paint stripping fiberglass

[chippydave01]

hi everyone,one thing i love about this forum is people sharing their knowledge on the way they do things and the products they use. I have never had much to do with fiberglass except my boat is made of it.I know it provides a much smoothier and quitier ride than aluminium at the expense of more petrol but when it comes to paint stripping it i have heard many stories.Is there a paint stripper that will not damage my boat when i use it.I have tried wet and dry which works but the last thing i want to is spend days sanding it by hand, buffing my aluminium van will be tedious enough.Any ideas anyone.cheers chippydave 8-)1

[rodp]

Hi chippydave, Fibreglass is not usually painted. The last coat in the process is called a gel coat which contains colour pigment and the gloss sheen. Fibreglass polish is available to bring the gloss back.
regards, rodp

[chippydave01]

sorry rod i forgot to tell u someone has give it a paint job at some stage so i need to remove the paint without damaging the gelcoat.

[rodp]

Hi chippydave, again,
There is more than one type of paint stripper. I don't know for sure but some of the citrus based types might remove the paint without adversly affecting the gel coat. I'd check with a good paint store.
Rodp

[humpty2]

If it was painted with 2pack as it should have been if done correctly......then............I think you need proffessional advice
From my limited knowledge, most strippers will damage fibreglass, so out with the sand paper.............a Random orbital sander is the go!!

Humpty