painting fibreglass

[Werewolf]

i want to change the colour of my bodywork and was wondering if there is a product i can put on the fibreglass to help in removing the old colour or is it just a case of elbow grease and sanding block.?

[gadgit]

Two approaches. one, as you have suggested, good old elbow grease or a good orbital sander (6 inch) which will soon knock it off, but the dust !!!!!!

Two, wash it and if all the body work is in good order, gently rub off the shine with rubbing pads and use 2 pack primer, then rub with wet / dry and spray colour / etc.

If you have cracks (spiders) or bad areas in general, you will need to grind them out and fill with GRP. not to bad a job, but dust, dust, dust. A summer garden job really.

And fianaly, if you know a good work shop, give it to them !!!!!!

gadgit. (respayed my TVR last year so I'm still clearing the dust out me lungs ! )

[zefarelly]

what he said, theres no short cuts and its messy !

[dtype38]

If you don't need a mile-deep shine on the finished paint, I'd recommend using cellulose rather than 2-pack. It takes longer to go off and can't be polished so highly, but its a bit more flexible so is less likely to crack on fibreglass, and also doesn't need specialist breathing equipment if you're doing it yourself.

If the current finish is reasonable, then just rub it all down with wet & dry or abrasive pad then cellulose stopper any dings (cracks and crows feet need grinding out as gadgit says). I'd then suggest you paint the whole thing in one coat of Isolator (any proper paint shop will sell it). It goes on in one thick coat using a gravity gun and acts as a chemical and colour barrier. Then you can repaint with a different type paint or colour without any cross contamination or bleed through.

Good luck.