While this Corvette was a decent 20-footer, we are after show-quality paint here. That means detail that will look great, even under close scrutiny, and the only way to get there is to take the car substantially apart. Fortunately, mid-'70s Corvettes have a minimum of xterior trim, and most of what is thereis fairly easily removed. The only sticking point is that some of the fasteners may be rusted or seized. While penetrating oil and time does the trick in most instances, there were times when we were forced to break out the drill. With the car's exterior fully undressed, stripping the panels was the next step.
 Our intention is to fully...  Our intention is to fully detail all the jambs, which means removing all the hardware, such as these guides for the t-tops; otherwise there will be a visible tape line and white paint hidden underneath. |  Detail work necessitates removing...  Detail work necessitates removing all the weatherstripping for a high-quality job. the rear window seal channel was removed by drilling the rivets. |  More jamb hardware includes...  More jamb hardware includes the sill plates, moldings, and the rear finish strip that requires drilling more rivets for removal. All the adjacent interior trim panels will be removed or pulled back before painting. |
There are several ways to strip the paint from a Corvette. The choices here boil down to blasting, sanding, or chemical stripping. Since we wanted to do the job ourselves, specialty blasting was not considered, though many have success with plastic media blasting. The downside of blasting is the media can (and will) get everywhere. Since this car is not receiving a full restoration, we had further reason to seek other paint removal means. Sanding is another alternative, but the potential for digging into the fiberglass body shortly after the paint is removed can lead to damage and a wavy surface. A D/A air sander may be perfect for steel panels, but it takes a brave soul to attempt stripping a fiberglass body with one.
For our situation, that left chemical stripping. This process can be a hit or a miss, depending upon the product and the paint surface. Some paints are incredibly resistant to most chemical strippers, but ours came right off with a single application. The topcoats proved easy to chemically strip, leaving most of the original primer, which we will sand off by hand. Without a doubt, this is that point in our project that really takes some faith since our once acceptable Corvette was now looking like a torn-down wreck. It takes confidence that the final product will prove to be worth it in the end.
 The lower rocker trim is held...  The lower rocker trim is held on by machine screws along the length. unfortunately, a couple of ours were frozen and required drilling for removal. Once again, for a typical production paint job, many shops will leave these in place, but we wanted the new color to have complete coverage, even where hidden from sight. |  Removing the side rearview...  Removing the side rearview mirror is done from the exterior of the door, first removing the mounting pin screw to free the mirror, and then two screws to remove the mounting bracket. |  This kind of a job necessitates...  This kind of a job necessitates getting inside the doors, which begins with removal of the door panel. the window fuzzy is held on by screws at both ends and snaps out with a stern thumb push. failing to remove these will leave a tape line all across the top of the door. |