Anyone out there strip the paint off a fiberglass hood? I know for certain it has 3 different colors not including the different primers.
I was thinking of chemically stripping it.
Thanks for any help.
Dave

 

I have heard positive things about using aviation stripper you can get at the auto parts store. However, I don't know if it is safe to use on fiberglass. Plus, clean up is difficult because you not only have to dispose of the used chemicals correctly you have to clean the parts thoroughly.

 

Absolutely DO NOT use chemical stripper on fiberglass! The only way to remove the layers on a substrate like that is good old fashioned sanding. Either by hand or use a DA. Just be careful with the DA not to dig craters in the hood...

 

There ARE chemical strippers designed for fiberglass. The Corvette guys use them all the time. I would recommend soda blasting, however.

 

What Joe said about the chemical stripper...the same company that makes the "aviation stripper" (blue metal cans and availabe at O'Reilly's I think) also makes a chemical stripper for fiberglass. I have used it on quite a few fiberglass parts and NEVER had a problem.

Read the instructions...they are there for a reason. Use common sense...if in doubt don't put stripper near a seam (for example near the scoop opening on a W-25 hood where there is a seam just inside the opening). However the manufacturer says to clean off the residue and the part is how you should do it. This is not some sort of "risky" proposition...the stuff is made to be used on glass....use it. It's economical and it works.

 

I was thinking if I sanded the hood down it might get kinda wavy but I suppose when we prime the car it'll straighten out. I'll check on the Corvette paint stripper and be real carefull.
Thanks again.
Dave

 

You will probably end up sanding the last bit of primer off anyway. Most, if not all, of these strippers tend to soften (instead of lift) the old factory primers. The topcoats typically bubble up very quickly.

It will also probably take more than one application of stripper...just depends how deep it pulls the paint up from.

Temperature matters.

Strip until you have a final layer left on there (or more likely remnants of a final layer). Then CLEAN the residue off as the manufacturer instructs. THEN you can do some final sanding to remove any residual spots....don't "dig" with the sandpaper. The hoods are wavy from the factory...they are fiberglass. Most likely you are going for a nice smooth finish on the car so any decent paint shop will end up priming the hood with a good build primer and blocking it down...most likely more than once.

Be careful around the scoop openings/edges.....you don't want to round off the fine, sharp edges that are molded into the glass hood top in those areas.

 

Soda blast it.
Why paint over paint remover?