AFAIK the urethane panels used on a Fiero are actually as soft or softer than the paint. I am very skeptical that any kind of blasting would remove the paint and not damage the panels. Soda Blasting will work but it is a slow process and extreme care must be taken as to not damage the panels. That's probably the only option.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
As always, I say keep chemical strippers away. If there are ANY cracks or pinholes, the stripper will get into the panel and its then a piece of junk. To me the best method for a Fiero or Corvette is the DA. Time consuming, but you dont run the risk of ruining panels if you do it right. Ive had more than one Corvette (one of mine) that had been chemical stripped at some time. My own C4, I had to buy a new hood because of stripper soaked into the panel and kept bubbling thru. Ive had to buy new panels for many customer cars. Ive had new paint jobs go to crap days after painting because of stripper someone else used before I got the job. I stopped accepting ANY non metal car that had stripper put on it. I couldnt afford to keep redoing them for free. No problem with metal bodied cars. If you chose to anyway, thats your choice.
I'm with Roger on this one. Don't like chemical strippers on plastic. Very hard to get perfect paint when you use them. You can gently sand the paint off or gently soda blast the paint off. If the soda blasting has been done carefully it should work fine but when you take the finish down to bare plastic you will have to spray plastic adhesion promoter to get the paint to take.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
I don't just open the can of stripper for every car I paint. Two times when I go to stripper are: 1) when paint is so thick it takes forever to sand it off, & 2) when the paint is soft & gums up the paper making it impossible to sand off. Both of these scenarios happen more often than you think. I usually get paid by the hour, so I use the quickest way to get the job done right to save my customers as much as I can. I've never had a problem with any paintjobs I've used chemical stripper on. Follow my instructions & keep it off of the base material & it works great. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Wall nut shells or soda (baking soda) on the fiberglass rear 1/4's
I don't know about using a chemical striper on the plastic/ endura flex But DO NOT use a chemicals on Fiberglass they tend to soak into the glass mat and get into places that sanding wont get when you prep for paint, and then months, years later the old stripper will contaminate the paint from the back side out. It's happened a lot on older corvettes.
But like you said, if you can keep it off the base material might not be a bad idea. I wouldn't blast.
[This message has been edited by 1fast2m4 (edited 07-05-2013).]
My time sanding is a lot cheaper than having to buy 1/2 of the body in new panels. One guy stripped his vette, then sanded it, and brought it to me. He had to buy new hood, 2 front fenders, new roof and new decklid. The stripper had seeped into all those panels thru pinholes and made them spongy. They 'looked' fine till you primered them. When the primer dried, it was covered with shiney spots where the stripper was seeping out. Sand them off and reprime with same results. After a few times, i ordered new parts. Better to have paid me a few hundred dollars to sand than to spend a few thousand for new parts.
[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 07-05-2013).]
My time sanding is a lot cheaper than having to buy 1/2 of the body in new panels. One guy stripped his vette, then sanded it, and brought it to me. He had to buy new hood, 2 front fenders, new roof and new decklid. The stripper had seeped into all those panels thru pinholes and made them spongy. They 'looked' fine till you primered them. When the primer dried, it was covered with shiney spots where the stripper was seeping out. Sand them off and reprime with same results. After a few times, i ordered new parts. Better to have paid me a few hundred dollars to sand than to spend a few thousand for new parts.
As I said, you won't have any problems as long as you don't put the stripper on bare fiberglass spots. I could have saved that guy the thousands & $$$: I once had a guy bring me a very rare 427 hood from a '65 'Vette. The painter had stripped it, & made the same mistake you're talking about, causing the paint to bubble every where the stripper had soaked into the 'glass. I told him I could paint it & make it last. I put the hood in the hot sun (summertime) & covered it with black plastic to bleed out the stripper, washing it with lacquer thinner at least once a day as it bleed out. After about a week doing this, I was able to sand, prime, & paint & never had any problems with it. He was very happy. I'll say it again, I only use stripper if the sanding takes too long. Part of being a professional is knowing what works best in each circumstance, & doing the best job possible with the least amount of time/work. Every car is different & requires a different technique to achieve the best results. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
My enduraflex panels look quite good, but all the paint on my fiberglass ones is very cracked. Would I sand down until I see no more cracks before priming? I presume I would not want to prime over any of this cracking/semi-peeling paint.
Saw your title post, hit me "funny". I've been working on making a 3800 harness, it's really getting to me. When I saw "BLASTING media" for fiero, something else came to my mind. LOL
thanks guys for the info, I may try to get a sample scrap panel of another car to experiment with different types of media as some areas on my car cannot be done with a DA such as around the tops of the fenders where it bolts to the body by the front hood. i think with the right media glass or plastic bead and low pressure and a lot of care may work.... i will post my findings as it happens.
Use Sodium Bicarbonate (Soda) blasting media. The rest will cause more damage, and require more repair work (even at lower pressures/flow/etc...).
-Dave
Adding: Soda blasting can be done with a regular blasting system. Just clean out the system when done, and keep the supply air very dry. (I use 2 driers at my tank, and one right off the compressor)
[This message has been edited by IFLYR22 (edited 07-07-2013).]
Use Sodium Bicarbonate (Soda) blasting media. The rest will cause more damage, and require more repair work (even at lower pressures/flow/etc...).
-Dave
Adding: Soda blasting can be done with a regular blasting system. Just clean out the system when done, and keep the supply air very dry. (I use 2 driers at my tank, and one right off the compressor)
Thanks Dave, What size Soda media would work good? As far as driers I made a refrigerated drier out of a window AC, then a separator, then finally a Desiccant drier so i should have dry air...
As long as it stays dry, it will work just fine. The Soda likes to suck up moisture more than any other media. I am unfamiliar with Soda having more than one size. If by amount? You will need at least 100lbs. and that will just do the hard to sand areas.
My 66 vette started with soda for the body, but it had too many layers (as in 14 layers at some points) of paint to cut it quick, so I used a fiberglass safe stripper to get to the last layer of paint, and then it was soda and sanding. I was able to clean the glass with the soda, but cut right through the paint without harming the original gelcoat.
