Best way to remove paint from plastics...

[tkent02]

I appreciate all the thoughts, suggestions, warnings & empirical testing you guys have offered!!

Using chemicals to remove the paint certainly seems like the easy way to go (better living through chemistry), but it scares me a little. I'm the one-in-a-million guy that would have all my plastics melt before my very eyes .

I guess wet sanding is the "gold standard" of paint removal - sounds like work to me however.

But, I have all winter to get these pieces sorted out, as it's too cold here now to paint.

Thanks again for all the responses.

mike

The only way to sand is to sit there with a big bucket and some sandpaper and mindlessly sand away while you watch a football game or something. It's just too boring otherwise. I have done a few, my brain turns to mush afterwards. I have a lot of plastics to strip.

So, oven cleaner test next.

[Nessism]

The only way to sand is to sit there with a big bucket and some sandpaper and mindlessly sand away while you watch a football game or something. It's just too boring otherwise. I have done a few, my brain turns to mush afterwards. I have a lot of plastics to strip.

So, oven cleaner test next.

Alcohol is the answer! Not the kind you wipe the parts down with, the kind to drink! Sand for a while...drink a beer....sand....drink...repeat as often as necessary.

[Billy Ricks]

If you guys don't want to sand then never start polishing a set of wheels. I spent over 60 hours on the set of GSX-R wheels on my 700. The spokes were sand cast finish and I sanded them slick before polishing. Fingers were pretty raw after that and I'm used to sanding.

[hikermikem]

Alcohol is the answer! Not the kind you wipe the parts down with, the kind to drink! Sand for a while...drink a beer....sand....drink...repeat as often as necessary.

I like the way you think Ed !!

[tkent02]

Oven cleaner test... OK, it works, a little bit. After four days in a plastic bag, sprayed down with EasyOff couple times a day, about half of the paint is gone, it does not seem to have hurt the plastic at all. If you have days and days to wait, yeah, maybe. This stuff sure stings when you get it in a cut.

I'm going to go try that aircraft stripper for plastic.

[hikermikem]

Just curious, are the plastics outside, and if so are they cold (gotta think it's getting chilly there now...).

maybe the temperature of the your "chemical de jour" is part of the reason it's taking so long...

This is great, you do all the testing & I'll pick the one that works

I'm leaning towards the brake fluid right now, but aircraft stripper for plastic - now that sounds like it has some legs...

[tkent02]

Just curious, are the plastics outside, and if so are they cold (gotta think it's getting chilly there now...).

maybe the temperature of the your "chemical de jour" is part of the reason it's taking so long...

This is great, you do all the testing & I'll pick the one that works

I'm leaning towards the brake fluid right now, but aircraft stripper for plastic - now that sounds like it has some legs...

No, it's been cold at night but hot in the day, intense sun. Ordered a can of the aircraft paint remover for plastic, it will be here in a few hours.
$12 for an 18oz aerosol. It better work!

[chuck hahn]

I have sanded side covers with my palm sander to get the rough stuff off..using like 220 grit. Then like someone said the water and wet sand paper. The cool thing about the water is that when you get a part wet and look down it the water will show any small inperfections..just like when it will be painted. sand the imperfections out, dip it in the water and look down the parts and then you can see basically what the shine is gonna look like once it is painted.

[bigboresuzuki]

I used paint stripper on my toolbox this morning.Wear safety gear and have a bucket of water handy.Brush it on and you will see the crud start to dissolve.Use a plastic scraper to take the excess off.I then held it with old leather gardening gloves and had the wife waterblast it.Came up good all black plastic showing again.Obviously dont leave the stripper on for too long.I have tried sanding before and it's too difficult because of all the ridges.Why people spray over toolboxes is crazy.

[81GS750]

Wet sanding really isn't all that bad. Yes it's tedious, turns your brains into mush, can possibly lead to a hangover, or alcohol induced liver failure. Wait, thats starting to sound like my some of my experiences at WyoTech haha!

Really though, the best way I've found to strip plastic is hand sanding with 220g - 320g then final sand with 400g wet. Or, use a DA sander, palm sander, mouse to remove the paint. I wouldn't use anything courser than 220 since you can eat up the plastic fairly quickly. I don't like chemical methods for this reason: Raw plastic has a tendency to absorb oils and other chemicals that can cause problems later on in the paint stages. Once painted, there is the possibility that when the plastic part heats up, (sitting out on a sunny day) those chemicals may try to "escape" from the plastic part causing damage to the paint work. I've seen this happen mostly with improperly prepped new replacement bumper covers, since most JDM plastic parts are sent raw and still full of the mold release agents. Also, the whole chemicals melting plastic thing too.

Probably wouldn't happen on a 30 year old part, but introducing chemical strippers and household products might cause issues later on down the road. That's just my opinion on the subject. I've learned through experience that the "easy" way is not always the best way.

[tkent02]

The aircraft stripper for plastic worked, might have damaged the plastic....

Klean Strip Aircraft Paint Remover for Plastic, find it from the aircraft tab here:

http://www.kleanstripauto.com/

Some of the paint curled up and peeled off, some of it got soft enough that it only took about ten minutes of wet sanding to get all of the paint off. Either the oven cleaner or the paint remover softened the plastic a little, my scraper dug into the plastic a few times before I noticed. After wet sanding in the sink and rinsing it well the plastic hardened up again, it has a slightly different texture now in a few spots, it would take a bit of effort sanding primer to get it to look right again. I will try the plastic remover alone on another piece to see if it was the culprit. I will also prime, paint and clear this trash cover to see if the left over chemicals have any effect on the paint job.

[midnightcafe]

Just sand the pieces and you should be fine. They're small parts, how hard can it be? 180 grit will take it right down. Paint strippers and other chemicals are bad for plastic or fiberglass. Sanding is 99% of any paint work, prep-finish.

+1, simplest method- you need to sand it down anyways...

[tkent02]

+1, simplest method- you need to sand it down anyways...

Several hours each piece, 5 or six pieces per bike, I have five bikes lined up to paint. And I dislike sanding.

[Matchless]

Several hours each piece, 5 or six pieces per bike, I have five bikes lined up to paint. And I dislike sanding.

The chemical called "Elbow Grease" seems to be the safest!

[tkent02]

The chemical called "Elbow Grease" seems to be the safest!

Will you come over here and spend a month sanding?
Free beer for you!