Just a gentle warning not to use paint stripper on glass fibre.
A composite repair specialist warned me against using stripper on glass-fibre a couple of years ago, but recently I have had to deal with the consequences on a fuel tank that had been paint stripped before it came to me.
All the paint had gone... Along with much of the gel coat which had lifted leaving spider like tracks over the tank.
Tedious filling with plastic padding followed by rubbing down then several coats of a specialist filler primer got rid of most of it but each time I held the tank up to the light some was still visible.
5 hours later and I'm still filling and rubbing down.
The tank will look good when I'm finished but I doubt I'll ever get a 100% finish.
I'm told that the only real fix would be to re-mat the entire tank with a special ultra lightweight weave mat and new resin, this rubs down to leave a smooth gel-coat like finish
The conclusion that I have come to is that so far as glass fibre is concerned a couple of hours 'saved' by using stripper when compared to rubbing it down will be eaten several fold by the problems that will occur later.
Hope this helps somebody.
Jerry.
Paint stripper on glass fibre. A warning
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jerry thurston
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classic Ed
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Ian Shearer
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Re: Paint stripper on glass fibre. A warning
Hi Don't be put off too much, i've been designing and building GRP yachts for over 40 years, and it's generally the guy doing the job rather than the material used which causes the probs, thorough rinsing to neutralise any chemical reaction is paramount, but on small stuff, elbow grease is still best. does not help the guy further down the road who has to deal with the consequences tho' !! 
Jerry, just a further thought, if you are satisfied with the structural integrity of the tank and are struggling for that perfect finish, there is no need to use a surfacing cloth, 3 coats of hi build epoxy primer, (we use JOTUN products but there are plenty of others), will give you an easily sanded surface which will give you a superb surface to finish with a paint system of your choice hope that helps. regards Ian
Jerry, just a further thought, if you are satisfied with the structural integrity of the tank and are struggling for that perfect finish, there is no need to use a surfacing cloth, 3 coats of hi build epoxy primer, (we use JOTUN products but there are plenty of others), will give you an easily sanded surface which will give you a superb surface to finish with a paint system of your choice hope that helps. regards Ian