Now I’m contemplating buying one of these to use on my boat prior to repainting and IF its as easy as it looks then I may have a go on the Lotus when I get round to the restoration !! (not sure I’d start on the Lotus though before the boat !!)
IF I get one I’ll let you all know how it turns out on the boat at least !
That ought to make some real work for you to fix. Use hand tools, save yourself the money and buy a chissel or sleeve of sand paper. power tools make more work than they solve.
Gary
the weekly re-run of how to take pain off your Elan…
I recently used a similar attachment to my angle grinder to remove some old artex from a ceiling. Sure was quick but very easy to make some deep cuts, not a problem on the ceiling as the plasterer will skim over those. Would not want to use it on my Elan though
The movie looks impressive but I don’t think I would want to try the tool on anything with curves. They did pick a nice flat surface to show how well it works… Not too many flat surfaces on an Elan.
Are you talking about removing antifouling paint or topside paint? I wouldn’t use it for either, I think it would be too aggressive. If you are removing bottom paint then I would use a hand held paint scraper, the ones with the u shaped blade. The paint scraper will flake the paint off quite easily, don’t forget to round off the edges of the blade so that you don’t gouge into the boat. You do not wnat to cut into the gel coat. To finish use a random orbit sander. I have done this on my sailboat a couple of times over the years & beleive me the most aggressive power tool you should use is the random orbit sander.
Hello, I just saw your query on this forum. I am from Ontario. There is a marina north of Toronto (Marina del Rey on Lake Simcoe). They use a Gelplane to remove paint and gelcoat and are doing an amazing job with it. I know the machine is worth some money but finding a marina closeby who has the tool might save you a lot of frustration.
I used plastic media blasting to remove the last sections of paint on my +2. I had been hand wet sanding the paint off which left a smooth undamaged finish but was extremely time consuming. I had a bit to remove after my heart surgery and choose the plastic media blast. Worked great. An experienced operator could leave the primer on which could be wet sanded off if so desired. Not worth the trouble.
For my TVR I choose plastic media for the entire body. Left it a bit “dull” in areas but no damage. A real time saver.
Hi,
Years ago I successfully removed the paint on my+2 by wetting an old Terry nappy ( that shows how long ago it was) with cellulose thinner, laying it on a panel, covering the nappy with plastic sheeting and taping the edges (this stopped the thinner evaporating) After about 15 minutes remove the nappy and scrape off the softened paint. This worked really well as the cellulose thinner did not attack the original 2 pack primer which was then rubbed down with wet and dry for a perfect base for refinishing. This method will not work on modern 2 pack or acrylic finishes though
cheers
Mark (Elan in the forest) got hold of a soda blasting machine some time ago, Mark how is it working for you? I have a new project and was wondering if I should go down the soda route??
I have just had my Plus 2 stripped by blasting. The guy who did it struggled with the soda and eventually did it with plastic media with good results.
Prior to this I had a couple of so called experts do test panels on the car with soda and it seemed a messy and expensive process with fairly iffy results. I have since come to the conclusion that soda blasting is not a panacea and that plastic media is the way to go.
I reckon that the best method still remains hand stripping however
“I reckon that the best method still remains hand stripping however”
The “safest” way is hand wet sanding. A very time consuming mind numbing job. Getting into all the corners and areas such as the rear light recess and door jambs is a one or two finger job. It will leave the gel coat as molded but that is not important and is not worth the 100 to 125 hours it takes to strip a car with the original paint and one repaint. It is inexpensive if you do not count your labor.
Using a DA sander to remove the paint is another method. Not to be attempted by anyone but a highly experienced body man. The possibility of introducing waves is great. Also takes a great deal of time.
I have restored two fiberglass cars, my +2 and TVR Vixen, and seen several Europas and other fiberglass cars restored at the shop. The most cost effective and least likely to introduce damage and future complications is plastic media blasting. The only caution is to use an experienced operator who has been highly recommended.
I will begin the restoration of my 1962 Jaguar MK2 this month. Once disassembled I will have it plastic blasted with the possibility of aluminum oxide for any surface rusted areas. Unlike a fiberglass body it will have to immediately be primed with a self etching primer. Then the repair work can commence.