QUESTION! Paint removers for Fiberglass??

Now before anyone gets their panties in a bunch about me working on a fiberglass bodied car, let me tell ya what I'm gettin into..

I responded to a womans add on craigslist who said she had some "jetsons furniture" Turns out she had a set of Saarinen Tulip chairs and a matching table wasting away in her garage. Being a fan of 50's kitsch furniture i went over a took a look. They are beat up, and weathered a bit, but the fiberglass seats are all structurally in good condition. However they've been poorly coated a few times with paint. I'd like to strip, re-seal and paint them, but I've never paint stripped non-metal anything, so i wanted to know if anyone has any insight on any chemical paint strippers that wont damage/eat the fiberglass in the process.

here's the table set that I'm talking about for anyone who's curious..

 

Sanding is my first choice.

If there are any cracks in the 'glas,chemical stripper can get inside
and wait until the paint is applied.

If you are lucky,they were not prepared properly before they were painted,and the paint will come off easy.

 

media or soda blast seems to be the most common way to strip a vette

 

Sand, prime, repeat......................Then paint. You can smooth it out with filler too.

ROB

 

I've used Captain Lee's Spra n Strip successfully on Corvettes.
http://www.halonmarketing.com/mall/Spra' Strip.php

Ol Blue

 

The media blast shop in my area used to do vettes but after screwing one up, doesn't do them anymore. Those that I talked to said to go with stripper. Use the stuff for fiberglass. I don't know anything about soda blasting; maybe that would work. Sanding would work but there looks to be alot of inside curves which could take some time.

Neal

 

Think long and hard about re doing the gel coat after repainting or even applying white pimented Gelcoat.. By the way ,those are not Kitcsh ,more like 60's Moderne.

 

i am by no means a painter or body man, but from my experiences. if the fiberglass is weathered and paint cracked.if you use stripper it gets into the glass and turns to a jelly. then you throw away. soda blast is the answer, and cheaper, and no mess.most blaster get $160 per hour around here. the paint comes off much easier than sand blasting. it would take very little time to soda blast. good luck cadillac dave

 

I'm with Ol Blue on this one. I have had many Vette's, and have used Capt Lees on all of them. Recently on my 54 and the Mondello altered. Just make sure to rinse it off with water or I prefer lacquer thinner. Never had a problem, the stuff is made for fiberglass.

 

Another vote for Captain Lee's Spra Strip. It removed several layers off our '73 Vette, worked well.