Chemical stripper on fiberglass
01-02-2019, 06:32 PM
#61
Racer
Thread Starter
Hey, I made the front page of the forum, cool!
just a couple of final notes now that the stripping is all done, for the record and anyone reading this in the future, the total time , including my friends to strip the car was about 40 hours.
the last thing I did was to pull the car outside last week on a beautiful sunny day that we had, I loaded the sandblast pot up with recycled glass, 30-60 grit, and started blasting the front of the frame , a-arms etc. I carefully started using it on the fiberglass of the engine compartment, and soon realized that it works amazingly well on the glass, it almost seems to work better than the walnut shells and is way faster, doing no damage to the surface, I really think that new dustless blasting system that uses the recycled glass and water, might be a great way to go to strip the whole car . It would probably cut the 40 hours down to 3 or 4. Anyway thanks everybody including DUB for all your input, I'm just finishing up the fiberglass repairs and onto bodywork ( using Vette panel adhesive filler , of course)
just a couple of final notes now that the stripping is all done, for the record and anyone reading this in the future, the total time , including my friends to strip the car was about 40 hours.
the last thing I did was to pull the car outside last week on a beautiful sunny day that we had, I loaded the sandblast pot up with recycled glass, 30-60 grit, and started blasting the front of the frame , a-arms etc. I carefully started using it on the fiberglass of the engine compartment, and soon realized that it works amazingly well on the glass, it almost seems to work better than the walnut shells and is way faster, doing no damage to the surface, I really think that new dustless blasting system that uses the recycled glass and water, might be a great way to go to strip the whole car . It would probably cut the 40 hours down to 3 or 4. Anyway thanks everybody including DUB for all your input, I'm just finishing up the fiberglass repairs and onto bodywork ( using Vette panel adhesive filler , of course)
01-02-2019, 06:35 PM
#62
Racer
Thread Starter
Pic
Last edited by Dave Cunningham; 01-02-2019 at 06:37 PM.
The following users liked this post:
Dave Cunningham (01-03-2019)
01-03-2019, 07:40 AM
#64
Drifting
Back in the old days, we chemically stripped over a hundred C2s and C3s .. PPG paints made a great stripper especially for fiberglass.. It was called Ditzler 525 Stripper.. Best stuff ever made.It would strip to the factory primer and stop. My shop could strip a whole car clean in 6-8 hours .. Sadly, Ditzler Brand went out of business.. The key to stripping is to use plastic scrapers.. never use steel putty knives..and a stripper formulated for fiberglass. .. A customer once brought me a Lotus that he tried stripping himself to save money, with the WRONG stripper. .. Stripper destroyed the glass on the roof and hood areas .. strands exposed everywhere .. what a mess.. and several Corvette owners made the same mistake.. it gets expensive .. If you don't think you can do it, DONT .. get someone with experience
01-03-2019, 10:05 AM
#65
Race Director
Or do just like people here on the Corvette Forum who do not know how to do it....but want to do it. They ask for assistance and see that they can do it without any catastrophic failure. Just like Dave (and many others) has shown us here.
For what it is worth...just like what I wrote back in POST# 21. Chemical stripper will take the paint down to the primer....even the Kleen-Strip Aircraft remover that is NOT formulated for fiberglass. So being all concerned about IF it is just for fiberglass is pointless due to they BOTH stop stripping at the primer. Thus...no damage to the fiberglass due to it has not been touched by it yet. But buy what you want an use what you want that makes you feel good....I am just saying. Assuming that the car has not been previously stripped and all of the factory primer sanded off and another primer used that is not a catalyzed type of primer. Which it is always wise to test the stripper in different areas.....regardless of what chemical stripper you use.
I agree that taking the old original factory lacquer off a Corvette down to the primer is not that laborious and that portion of the job can go rather quickly. It turns to a liquid darn near and a bondo spreader can swipe it off. But getting it down to bare glass does take some time and effort. I would have myself and two other guys on a job and it would take about two days to get it down to being totally stripped and all of the nooks and crannies addressed also.
The KEY issue is when people have catastrophic problems when using a chemical stripper...they see a problem and keep going and doing the same thing thinking that something is going to change...and keep making it worse. That all boils down to not knowing what they are doing and not so much the chemical strippers fault.
