Restoring Fiberglas Wheelpants

New at this am I so how about a little advice here? First of all I have
already washed one of the two wheelpants and it was filthy with oil, grease,
5606, rottweiler pi**, and ramp dreck, so the washing took a long hour
scrubbing and rinsing. I'm thinking that when the sanding and paint
removal begins it will need to be upside down on a pedestal, like maybe a
3-legged stake skewered into expanding foam which has been shot into and
filled the hollow wheel well. So that when it's worked it won't be
flopping around like a beachball or lose its form the way it did when I had
it in the bathtub. It needs to be in a fixed position and nailed down, i.
e., stable so when using elbow grease on it, the thing will stay put. How
about it? Who's done this and can give me a little guidance here? I'm
put in mind of working the fiberglas cowl half, which flopped all over the
place as I sanded it. Somehow the cowl has to be stabilized on a form or
something so that when sanded and worked, it won't flop and bend so. It
almost puts me in the mind of having to build a mold. Do you follow me?

I found all kinds of stuff on restoring fiberglas boats but couldn't
extrapolate.

The other question is, the old paint needs to come off. I think. Should
this be done by sanding it off or using paint remover like methylene
chloride? I'm thinking that sanding will do the trick and I've had
experience with the microspheres and epoxy and flocked cotton and that sort
of thing. And filling pinholes.

Thanks a lot in advance for the usual splendid cerebral fervor and keen
insight usually displayed by the altruists who hang out here. I'm going to
make pics and try to put the progress up on a website. You can't see me,
though. Too ugggly.