Problem with new paint stripping old paint

[Anonymous]

Hey guys,
I'm trying to get my 400 finished up so I can collect my money for her but I'm having a problem. This bike has been repainted a few times before so when I applied my paint some of the old stuff bubbled up! The paint that causes it to bubble is a PPG base mixed can of paint and a 1K filler/primer. I can't really think of a good way to solve this so I could use some pointers. The tank is metal with bondo, the side covers and tail section are black plastic, and the front fender is white plastic.

Some ideas are:
-sand all the parts done to bare plastic, problem is that it'll lose some of its contour and more than likely look terrible

-find a paint stripper that doesn't eat plastic, problem is that I'll need lots of cleaner to remove the stripper and it may soak into the bondo and body putty

-spray the parts down with the paint I already have and use it as a paint stripper, problem is that it probably won't be thorough enough

Any ideas?

Thanks, Steve

 

[80gs1000e]

Save yourself some time and frustration and do it right. Strip all the paint off the tanks with stripper, then grind or hand sand off the remaining funkyness. I ground out all of the old bondo with a drill attachment which was like a porous foam block. Worked very well. Sand it good and wash with denatured alcahol. Now its ready for primer.

I've done 4 sets of GS plastic side covers and you will not ruin them by sanding them. If you use power tools you may deform them if you're not careful. I did them by hand to be safe with water, various grades of wet sandpaper and a lot of elbo grease. They came out awesome! Its just a lot of work, no easy way to do it. Good luck. -D

 

[Anonymous]

I really didn't want to go through another 10 hours of sanding so I went down to the auto body supply store in town. They sold me some Pro Form PF535 Sprayable Paint Stripper and it's incredible. It says it is alright for use on plastic and after about 5 seconds you can power wash or wipe off 4 layers of paint in one shot. Time will tell if it makes painting difficult.

Warning: This stuff is nasty to use, do not use in a windy area as you will feel every molecule hit your skin.

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

I have heard of people using fine cob media (yup, crushed corn cob) which is normally used to refinish log homes. You need to get the finest media you can find and make sure your sandblaster/air compressor unit has a water filter/seperator or it wets the media and clogs the nozzle, then you need to clean it and start over.

The media can be used to take paint off plastic but can also be used to 'polish' metals such as chrome, aluminum, etc.. it will not even pit or fog glass! Only thing to beware of, using it on plastic that's painted chrome will remove the chrome paint.

The media poses no hazzard to us (like most strippers), its biodegradable, if you use it outside without a collector it will even fertilize your lawn!! If you do it inside with a collector you can reuse the media over and over.

Hope this helps someone.