I will post an update on how our 60 vette comes out, but I think it's going to be a long process...we are told December but I'm guessing it won't come home until April.

I'm soon to be in the process of stripping my 71. My painter say's chemical may damage the glass, and blasting may be bad for the seams. So we break out the razor, & paper. I'll keep you posted. Terry

how do you folks strip the door jamb area, especially by the hinges?

[QUOTE=huk_finn]how do you folks strip the door jamb area, especially by the hinges? [/QUOTE]

Well, first thanks to "apasbigal" for posting what I had originally posted about the stripping method I and my wife were using on our the 76. We had 5 layers of paint to get through. We started out with the razors and sharpened putty knife and were making slow but steady progress. Then I talked to a local body and paint man who has done 40 vettes whole or in part over the last 46 years. He showed me how to use the chemical stripper and not hurt the fiberglass. One layer at a time and not working on an area larger than about 6" x 6" at a time. By applying the chem. in a small area and waiting only about 2 minutes and then using the putty knife in that area we were able to take off the rest of the paint (almost the whole rear clip) in half the time of the front. We always had a damp cloth close by to wipe off any excess stripper after scraping with the knife. ALWAYS wear Rubber Gloves with this stuff. It WILL BURN YOUR SKIN. The key was to stop short of the last coat of primer on the body panels. We used a couple of DA's and 80 grit with a very light touch to get the last of the material off the car. The chem. stripper was the ONLY way to get all that paint out of the door jams and T-top troff and any other tight place. It also removed the possibility of scratching or gouging the fiberglss with the razor or putty knife. We chose to do the stripping this way to keep the cost down. But, if money is not a problem, then I would have probably chosen the Soda Blasting method. I finally found a shop that would do it but, they quoted me a price of $525.00 and I would still have to take the marker lights out and the mirrors off. The other thing is after talking to the Chevy Body man that I know, he said that the soda gets into EVERY crack and crevous of the car. Then you have to try to clean it all out.
IF you are doing it yourself, I would go with the Chem.Strip and the putty knife and razor blade. and finish the job with the 80 grit paper on a DA. Or take it to a shop who does it that way. We had approx. 200 hours, yes, 200 hours in the paint removal WORK. If you can afford to have someone else do it and do it right, then, that is the way to go. Good luck !






This is NOT a job for the faint of heart. You have to realize that it wont get done overnight.