Corvettes requie a Dainty touch when repairing or restoring.
If it be the traditional fiberglass used because the automobile's inception in 1953 or the carbon fibre/plastic composite used on newer cars, Corvettes bodies corner always utilized some Category of non-metal data. While fluorescent and relatively big, these materials conceive any clement of Corvette bodywork a Dainty endeavour when compared to working on vehicles using amassed resilient materials allied steel and aluminium.
Removing Decals
The two traditional methods for removing fossil decals and pinstriping (chemically dissolving the glue or burning the sticker gone with a heat gun) Testament damage the Corvette's plastic skin. Practice a flash solvent cognate tint thinner on a saturated cloth to remove glue residue.
Stripping the Paint
Never, ever bag a chemical dye stripper on your 'Vette. While chemical paint strippers Testament close a good profession of dissolving and removing paint, they'll do the same thing to that chemically-similar resin in the composite material beneath. Removing decals from a composite protest requires a lighter touch and bounteous patience. Anterior, soften a intersect of the decal with a accepted hair drier (NOT a heat gun) on the highest setting, then thoroughly wet the sticker with a penetrating oil cherish WD-40 or PB Blaster. After sufficient soaking, the decal should brush away with a soft, non-abrasive cloth. Handle a soft plastic or rubber scullery spatula and aggrandized oil to remove any obdurate spots.Media blasting (similar to sand blasting, but with plastic beads, walnut shells or baking soda instead of sand) will cause less damage than stripper, but will still damage the underlying panels. Although more labor intensive, sanding is the surest way to strip paint without damaging the synthetic material beneath.
Prepping for Bodywork
Corvette owners are typically meticulous about maintaining their car's appearance, so you can count on some sort of residual silicone or wax in the affected area. Before attempting any repair, clean the area of any residues with a quality cleaner-degreaser; skipping this step will allow those residues to mix with the sanding dust and embed in the fiberglass. After such embedding, you're guaranteed to receive "fisheyes" and "orange peel" in your finished paint job. While repairing any area, you might also strip, prime and repaint the entire panel for a seamless repair.
Prepping for Paint
Generally speaking, primer doesn't like to stick to slippery fiberglass. While metal-bodied cars can utilize an acid etching primer to elevate adhesion, such etching primers will eat fiberglass alive. Instead, you'll want to use a polyolefin adhesion promoter like those made by 3M both before priming and after. Adhesion promoters are easy to use; just spray the area with promoter as you would when applying a light coat of spray paint, allow five minutes to dry and commence with the coloring.
