my forearms and wrists and made better progress. Left a dry pile of shavings on the floor that had to be swept. Don't know anyone else who has tried it, but I have also done it on a few boats that have been repainted.

                        Comment

                        • Mike McKown

                          #13
                          The best strip job I've seen is Soda Blast

                          That's right. Baking soda. It doesn't hurt the fiberglass, rubber, glass, stainless or chrome. Just rinse in water and it goes away. Wash the body with dish washing liquid and vinegar, rinse and you're ready for paint.

                          A shop local here uses sand blast. I've seen some of his stripped bodies and they looked perfect. Like new glass. Scary thought but they were nice.

                          Either process will leave all the factory waves, ripples and dimples.

                          Comment

                          • Clem Z.
                            Expired
                            • January 1, 2006
                            • 9427

                            #14
                            some people use a razor blade to remove

                            the paint.i understand the paint just flys off,never did it but that is what the big boys told me

                            Comment

                            • Michael H.
                              Expired
                              • January 29, 2008
                              • 7477

                              #15
                              Re: The best strip job I've seen is Soda Blast

                              I've heard of the baking soda process but I've never seen it done. Sounds interesting. There's a shop not far from here that supposedly uses that process so I'll have to check it out. Thanks Mike...

                              Comment

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