Targa Top - Paint Body Color???

[joseph222]

I would like to paint my targa top to match my 914's body color when it is repainted.

What is the outline for removing the black textured finish? Chemical solvents? Wheel sander? Torch & scrape?

Actually I was thinking of trying my belt sander on it followed by block sanding by hand. Bad idea?

What is the correct process?

Thanks.

Joseph

[Peter_Hinkle]

Joseph, i have had pretty good luck using a standard sander starting with a medium grit and getting finer till it was very smooth. You will, of course, have to hand sand the little concave runners on the sides but it is not to bad. HTH..peter

[joseph222]

Do you just sand until it's smooth, or do you sand all the way down to the fiberglass itself? I'm looking for a finish that will be as smooth as the metal on the car.

I'm still not clear on what type of sander you mean by "standard". Thanks for your reply.

Joseph
http://www.josephmills.com/porsche914/index.html

[MJHanna]

Any sander will do work your way from course to fine.

[joseph222]

MJ - I appreciate the clarification on the sander. I'm going to try my belt sander since I'm used to it with wood working projects.

And thanks for the inspirational photos of your race cars. Just what I need for a little motivation.

Joseph
75' 914 2.0L AX bound

[rockaria]

I would steer clear of a Belt Sander on Fiberglass stuff!

Try an orbital sander with rought grain at first and then go smoother. I fear a Belt Sander will rip right through the whole roof! I personally used a flat Vibrating sander at first and moved to a 3D Orbital sander to finish my work. Everytime I use a Belt sander I tend to take off way too much, and all your doing here is getting rid of the texture, not the roof.

Patience and a slow touch always works best.

Just my Opinion,

[Mike D.]

I agree with rockaria, use an orbital sander. The black texture is not that deep and it would be very easy to go into the fiberglass and end up with a very uneven surface. Also, be sure to use and Epoxy Based primer. This will seal the fiberglass and hopefully prevent any paint cracking.

-Mike D.

[joseph222]

Rockaria - (like Jeff Lynne?), thanks for the warning. As I think about it, I may do some light belt testing with a medium grit, but plan on borrowing my friends orbital sander and taking it easy.

Thanks to all of you for your tips - I feel like I can proceed ahead.

Joseph

[Potter]

As a guy who has built a boat out of fiberglass I feel I am finally qualified to add something here. Everyone is correct...........start with the belt sander to do the rough removal...but like Mike said, be conservative with your grit. Then butter it up with a thin coat of bondo using a rubber application squeegie thing. THEN hit it with the random orbit sander and work your way down to at least a 220 grit. The bondo helps even out the tiny dips and gouges that you will invariably leave with the belt. You can get it down to a near shine without any paint at all!

If you choose the just use the random orbit sander and not the belt (which is not a bad choice either), still do the bondo......you sand almost all of it away, but you will see little pricks and lines of pink when you are done.....proving that it helped fill some voids.

Also, make sure you wear a decent resperator (not a little paper mask), safety glasses, and a long sleeve shirt (even if it is 100 degrees). Remember that it is fiberGLASS........you don't want to breath it. And anyone who has ever done this type of thing with skin exposed will NEVER make that mistake again.........you end up feeling like an inside-out porcupine.

Have fun!!!!!!!!

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

And anyone who has ever done this type of thing with skin exposed will NEVER make that mistake again.........you end up feeling like an inside-out porcupine.

Even from just doing household insulation, I can say--"AMEN TO THAT!!!"

--DD

[rockaria]

Originally posted by joseph222
Rockaria - (like Jeff Lynne?)

Now ya done it, Don't get me started!

Jeff Lynne is my Idol... I even got to meet him last year and see ELO perform live to 200 people in New York. I have been a Hardcore Jeff Lynne fan since the mid 70s.

My Fan site (Not for the faint at heart. You must love ELO!):
Rockaria.com - The Definitive Electric Light Orchestra Discography.

I will stop now while I can

[1bad914]

I used a DA sander, I started with 60 grit then 120, then a very then skim coat of body filler then 180. Then treat it like a car and put a guide coat on it then sand and treat like any other bady part!

[tryan]

if you want a mirror flat surface, i would stash the belt sander. one slip and you will have a lot more work.

i would do all of it by hand.

try to get a long flexable board sander and some pressure sensitive sandpaper. (eastwood sells 15" foam ones, but a little pricey) the longer the board , the flatter the surface.

try not to get down to the actual glass. it is porous.

look up interlux and minicraft. both sell paints and primers specificly for boats/fiberglass.



potter, lets see the boat!

[joseph222]

Inside-out porcupine - ouch! Okay. I'm going to hang up my belt sander! Ha Ha Ha! Thanks to all others for the heads up on all these other issues. This Forum is soooo valuable.

That is a Bad 914 - beautiful job on that top.

Joseph
Appreciating Pelican & work Jeff Lynne did with George Harrison & also the Traveling Wilbureys

[maf 914]

1bad914,

Your car looks great. Nice work on the roof. I like the monotone approach.

But, it looks like the "C" in the Porsche script is a bit askew! LOL!

Mike

[1bad914]

Actually there is a little dent in the mesh that I have yet to fix. It will be done before summer!!! Good luck on your top! Thanks for the praise, it is a lot of work, but worth it when people appreciate it!!

[sstine9]

just a small note, my 914 s targa was painted by the prvious owner and has developed some "crackage" as fiberglass will FLEX to some extent and cracks will appear. my .02

[rdupre@houston.rr.com]

Before you go through the effort of sanding off the finish, try lacquer thinner. I used this to clean off my old top and the pebbled finish came right off with it. So I ended refinishing my top.

Much easier and less potential for creating sanding divots.

Of course use in a well ventalated area.