Paint Stripping a 56

[Paul D.]

Re: Paint Stripping a 56

I just had my 57 plastic bead blasted and I am very satisfied. Going to repair some areas and then gelcoat.

[Dick W.]

Re: Paint Stripping a 56

Soda blasting is very safe for fiberglass. Have used it on vettes and metal cars, would not use anything else. Clean up is just a good wash

[Joel M.]

Re: Paint Stripping a 56

Does soda blasting remove rust?

[Richard M.]

Re: Paint Stripping a 56

Does soda blasting remove rust?

Yes, surface rust is easy, but deep scale is a no.......but it depends on several factors, pressure, etc. A friend had his '59 soda blasted a few years ago and they shot the frame in the engine bay too. Came out okay but didn't get the heavy stuff clean.

[Bruce B.]

Re: Paint Stripping a 56

I still like to use a DA with 80 grit paper.
Never had a need to use gel coat, in my opinion it is a waste of time and energy.
With 1/2 dozen paint jobs I never had any problems.

[Paul D.]

Re: Paint Stripping a 56

My 57 had the original Cascade green stripped off in 1962 and a lot of gouging took place. Back then it was just lacquer primer, spot putty and paint. Everything showed through. I now have the body shell completely disassembled and the plastic bead blasting did a terrific job of removing the old junk leaving a surface ready for any next step. The guy that does it is very aware of what potential damage that he can do. Any outside corners/edges were lightly blasted to the point where I have to touch them up with 80 by hand. I agonized over the gelcoat vs. 2k primer decision but decided to go with geloat because of all of the damage from the old strip. It will be followed by 2k primer for blocking. I'm not going for show points.