Stripping a Corvette

I've got a 69 Vette, owned since 71. In the early 80's I repainted it. Took it down to bare glass then due to cracks in the paint that went all the way thru the original paint and primer. Shot it with Featherfill and blocked to get rid of the waves. Dupont lacquer primer over that, and lacquer topcoat.

Needs paint again. Thought about going back to the original burgundy color, but have decided to use SPI black bc and universal clear. Planning to use Shine's method of all epoxy for priming and filling. SPI for that too.

Will the heat gun and razor blade routine work on lacquer? And once I've stripped the topcoat, should I go back to the DA to get rid of the primer and Featherfill? Or will the razor remove some of that too?

Once I'm near the bare glass, what grit paper should I be using to clear the remaining stuff off to provide the proper tooth for the epoxy?

Is it okay to use wax and grease remover on the bare glass? Or should it just be washed with dish detergent prior to the first coat of epoxy? If wax and grease remover, should I use the waterborne stuff or the solvent based?

I've got one of the 2.2 Vaper guns I've used in the past to shoot S-W industrial epoxy primer, so that oughta cover me for spraying the primer. Since my only "good" gun is a JGA, I'm planning to buy something new for the base and clear. Recommendations on a good gun and tip size appreciated as well, and hopefully one that's capable of handling both the base and the clear.

And one final question. When I redid the car before, I stripped the jambs with Dupont lacquer removing compound (think that was the name). Went back with lacquer primer and topcoat, no featherfill there. Would it be safe to scuff the jambs and prime with epoxy, or should they be stripped? The lacquer removing stuff did a good job in liquefying the original paint in those areas, but that stuff was some pretty evil chemical according to what I later learned. I'm thinking methylene chloride, but its been a long time. I do remember if a drop or two gets on your hand, it will absorb thru the skin and you can taste it within a minute or two. Would just as soon avoid it if possible. Any tips on mechanical stripping of the jambs (if necessary) appreciated, such as roloc on a die grinder or whatever.

Thanks in advance.......... Cliff
 
shine;36976 said:
razor blade and heat gun then 80 grit wet to clean up . remove all of the old paint .

I agree....All the paint....everywhere....and you're gonna want to consider redoing the factory seams....consider hard
 
and you're gonna want to consider redoing the factory seams....consider hard


very hard ! redoing a corvette without doing it now days is a crap shoot with loaded dice .
 
Thanks guys. Can you expand on the seam thing? I replaced one quarter from the seam down when I was redoing it last time from where someone pulled over onto me and hooked their bumper in the wheel arch, so I'm familiar with what's required for panel replacement, but not with reworking the seams in general. Grind below the surface and fill? Fill with what? Kinda lost here.
 
Here is where you will get many different responses. Here's what we do and it has served us well...use a 4 inch grinder with a grinding wheel and grind a pretty deep ditch along each factory seam...some use epoxy and mat, but I believe that will be a possible problem later on for many reasons....so use 2 or 3 layers of vinylester resin (polyester will work if you can't find vinylester or tooling resin as it is sometimes called) and mat to fill the ditch you created with the grinder. Be sure and sand the fresh cured fiberglass repair with no heavier than 80 grit (courser grits actually don't work as well for adhesion) and get all the sheen off the fiberglass before filling with your regular filler (evercoat stuff works well). Finish as normal
 
May I add that it is pretty important to feather that "ditch" back with some 80 DA, so that the mat and resin will taper off very gently into the existing panel!
 
Thanks fellas. The car is a convert and I've had the hardtop sitting in the garage for years. Think I'll start on it to practice the razor technique.
 
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