It is much like telling people not to go into a swimming pool because they have heard that people drown in pools. But for those of us who know how to swim...going into pool is no big deal.
SO...if you do not know how to do something....ask someone who does. Because the only difference in those of us who have done it many times is the experience that we have learned about how to do it...BUT that does not mean that you can not do the same and do it if you want to.
DUB
For what it is worth...just like what I wrote back in POST# 21. Chemical stripper will take the paint down to the primer....even the Kleen-Strip Aircraft remover that is NOT formulated for fiberglass. So being all concerned about IF it is just for fiberglass is pointless due to they BOTH stop stripping at the primer. Thus...no damage to the fiberglass due to it has not been touched by it yet. But buy what you want an use what you want that makes you feel good....I am just saying. Assuming that the car has not been previously stripped and all of the factory primer sanded off and another primer used that is not a catalyzed type of primer. Which it is always wise to test the stripper in different areas.....regardless of what chemical stripper you use.
I agree that taking the old original factory lacquer off a Corvette down to the primer is not that laborious and that portion of the job can go rather quickly. It turns to a liquid darn near and a bondo spreader can swipe it off. But getting it down to bare glass does take some time and effort. I would have myself and two other guys on a job and it would take about two days to get it down to being totally stripped and all of the nooks and crannies addressed also.
The KEY issue is when people have catastrophic problems when using a chemical stripper...they see a problem and keep going and doing the same thing thinking that something is going to change...and keep making it worse. That all boils down to not knowing what they are doing and not so much the chemical strippers fault.
It is much like telling people not to go into a swimming pool because they have heard that people drown in pools. But for those of us who know how to swim...going into pool is no big deal.
SO...if you do not know how to do something....ask someone who does. Because the only difference in those of us who have done it many times is the experience that we have learned about how to do it...BUT that does not mean that you can not do the same and do it if you want to.
DUB
The following users liked this post:
erieaddict (03-02-2019)
01-03-2019, 12:28 PM
#66
Drifting
QUOTE.. For what it is worth...just like what I wrote back in POST# 21. Chemical stripper will take the paint down to the primer....even the Kleen-Strip Aircraft remover that is NOT formulated for fiberglass. So being all concerned about IF it is just for fiberglass is pointless due to they BOTH stop stripping at the primer. Thus...no damage to the fiberglass due to it has not been touched by it yet. But buy what you want an use what you want that makes you feel good....
Bad advice.. you don't know whats on the car under its topcoat, after 40 years..or if the baked primer is even there anymore.. jumping on it with a stripper for metal may cost you thousands in repairs for what you destroy.. Use whats correct for the job,.. not "what makes you feel good".. WHY RISK IT??? .I am surprised you would say that if you do this for a living.. that's is of course my opinion, but it comes from 40 years of experience .............................side note, if you strip your car with chemicals, wash it thoroughly several times with fast lacquer thinner and then soap and water and then leave it in the sun for several days before beginning any work on it.. or you will regret it. Trust me on this one
Bad advice.. you don't know whats on the car under its topcoat, after 40 years..or if the baked primer is even there anymore.. jumping on it with a stripper for metal may cost you thousands in repairs for what you destroy.. Use whats correct for the job,.. not "what makes you feel good".. WHY RISK IT??? .I am surprised you would say that if you do this for a living.. that's is of course my opinion, but it comes from 40 years of experience .............................side note, if you strip your car with chemicals, wash it thoroughly several times with fast lacquer thinner and then soap and water and then leave it in the sun for several days before beginning any work on it.. or you will regret it. Trust me on this one
01-03-2019, 06:56 PM
#67
Race Director
SORRY Dave that this is going on in your thread.
Dave has already chemically stripped the car and you are now jumping into this thread putting out stuff that is no longer relevant....because he has shown that it can be done by someone who has not done it before. You are about 15 to 20 posts too late
WHAT you so conveniently FAILED to quote in that paragraph of what I wrote in that SAME PARAGRAPH is this.
"Which it is always wise to test the stripper in different areas.....regardless of what chemical stripper you use."
