How to remove paint from fiberglass fairing?

[slowkitty]

Hiya,

 

In the midst of restoring an old beemer.

 

The previous paint job was really bad, there's cracked paint. I am told by a painter that the only way to remove the paint would be by sanding / griding off the old paint, a tedious process which would result in uneven surfaces. Paint remover cannot be used because it will attack the underlying fibreglass and deform it.

 

I am thinking sandlblasting.

 

Any ideas? Would appreciate suggestions.

 

Cheers

 

Cat

[slug]

Hiya,

 

In the midst of restoring an old beemer.

 

The previous paint job was really bad, there's cracked paint. I am told by a painter that the only way to remove the paint would be by sanding / griding off the old paint, a tedious process which would result in uneven surfaces. Paint remover cannot be used because it will attack the underlying fibreglass and deform it.

 

I am thinking sandlblasting.

 

Any ideas? Would appreciate suggestions.

 

Cheers

 

Cat

 

Personally, I'd sand it. Even with sandblasting there's potential for unevenness if you dwell on one spot for too long.

 

P.S. Bondo is your friend.

[waspp]

Don't grind on it unless you have a crack in the glass that needs repair. Use various grits of sand paper starting at something around 80to strip off the old paint and work up to a fine paper lets say 220. Use your paws or if you can be trusted use a small orbiting sander, just be carful not to take off to much. Prime it when done with a good urethane primer (SEM rattlecan would be ok) and wet sand with 600-800 for a smooth finish ready to paint.

 

Hal

[BRENTTODD]

If your looking for a good finish product you have to buck up and take a lot of time and hand sand off the paint. Or you can buck up and pay someone else to do it for you. Either way you should end up with a nice product that you will be happy wit. But i would try to stay away from everything but hand power cause machines could give you more work than u bargined for. If the paint is not to bad in some spots u can also use red scotch brite pads. Cause at the end of the day all u need is a clean surface for the new paint to stick to.

 

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY SANDING

[Murray]

There is a specfic product used in the aircraft industry for stripping paint off fibreglass athough its specfically designed for polyeurthane paint. I can't remeber the product number but the company is called ardrox takes around three hours to d the job but if you bung it into a search engine you will probally find your local distrbutor. Failing that find Glider/Sailplane repair shop and they will probally be quiet familar with it.

[macguzzi]

Vapor blast

[BRENTTODD]

Never heard of vapor blast. How dose it work?

[macguzzi]

High pressure, you will have a guy doin it local

[orangeokie]

Hiya,

 

In the midst of restoring an old beemer.

 

The previous paint job was really bad, there's cracked paint. I am told by a painter that the only way to remove the paint would be by sanding / griding off the old paint, a tedious process which would result in uneven surfaces. Paint remover cannot be used because it will attack the underlying fibreglass and deform it.

 

I am thinking sandlblasting.

 

Any ideas? Would appreciate suggestions.

 

Cheers

 

Cat

 

Are you talking about paint "over spray" on fiberglass, or paint "coated" fiber glass?

 

If it is just over spray try this product - Sol-U-Mel

 

It