Fj 40 hard top paint removal question

[jestlurnin]

Hello everyone, the PO of my truck had a F'ing Maaco paint job done about 2years before he sold it to me. He painted the entire darn thing the same color.

I'm going to sand down the fiberglass top to remove all the Maaco paint and then take it to a boat repair shop to have the 4 holes he put in it to hold speakers repaired, then have them gel coat it then I'm going to paint it back the original white.

My question is.... what grit sand paper should I use to take off the Maaco paint? I did a search in the 40 forum and only found 1 post about it. The post said he used 400 grit. Wouldn't it take an awful long time with 400 grit to take that paint off?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Toyo FJ40]

You could try using a stripper. There are a bunch of gellcoat safe strippers that are used on boats and they clean up with soap and water.

Marine Paint Stripper 5GL

 

[jestlurnin]

Awesome. That stuff looks like the ticket. Wish it came in something smaller than a 5 gallon bucket. I don't think I'll need that much for my 40 hard top.

 

[3jvj]

Thanks.

So what is a gel coat? Is it a special kind of paint that should be used on fiberglass? I need to do the underside of mine as well, and I'm looking for a good product that will look factory.

Thanks again.

 

[Texx]

80 grit paper on a d.a. sander is the best bet. You never know how far a stripper will go on fiberglass. Sand down to original gel coat being careful not to lift an edge on the sander and make the surface uneven. Then you can prime and paint or gel coat. If you're having the gel coat done anyway, have the paint impregnated, that will save you a step and you'll come out with a finished product without having to paint.

 

[jestlurnin]

3jvj- to the best of my knowledge it's some sort of epoxy that is but over fiberglass to make a little more durable and aesthetic. It's used in marine and airplane stuff mostly I think. Somebody else can chime in here if I'm full of sh*&.

Texx- is a D A sander something I can pick up at a big box store or is that something that I'll need to find at an auto paint shop? Do you have a recommendation on brand? I don't want the thing to burn out before I'm done with the top. And, why be careful not to lift the edge on the sander? Will it burn through?

I emailed a couple of the companies that make gellcoat safe paint stripper to see what they think about using on a 30 year old fiberglass car top. We will see what they think?

Thanks guys.

 

[Devilmans Hand]

i used 120-180 grit with a cheapo random orbital sander. Took a few hours. Get yourself a good mask.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

3jvj- to the best of my knowledge it's some sort of epoxy that is but over fiberglass to make a little more durable and aesthetic. It's used in marine and airplane stuff mostly I think. Somebody else can chime in here if I'm full of sh*&.

Texx- is a D A sander something I can pick up at a big box store or is that something that I'll need to find at an auto paint shop? Do you have a recommendation on brand? I don't want the thing to burn out before I'm done with the top. And, why be careful not to lift the edge on the sander? Will it burn through?

I emailed a couple of the companies that make gellcoat safe paint stripper to see what they think about using on a 30 year old fiberglass car top. We will see what they think?

Thanks guys.

You can get a DA (dual action) sander for cheap. Just depends on the quality. I think I paid $40 for mine (it is an air tool but they are out there is electric). I have seen them for $29 to $129.

X2 on the mask

 

[Texx]

DA from a box store is fine, most auto body paint stores have em in all price ranges. Unlikely any of the air powered ones are going to quit before you could do several hard tops, not much to them. Yep, it's not critical on the edge thing, just don't hold it on an edge or you could end up with a little groove. You really don't have to be all super careful. Just sand it.