It is just COMMON SENSE that no one knows what is under a painted surface. SO..that is why TESTS are performed to see what is going on. And JUST LIKE YOU...I have come across areas on the body where hidden repairs were and I KNOW what to do when I get to them and NOT FREAK OUT because I came across some hidden damage. KNOWING that that damage is going to be looked at further and gone over and repaired again. SO...I just do not get you tactics in your replies. It is almost like you forgot all about doing this stuff. Kind of like not knowing EXACTLY what grit sand paper to but on a D/A and have to switch to the finer or coarser grit AFTER you tested it on the panel to see if you choice of sandpaper for what you were doing is CORRECT. PLEASE.....this is getting almost laughable to me.
SO...putting drop of stripper the size of a quarter is going to cost $1000's of dollars of repair costs when a person TESTS it??? GET REAL...and KEEP IT REAL because as you say you may have stripped a hundred C2's and C3's.....you are coming across as someone who does not know jack squat with this reply. Only an IDIOT...yes I wrote IDIOT... would slap chemical stripper on a panel and try to strip paint off of it without testing it and see what happens FIRST. So if a person reading this has done this with catastrophic failure...then what i wrote applies. . Becasue no matter what...there are no two cars the exact same....and just KEEPING IT REAL and not so POLITICALLY CORRECT.
What do you people want...a person who says it like it is and not sugar coat it or a person who is all worried about commenting and getting someone all bent out of shape due to their feelings are hurt due to they cannot accept the reality of their on actions when their actions were idiotic. You can have your opinion on what I write...so I can have an opinion on what you write. The difference is I KEEP IT REAL to real world scenarios...I advise people to TEST things before they just jump right in and spread it all around.
Obviously some people are not quick on the uptake and cannot put together what the subject matter of that paragraph is about AND.... "IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD".......has to do with the person TESTED the stripper of THEIR CHOICE and it worked for them with no problem. Some people will use a chemical stripper that is weaker and spend more time on it while others can deal with a stronger chemical stripper. So ...Aircraft Remover from Kleen-Strip, Captain Lee's, CitrusStrip and so on can be tested and IF it works with no damage...what is the big deal here.....due to you are NOT disagreeing with HOW chemical stripper works and it not eating right through the body entirely like the blood in the alien of the move ALIEN when they cut into it. AND...if they test it much like the guy with the LOTUS you mentioned...he should have stopped.
I DO NOT apply water on the bare fiberglas with soap, Dawn, clothes detergent or any other substance. I wash/wipe the panel with GOOD automotive grade lacquer thinner and acetone... and I have had absolutely NOT ONE problem in doing it this way. So obviously I am doing something right ....and I pass that information along to those who ask for help. I KNOW people on this forum who have washed their Corvette down when it was bare fiberglass with Dawn and water and have had no issues. Not my way of doing it...but I am not going to lambaste them for doing it and having a successful paint job either.
Some forum members try to help people if they want to do something and let them know they can do it....while others feel the job can ONLY be done by someone who does it for a living. In some scenarios this may be true and IS quite true....but.... chemically stripping a car is NOT brain surgery.
DUB
QUOTE.. For what it is worth...just like what I wrote back in POST# 21. Chemical stripper will take the paint down to the primer....even the Kleen-Strip Aircraft remover that is NOT formulated for fiberglass. So being all concerned about IF it is just for fiberglass is pointless due to they BOTH stop stripping at the primer. Thus...no damage to the fiberglass due to it has not been touched by it yet. But buy what you want an use what you want that makes you feel good....
Bad advice.. you don't know whats on the car under its topcoat, after 40 years..or if the baked primer is even there anymore.. jumping on it with a stripper for metal may cost you thousands in repairs for what you destroy.. Use whats correct for the job,.. not "what makes you feel good".. WHY RISK IT??? .I am surprised you would say that if you do this for a living.. that's is of course my opinion, but it comes from 40 years of experience .............................side note, if you strip your car with chemicals, wash it thoroughly several times with fast lacquer thinner and then soap and water and then leave it in the sun for several days before beginning any work on it.. or you will regret it. Trust me on this one
Bad advice.. you don't know whats on the car under its topcoat, after 40 years..or if the baked primer is even there anymore.. jumping on it with a stripper for metal may cost you thousands in repairs for what you destroy.. Use whats correct for the job,.. not "what makes you feel good".. WHY RISK IT??? .I am surprised you would say that if you do this for a living.. that's is of course my opinion, but it comes from 40 years of experience .............................side note, if you strip your car with chemicals, wash it thoroughly several times with fast lacquer thinner and then soap and water and then leave it in the sun for several days before beginning any work on it.. or you will regret it. Trust me on this one
WHAT you so conveniently FAILED to quote in that paragraph of what I wrote in that SAME PARAGRAPH is this.
