vfrancisco

I'm getting ready to start stripping the paint from my car and I see a lot of different ways but wasn't sure what would be best. It has never been repainted and it's black . HELP PLEASE!!!

zwede

IMO, chemical stripper. Sanding risks damaging the lines/edges. I've seen C3s that were sanded with a DA and there were waves all down the sides. It can be done, but for a first timer, chemical stripper is much safer.

We used "aircraft stripper" by kleenstrip on my '71. It works real well EXCEPT on gelcoat. There was no gelcoat on the factory panels, but many aftermarket panels have it. If you have an aftermarket hood, for instance, you need a stripper safe for gelcoat for it.

oledave60

A razor blade scraper worked fo me.

rogman16

Yepper, used both the KleanStrip and Citristrip products... Both work well, and citristrip smells better, but costs twice as much... I had luck with both products... I clean well with lacquer thinner then soapy (Dawn) water right after the stripper comes off...

Messy job, but most jobs have been messy one way or another in their own way on this build...

Rogman

C3 4ME

I used Capt'n Lee's stripper, and I got it at Zip. It worked great and 6 years later, I have not had any problems that you might hear people caution about when using stripper. Water neutralizes it, and I also let mine sit for 2 months in bare fiberglass. I did have to hand sand the final layer of primer to get it to bare fiberglass, but I saw that as a plus, as the stripper never touched the bare fiberglass.

vfrancisco

Is that stuff better than soda blasting ? I met a guy that had one of his cars soda blasted and really liked the results. But he said it cost about $500 bucks. How sells the clean strip?

tnovot

I don't live too far away and would like to offer my help when you are ready to strip. PM sent.
Terry

DrRCC

I don't know if it really works this well, but this soda blasting video is pretty cool. I have been toying with what to do with my car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRDX6BPzpj0

rogman16

Have no experience with Soda Blasting... I would not blast my car, as this would scare me... Probably perfectly safe, but not for me... Klean Strip was about $25 per gallon at paint store/West Marine... Citristrip was over $40 per gallon at Home Depot...

C3 4ME--Same on the primer... Was able to use lacquer thinner and a fine scotch brite to get the final layer of primer off...

Rogman

milo30

You will basically find 2 ways done here. The first is the chemical stripper which I used and it works pretty good, depending on how many layers you have.It is pretty fast. Put it on, let it work scrape it off. The downside is it is pretty nasty and you have to use caution in handling it. Captain Lees is what I used. Will need to neutralize the fiberglass afterwards but no big deal.

The other is the razor blades. Less messy overall, seems tedious and time consuming plus have to be aware of gouging the fiberglass causing more effort in the prep.

Everyone has their preference and swear by it.

Soda blasting has been done by some. As long as your panels are in good shape it is probably the most expensive but easiest and fastest way as someone else will do it. The after stripping cleanup probably be more intensive as you have to make sure you get rid of all that soda that will probably get everywhere.

Any of the three will work and will have the same end results. You just have to decide how you want to get there. Can always go buy a few razor blades and try that way first for a couple of bucks.

1980ZZ4

X2. Heads up...wear good gloves when working with paint stripper.

vfrancisco

do you need to get all the primer off?

jesse10886

What is used to apply these strippers? I mean is it brushed on, soaked into a rag an applied, do you just poor on an spread even with a bondo scraper how long do you leave the striping material on the car how do you neutralize it I like this thread I am learning what to expect in my very near future of prepping my 79 for paint but I am admittedly clue less on painting preping striping Fiberglass but excited to learn

CrusinZ06

Soda blasting is a very safe and effective way to have the car stripped. It will not damage the fiberglass body.

IMO when you factor in the cost of stripper and the hour's to do this, having it soda blasted by a PRO, someone that knows what they are doing is a huge time saver.

Personally i would go this route and pay the few hundred buck's that it cost's than spend hour's doing it with stripper.

Good luck on your decision, do some research on it, you might find it's the way to.

Alan 71

Hi Vince,
If you're not going to be painting the car yourself you may want to ask the painter you've chosen what method he prefers.
Many painters want to see the car as the paint is coming off so they can see just what's been going on under there.
I'm always concerned about damaging the fiberglass surface or edges when blasting, scraping, or sanding the paint off.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

vfrancisco

Thanks Alan thats a good point.. I haven't decided who I was going to have do the painting yet but that sounds logical so maybe I'll talk to the guy I had in mind.

Thanks Vince

Konkol1

Just got mine back from being stripped this week. I had it plastic media blasted. $500 well spent. Didn't want to go the chem stripper route as I knew there was bodywork done in the past, and since the chem stripper would require removal of previous bodywork, that was the choice for me. The person who did it for me has done this many times and did a great job.
Dale in Badgerland

birdsmith

Vince, I have myself been involved in this process for several months now. First off, in my line of work I could have worked a couple extra Saturdays to pay the soda blaster, and in hindsight that is what I would have done. My car had three different paint jobs on it totaling 7 different coats of paint, and I have discovered that I could shave the top four of those seven coats with a well-sharpened putty knife. After that I either had to knuckle under and hand sand or use stripper, which in my case was Kleen-Strip aircraft stripper. As others have said it won't hurt the glass but I have found that it's a LOT weaker than strippers used for metal. In the door jambs for instance (the most difficult parts of the car) I removed the top four or five coats of paint with the stripper, then had to use a combination of putty knives and sandpaper to get down to the red oxide primer that is the factory's first layer of paint. Before I begin applying paint I will have somehow removed all 7 coats of paint one way or another, then I will wet sand the entire car to a 220 finish. I will then apply a heavy coat of epoxy primer, block the car smooth to a 360 or 400 finish and finally apply paint. One HELL of a lot of work...lots of luck!

Konkol1

Pic of car after plastic media blasting.

rogman16

I did as I wanted to get all the way down to the glass or previous body work so I could inspect and redo if necessary...

Jesse--I used a paint brush, good thick gloves, respirator, goggles, hat, long sleeve shirt to have almost zero skin showing... Takes about 5-10 minutes to lay down... Take a short break, then get after it with a putty knife... I use a plastic box made to put clothes underneath your bed to catch everything... Uses a lot of paper towels and lacquer thinner (bought a 5 gallon container)...

Rogman