jjrbus wrote:
BigBeam wrote:
I've been researching some of the marine paint removers that don't damage the gel coat but they all have caveats on what type of paint and I don't think the 89 year old couple who sold would know either...
Although paint remover is my last resort I'm starting to think this is the only direction I can go. Highly doubt 15k to paint one side but it is 2023 lol
I am in FL in the area where hurricanes hit. I took my Roadtrek for a full paint estimate, $12,000-$15,000. I went for a 2nd estimate $8,000. I went inland a bit away from the hurricane damaged areas and high rent districts and revived a quote of $3500! I upgraded from the cheap economy paint to a quality base coat, high solids clear coat for $700 so total of $4200. I did not expect the amount of work this shop is putting into my paint job! So yes $15k for a side might me a tad on the high side LOL
I did read about a Corvette owner stripping his car with a razor blade and claimed it was not that hard. Corvettes are fiberglass so might want to check a corvette forum.
Doesn’t matter what the substrate is, but yes with the right conditions, stripping paint with a razor blade is a viable option.
Stripped this entire truck (well maybe 95% of it) with razor blades and a mapp gas torch.
The big flat areas went fast. Smaller and curved areas MUCH slower.
You can see the ribbons of paint laying on the hood.
Yes blasting the truck or having it blasted would have been much quicker (and more expensive) and come with the downsides of blasting including potential damage to the sheetmetal and the inevitable mess and gift that keeps on giving with any blast method except dry ice, which is very difficult at best, to remove all the leftover media. Since I wasn’t doing a complete tear down of the cab.
Sanding may or may not have been quicker but it would have made a hell of a mess and cost more in materials than the $2 worth of razor blades and $2 worth of torch gas I spent.
This was an old “professional” repaint on top of new (better) primer than the OE paint system. It lasted decades and did not peel. Even when I hit it with a 2500psi pressure washer. But I was able to remove the vast majority of the paint that needed to come off with no dust, no mess and preserved the relatively thick primer underneath as the first filler coat for block sanding.
Now, if the paint is bonded properly, this is not a great option. However it’s a pretty good chance it may work for the OP, given it is/was a half assed attempt at painting. Most folks who don’t know what they’re doing (like painting a car with a paint brush, lol) also aren’t great at prep.
