Stripping paintwork!

[gilberninvader]

This is a cool example of how to strip the paint from a fibreglass body which amused me, and looks like a lot of fun too.
It seems to be a lot quicker than hand stripping, just lock-up your pets first and warn the rest of the town.....
Don't know if Jewson' s have them yet??

[Waylison]

Photo from Cottage Classics web site. They have sold a few Gilberns over the years in varying states of decay!

Kind Regards,
Wayne.

[gilberninvader]

There is a nice Gilbern GT for sale at the cottage classics site at the moment too

[trippdl]

When I was trying to do something with the bodywork on my first Mark 3, I spoke with a bodyshop in Lincoln, who were just finishing up a lovely Lotus Elite (the early one). The painter commented that it would have been a lot less work if the owner hadn't had the paint blasted off - apparently it left a medieval ridge-and-furrow pattern that took tons of filler to level out.

BTW, my red GT is no longer for sale at Cottage Classics... long story there...

I imported a paint stripper for fibreglass from the States, but discovered that it kept on going through the paint, and softened the gelcoat, then into the fibreglass itself; the shop that has (finally) finished the wire-wheeled Genie just stuck to sanding it off.

I will try to post some pictures of the Genie in due course.

Dave

[gilberninvader]

Dave,
Thanks for that advice, i haven't tried this myself it just looked like a very quick method. I wasn't recommending it in any way!
Someone out there is using the method though, and i don't know how good their finish is either....
But It must have something to do with the beads and pressure used and distance of nozzle from paintwork etc.
Maybe a very experienced operative could do it with extreme care. So strippers beware, use this method with caution or revert to other tried and tested methods.
I look forward to seeing pictures of your genie too ,cheers and thanks for the advice again.

Gar

[GGenie69]

I believe the picture is of CO2 blasting, pellets of carbon dioxide are blasted at the surface and its the degredation of these pellets as they collide with the paint that removes it, the surface under the paint would be unharmed, its the the size of the pellet and air pressure that would determine how many layers of paint could be removed.......then again, he could be from the planet ZOG!!

[gilberninvader]

Thanks for that info Richard, Do they do much of this sort of thing in Oz & have you done this sort of thing yourself.

On another note If they had made Gilbern subframes with Hills know how on rust proofing tubes, there might be a lot more Gilberns around today....although a bit heavier i must admit!
Hills washing lines just never rust, mine's been in our family and 4 house moves for over 40 years and still going strong, it must be a record in these ere parts!! Wasn't it their downfall that they made them too good that they outlasted the buyer?
cheers
Gareth

[GGenie69]

Gareth,
We had a demonstration of the process at the food plant were I work, the factory manager was quite surprised when I produced what appeared to be an essex timing cover for them to show us what it could do; no, I wasn't allowed to borrow the equipment for the week end

Hills are still going strong, although now made in china or malaysia. The older hoist units are much sort after by builders, they make excellent wind up supports.

[series4]

Not CO2 but soda, as in baking soda. Another good thing is that residue washes off with water so you're not eternally battling with grit emerging from unlikely places. I've seen the results and have come away impressed. Go to http://www.sodablast.com.au for more guff.

Peter

[gilberninvader]

This 'sodablasting' cleaning treatment looks amazing. It doesn't seem to harm the material being cleaned, even on soft timber surfaces its effective. The videos i found in both Australia and now in the uk are impressive.
you can even remove the paintwork off car bodies while leaving in the glass, rubbers and all chromework on the body, as it doesn't seem to damage these elements, bloody wow!! How many man hours of labour can this save?Enough of the free plug where do i Buy one?