Best way to remove paint from plastics...

[hikermikem]

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.

Good data - thanks Tom...

So at this point, what chemical do you prefer?

[tkent02]

Good data - thanks Tom...

So at this point, what chemical do you prefer?

The paint remover for plastics, but I need to test it on another junk piece before I start using it with reckless abandon on good parts I care about. There is an extra 550 tail with damaged original paint out there that will be a good test, also an extra plastic fender.
Also need to paint a few of them and see how they turn out before I endorse it completely.


Edit, It's Bad Stuff!!! It definitely eats plastic!! Sprayed some on the 550 tail, within a minute the stripe decal was soft and peeling off easily, within five minutes the plastic itself was softened, I quit scraping it and went into the sink to wash it off, but the surface has been altered already. Couldn't really tell what it did to the paint, as it was black paint on black plastic, so it all looked like the same tar. Again it will take a lot of sanding once the primer is on to get it looking right again.


Next test, Brake Fluid!!! Wish me luck!

[hikermikem]

There is an extra 550 tail with damaged original paint out there

Actually, i'm looking for a 550E rear tail plastic to fit my '85.

Mine has been repaired (not great) and i still need to repair it again to make it usable.

If yours would fit & it's in one piece, would you be willing to sell it? Any pics?

[tkent02]

This tail is from a 1978 or so...

[hikermikem]

OK, thanks, I'll fix what i have i guess...

[nvr2old]

The paint remover for plastics, but I need to test it on another junk piece before I start using it with reckless abandon on good parts I care about. There is an extra 550 tail with damaged original paint out there that will be a good test, also an extra plastic fender.
Also need to paint a few of them and see how they turn out before I endorse it completely.


Edit, It's Bad Stuff!!! It definitely eats plastic!! Sprayed some on the 550 tail, within a minute the stripe decal was soft and peeling off easily, within five minutes the plastic itself was softened, I quit scraping it and went into the sink to wash it off, but the surface has been altered already. Couldn't really tell what it did to the paint, as it was black paint on black plastic, so it all looked like the same tar. Again it will take a lot of sanding once the primer is on to get it looking right again.


Next test, Brake Fluid!!! Wish me luck!

Some people never learn. I (humbly) have over 35 years of experience painting, and chemicals of any type (as mentioned many posts back) are bad for plastics or fiberglass. Both are porous, and once it's in there, it doesn't go away. If you would have just taken a few hours to sand it with 180 grit in the first place, you'd be done. Now, not only do you have a repair to do, you're still faced with..sanding it...a lot. Good luck with the brake fluid..and get ready to be disappointed with that method, too.

[tkent02]

Some people never learn. I (humbly) have over 35 years of experience painting, and chemicals of any type (as mentioned many posts back) are bad for plastics or fiberglass. Both are porous, and once it's in there, it doesn't go away. If you would have just taken a few hours to sand it with 180 grit in the first place, you'd be done. Now, not only do you have a repair to do, you're still faced with..sanding it...a lot. Good luck with the brake fluid..and get ready to be disappointed with that method, too.

I'm learning all right, by testing, not by listening to someone on the internet who may or may not know a damned thing about it. And no, I don't have more work to do, it's a JUNK piece. Junk as in throw it away when I'm done. I don't even have a bike that fits it. I have spent a LOT of hours sanding a lot of plastic parts with 180, I'm tired of it. Hence the testing. And I have a jug of slightly used brake fluid just waiting to go to a useful cause, like another test. So I think I will try it. Maybe it won't work. Maybe it will.
I'll let you know in a few days.

[nvr2old]

I have a bike in Cycle World this month. They seem to believe I know what I'm talking about. Have fun.

[cowboyup3371]

nvr2old, sometimes people need to see it for themselves not just take the word of someone else. For example, although I trust Steve knows what he's talking about, I had to prove it to myself this past weekend that an exhaust repair I did had no effect on an idle problem I had. He warned me but I honestly didn't believe it until I continued to experience the problem.

Let him try...maybe it will work out right and it's another trick for you to use.

[SVSooke]

Well this thread sealed how I'm doing the plastics on mine.Sanding.Of course I only have one to do.But there is quite a bit of plastic on a 85 GS750EF

[7981GS]

I made the BIG mistake of just spraying some off-brand engine degreaser on my side cover and it DESTROYED the paint AND the plastic!
I grabbed it off the bike and washed it with soap in the sink ASAP and spent a lot of time sanding and painting to make it just "good."
It was a nice original piece before I "cleaned" it.

Daniel

[tkent02]

I have a bike in Cycle World this month. They seem to believe I know what I'm talking about. Have fun.

Never read it. So I guess I'll miss out on your work. Bummer. I'm just happy I haven't had to spend 35 years of my life sanding.

[ddaniels]

Sometimes it takes people who are willing to take the risk and go against the flow of historical data and experience to experiment and maybe find or discover something new that was previously unknown that provides for a better method of doing things. Not discounting 35 years of proven technology here, but I support testing to support the discovery of more advanced technological ways of doing things. Here's hoping tkent02 discovers a better way...

[Matchless]

As far as I know most of the plastics on our bikes are ABS which is easily dissolved by acetone, thus very acetone unfriendly!
Use a bit of ABS plastic and submerse it in the substance you would like to test for a few days to see whether it does any damage.
Result, anything that damages ABS will most likely also damage your plastics!

[nvr2old]

I do my absolute best not to sound arrogant in any way. I honestly try to advise people in methods and techniques that are time-proven and substantiated by not only me, but some of the best painters around. If I can save someone the hassle of finding out that paint stripper will ruin plastic parts, then I'll try. When people ask for help, and then do what they want anyway, then why ask for help in the first place? If someone wants to experiment, more power to them. Parts and materials (especially) are very expensive these days. Sanding is the biggest part of any paint job, you just can't get around it. No one likes to sand, but that's what makes the difference between something nice, and something just so-so. I do this for a living. If people think that I'm going to experiment with their parts, I'm not going to stay in business very long. I not only posted the entire paint process of my S model on this site, but I also invite anyone to check out my work at www.meticulouspaint.com. I lay it all out for the whole world to see, what took me years to perfect, free of charge.