Project X

[spd500]

Actually , other than being cold and windy it is really pretty outside today . Maybe I will try to get the paint out and start mixing in the flake , that way it will be ready to spray when it warms up . I was kinda hoping to spray the rest of it tomorrow morning , but I will have to see what the weather looks like .

 

[spd500]

Ok , I started adding the flake into the color a little at a time mixing and looking at it in the sun each time . I think I have it close enough to spray another test panel now . I didn't really measure exactly how much flake I was adding , but I probably ended up putting about 1 tablespoon or so into two quarts of paint . This will reduce 1 to 1 and make a gallon of sprayable material , enough to get three good coats of paint on the blue parts of the boat . From what I understand three coats is the optimal number of coats for the flake . It allows you to get alot of depth in the color because you will have some flake that is in the top coat , some that is a llittle deeper in the second coat , and some that is really deep and barely visible in the third coat . The blue paint that I am using seems to be very translucent , so you can actually see really deep into the paint , it should look really good with this product . The effect of this particular product is very slight when you do it right , so it shouldn't take away from the woodgrain . I can't wait to see what it looks like finished .

 

[77Jet Star]

try a quart of this stuff it'll be an improvement

That's pretty brutal but funny you have to admit  Roflmao  clap.gif I could just imagine after all that work  :smile20: You say it's the wrong kind what kind do you use :smile21:

 

[spd500]

Most guys that talk about having strippers on thier boats are talking about the kind that dance  :smile30:

 

[77Jet Star]

Most guys that talk about having strippers on thier boats are talking about the kind that dance  :smile30:

I am in the middle of a small project and really wanted to strip some paint off of some gel  you say the aircraft stripper is not right is it a secret on what to use?

 

[spd500]

Not sure about aircraft stripper , but I know you need to read up on whatever you are using . It should say on the back if it is safe for fiberglass or not . I used stripper on another boat , but this one was all done by sanding . I really don't remeber what brand I used on the other boat .

 

[Last Mohecian]

I used that same stripper on my Rebel but it said "Marine formula" where the one TTJ posted says "Non Flamable".  It was from Klean-strip and it does have a plane on the can.

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/klean-strip-fiberglass-paint-stripper-gaf354-p-14857.aspx

 

[77Jet Star]

I used that same stripper on my Rebel but it said "Marine formula" where the one TTJ posted says "Non Flamable".  It was from Klean-strip and it does have a plane on the can.

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/klean-strip-fiberglass-paint-stripper-gaf354-p-14857.aspx

Thanks

 

[customtouch]

I know many people have used strippers on fiberglass before but I (personally) won't do it. Both fiberglass and gelcoat is a  porous and absorbant surface and (to me) it is not worth taking the chance of ruining or permanently contaminating the surface by having it absorb the paint stripper. I have seen (in extreme cases) stripper soften fiberglass to the point of becoming flexable if left on too long. Even if just a little residue is absorbed into the surface then you will have stripper under your paint and that is not going to be good. I am not willing to take that gamble so I will only sand the paint off or possibly have it media blasted off of anything fiberglass. I am not saying anyone is right or wrong for what they choose to do, this is just what I choose and why. (for what it is worth)

 

[blazeracer]

That stripper is 100% safe on fiberglass and gelcoat. I did the rear area and the entire hood on my boat until I found a lot of gelcoat that was sun damaged before the paint applied. Where the gelcoat was good under the paint the aircraft stripper worked to prefection.

Here's an entire thread on that exact stripper.

http://www.texashotboats.com/forums/index.php?topic=10992.0

I personally would not use any other stripper on fiberglass. I'll tell you too, it doesn't remove ALL the paint. You lay it on, spread it around, wait 15 minutes and remove it with a plastic scraper. It will leave a very thin film of paint on the gel that will remove easily with a 320 grit wet sand. Then wet sand with 600, then 1,000, then compound it and if what's under that paint was not ruined before it was painted it will look awesome.

Bottom line, that stuff works.

 

[customtouch]

That stripper is 100% safe on fiberglass and gelcoat. I did the rear area and the entire hood on my boat until I found a lot of gelcoat that was sun damaged before the paint applied. Where the gelcoat was good under the paint the aircraft stripper worked to prefection.