"Which it is always wise to test the stripper in different areas.....regardless of what chemical stripper you use."
It is just COMMON SENSE that no one knows what is under a painted surface. SO..that is why TESTS are performed to see what is going on. And JUST LIKE YOU...I have come across areas on the body where hidden repairs were and I KNOW what to do when I get to them and NOT FREAK OUT because I came across some hidden damage. KNOWING that that damage is going to be looked at further and gone over and repaired again. SO...I just do not get you tactics in your replies. It is almost like you forgot all about doing this stuff. Kind of like not knowing EXACTLY what grit sand paper to but on a D/A and have to switch to the finer or coarser grit AFTER you tested it on the panel to see if you choice of sandpaper for what you were doing is CORRECT. PLEASE.....this is getting almost laughable to me.
SO...putting drop of stripper the size of a quarter is going to cost $1000's of dollars of repair costs when a person TESTS it??? GET REAL...and KEEP IT REAL because as you say you may have stripped a hundred C2's and C3's.....you are coming across as someone who does not know jack squat with this reply. Only an IDIOT...yes I wrote IDIOT... would slap chemical stripper on a panel and try to strip paint off of it without testing it and see what happens FIRST. So if a person reading this has done this with catastrophic failure...then what i wrote applies. . Becasue no matter what...there are no two cars the exact same....and just KEEPING IT REAL and not so POLITICALLY CORRECT.
What do you people want...a person who says it like it is and not sugar coat it or a person who is all worried about commenting and getting someone all bent out of shape due to their feelings are hurt due to they cannot accept the reality of their on actions when their actions were idiotic. You can have your opinion on what I write...so I can have an opinion on what you write. The difference is I KEEP IT REAL to real world scenarios...I advise people to TEST things before they just jump right in and spread it all around.
Obviously some people are not quick on the uptake and cannot put together what the subject matter of that paragraph is about AND.... "IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD".......has to do with the person TESTED the stripper of THEIR CHOICE and it worked for them with no problem. Some people will use a chemical stripper that is weaker and spend more time on it while others can deal with a stronger chemical stripper. So ...Aircraft Remover from Kleen-Strip, Captain Lee's, CitrusStrip and so on can be tested and IF it works with no damage...what is the big deal here.....due to you are NOT disagreeing with HOW chemical stripper works and it not eating right through the body entirely like the blood in the alien of the move ALIEN when they cut into it. AND...if they test it much like the guy with the LOTUS you mentioned...he should have stopped.
I DO NOT apply water on the bare fiberglas with soap, Dawn, clothes detergent or any other substance. I wash/wipe the panel with GOOD automotive grade lacquer thinner and acetone... and I have had absolutely NOT ONE problem in doing it this way. So obviously I am doing something right ....and I pass that information along to those who ask for help. I KNOW people on this forum who have washed their Corvette down when it was bare fiberglass with Dawn and water and have had no issues. Not my way of doing it...but I am not going to lambaste them for doing it and having a successful paint job either.
Some forum members try to help people if they want to do something and let them know they can do it....while others feel the job can ONLY be done by someone who does it for a living. In some scenarios this may be true and IS quite true....but.... chemically stripping a car is NOT brain surgery.
DUB
Last edited by DUB; 01-03-2019 at 06:57 PM.
The following 3 users liked this post by DUB:
01-03-2019, 08:47 PM
#68
when ive stripped paint
afterwards ,ive washed everything down with ''HOT'' soapy water and a scuff pad.,then plain hot water and a sponge
then after blowing it dry
I washed it with lacquer thinner and rags
they come out clean,dry,non oily
DUB is this what ,you'd recommend ?
afterwards ,ive washed everything down with ''HOT'' soapy water and a scuff pad.,then plain hot water and a sponge
then after blowing it dry
I washed it with lacquer thinner and rags
they come out clean,dry,non oily
DUB is this what ,you'd recommend ?
01-03-2019, 11:01 PM
#69
Racer
Thread Starter
I think we are starting to beat a dead horse here. As in my very original post, I think that anyone who says you should never ever use chemical stripper on a corvette, is basing their opinion on what they think might be true and not what has been proven to be true thousands of times. I'll start a bodywork thread tomorrow and tell you all about how I feel about working with Vette panel adhesive filler.
my friend noticed something on the label of the stripper we were using I'll try to attach a couple of pics
my friend noticed something on the label of the stripper we were using I'll try to attach a couple of pics
Last edited by Dave Cunningham; 01-03-2019 at 11:03 PM.
01-03-2019, 11:06 PM
#70
Racer
Thread Starter
This picture posting thing is rediculous , I can't figure it out, £¥<€
Last edited by Dave Cunningham; 01-03-2019 at 11:09 PM.
01-04-2019, 11:23 AM
#71
Race Director
when ive stripped paint
afterwards ,ive washed everything down with ''HOT'' soapy water and a scuff pad.,then plain hot water and a sponge
then after blowing it dry
I washed it with lacquer thinner and rags
they come out clean,dry,non oily
DUB is this what ,you'd recommend ?
afterwards ,ive washed everything down with ''HOT'' soapy water and a scuff pad.,then plain hot water and a sponge
then after blowing it dry
I washed it with lacquer thinner and rags
they come out clean,dry,non oily
DUB is this what ,you'd recommend ?
I DO NOT apply water on the bare fiberglas with soap, Dawn, clothes detergent or any other substance. I wash/wipe the panel with GOOD automotive grade lacquer thinner and acetone... and I have had absolutely NOT ONE problem in doing it this way. So obviously I am doing something right ....and I pass that information along to those who ask for help. I KNOW people on this forum who have washed their Corvette down when it was bare fiberglass with Dawn and water and have had no issues. Not my way of doing it...but I am not going to lambaste them for doing it and having a successful paint job either.
Whats done is done and what has been said has been said.
I will keep an eye out for your new thread. You got it looking good by the way.
DUB
02-27-2019, 12:52 AM
#72
Drifting
I've been looking at those Dustless Blasting systems for a few months now, and have wanted to get one for just this purpose (doing cars in general...but Vettes are my main passion) so I plan to test your theory on stripping with one in the near future...
Thanks for posting all you have... it's great reading/learning/inspiration for someone like me prepping to follow in your footsteps... I'm going to check out the next thread in your installment.
Rob
02-27-2019, 07:05 PM
#73
Race Director
If you go with a media blasting system that uses a media and water...I would hope that you can test the equipment FIRST before you invest in it....because I know that it is highly possible that you can do more damage than good when trying to get the paint all off the car.
DUB
DUB
03-02-2019, 12:02 PM
#74
Racer
Thread Starter
I saw your "painted my 69 today" thread and started looking backwards for the beginning of your process and found this thread...
I've been looking at those Dustless Blasting systems for a few months now, and have wanted to get one for just this purpose (doing cars in general...but Vettes are my main passion) so I plan to test your theory on stripping with one in the near future...
Thanks for posting all you have... it's great reading/learning/inspiration for someone like me prepping to follow in your footsteps... I'm going to check out the next thread in your installment.
Rob
I've been looking at those Dustless Blasting systems for a few months now, and have wanted to get one for just this purpose (doing cars in general...but Vettes are my main passion) so I plan to test your theory on stripping with one in the near future...
Thanks for posting all you have... it's great reading/learning/inspiration for someone like me prepping to follow in your footsteps... I'm going to check out the next thread in your installment.
Rob
also I I mentioned before I used my 5 gallon sandblaster with my shop compressor to strip the engine compartment using the same recycled bottle glass that you use with the dustless system and was amazed at the results on the fiberglass, that will be my next project painting the front section of the frame and engine compartment.