Here's an entire thread on that exact stripper.

http://www.texashotboats.com/forums/index.php?topic=10992.0

That's good. I am really glad it worked out for you. I am not going to try to convince you that it is not safe and you will never convince me that it is. I am simply sharing what I have experienced and witnessed with fiberglass and strippers over the years whether it is advertised "safe" or not. A lot of people have gotten away with it and a lot haven't. Of course it will work good taking the paint off but I am talking about long term durability after repainting here. Sanding by hand is harder but it gives you a 100 percent guarantee that there won't be any problems "later" down the line, however using any stripper does not. I just don't like taking "any" chances.  I guess we just agree to disagree here. :grin:

 

[blazeracer]

I guess we just agree to disagree here. :grin:

Ain't nothing wrong with that. 

We post up our opinions and experience and let the guy make his own choice.

I'll tell you this though, when I used the stuff I had no intention of painting over it. I wanted to clean and finish the gel coat, which it did a good job of. Once it was discovered that areas of the original gel was ruined to a point the boat had to be completely repainted it was all sandpaper from there, to included all the work of wet sanding and polishing the gel that came out spectacular. It had to all get scuffed up real good for paint.

 

[jdeaton]

With all respect to all the other Peeps on this thread, I will now throw in my two cents.  Keep in mind free advice is worth every cent paid for it.  Years ago I owned a Corvette shop, we did chemical strip on most of our cars.  We use aircraft fiberglass stripper and we never had a problem with it ON THE FIBERGLASS, we did find it would soften any Bondo or Bondo like material.  This was not a problem, because we would remove all such material and add Glass.  Years later after getting my A&P, I worked in a paint shop for aircraft and we also used chemical stripper.  The FAA is pretty rigid in there process to allow what chemicals are use in any performance of maintenance procedures.

With that said, I did have customers that insisted we sanded their car instead of chemical strip, which I did a rather steep increase of cost to the customer. 

Your project, your decision. 

 

[customtouch]

I guess we just agree to disagree here. :grin:

Ain't nothing wrong with that. 

We post up our opinions and experience and let the guy make his own choice.
I'll tell you this though, when I used the stuff I had no intention of painting over it. I wanted to clean and finish the gel coat, which it did a good job of. Once it was discovered that areas of the original gel was ruined to a point the boat had to be completely repainted it was all sandpaper from there, to included all the work of wet sanding and polishing the gel that came out spectacular. It had to all get scuffed up real good for paint.

BINGO  :smile30:

 

[spd500]

If I were working on someones $200K boat like Customtouch does I don't think I would take any chances with anything.  I can tell y'all that when I stripped the Stevens with stripper there were areas where the stripper did soften the original gel coat and when I scraped it off I got some of the purple from the gel.  I did use the stuff that was safe for fiberglass and I followed the directions on the package. If you are expecting it to not do anything to the glass underneath the paint you will likely be disappointed. When the gel was pained over it was probably already in bad shape,  then they sanded it t be able to paint it. The gel is alot more porous when it is sun damaged and sanded, so you are more likely to get products to absorb into the glass than ever. I have also seen a few paint jobs bubble up later that were prepped with stripper, and had it happen to me once.  If it's your own project that's one thing,  but when it's how you make your living you really can't take chances. 

 

[Last Mohecian]

I know I am probably the exception but when I stripped the Rebel the gel under the paint was salvageable.  It is not perfect but it certainly looks better than it did with the orange paint on it.  The patina of the entire boat makes it look like an original and fairly well maintained 35 year old boat.  It is not show room new but it gets it's fair share of attention at the lake.  If I was planning a complete restoration I may have attacked it differently.  For what I was trying to accomplish, the stripper was 100% the right choice.  It all depends on the end goal and the desired result.

 

[SimplyOrange]

so uh...back to the paint... i just got done catching up, costom touch is leading you down a path to success but ill add some things he may be forgetting to tell you,even with a HVLP gun you can up your air pressure and increas your gun distance from the surface to make the flakes lay out more evenly, while also shaking the gun, im sure he does the same thing, he is just giving you so much usable info he may be overlooking a few things that he does subconsiously in the booth. :smile16:

 

[spd500]

It's ready to clear  jump.gif jump.gif I left the heat on 80 overnight last night and waited out the little bit of rain we got this morning , then I sprayed the rest of the blue , and now I am about to go in and clear the boat . It's probably not the nicest boat here , but it's definately looking good to me  :smile17:

 

[ChryslerJet]

It's ready to clear  jump.gif jump.gif I left the heat on 80 overnight last night and waited out the little bit of rain we got this morning , then I sprayed the rest of the blue , and now I am about to go in and clear the boat . It's probably not the nicest boat here , but it's definately looking good to me  :smile17:

Looks awesome to me I like the wood grain.  Hmm its got me thinking about a woodgrain dash instead.

 

[KONA77]

speed it looks really good,  i hope to see it in person some day  :smile27: