Plastic paint removal

[simon lambert]

I have been stung badly by a local paint shop. I was in the process of having a red and white body work set painted for my GS1000S.
The outcome is very average.. lucky I got to it before the clear coat was applied.. but now I need to start again.. Problem is they have used a crappy old enamel.. Steel pieces will be blasted.. but has anyone found any way of stripping the plastics apart from sanding?
Regards Simon

[Doze]

Simon, sorry you got burned, that really sucks. I saw in another post what it was costing you to have it redone. How does that 1500 AUS relate to US$? It seems a bit steep. I've done factory repops and customs for that matter for about a third of what you are getting nailed for. Too bad you're so far away. Anyway back to your question, sanding is the only safe way to strip the paint from your plastic panels. Even the paint strippers they say won't harm plastics will actually swell and warp the plastic slightly. We tried them at the shop I work at on a couple of occasions, and every time we ended up having to block sand the part to smooth out the damage caused by the "plastic" stripper.
Doze.

[Anonymous]

Hello Simon

Wait ! Whatever you do don't sandblast the tank. Sandblasting builds heat and will cause some distortion, although minor, it is noticable in the finished product.
Yes Doze is correct the only way to remove piant from plastic parts is sanding, and lots of it too!
Start fisrt with 120 grit wet to take off the majority of the old paint, then proced with finer grits of wet paper 120-240-400-600 until u get a smooth finish down to the factory finish. if you sand all the paint off down to the plastic you must use a polypropaline primmer designed specifically for plastic.
Please ensure that you specify to the next person you want to have a
Basecoat clearcoat finish and not an acrylic enamal base and then clearcoat.
If you require further information on products please e-mail me and I will assist you with a product choice that is available in your area but please provide me with the brand names and type of paint. One of the higher quality paints is Sikkens base clear.
hope this helps. regards, Archie

[simon lambert]

Plastic paint

Well it was how I figured.. I have already started with the sanding block
and wet and dry. I figure I may as well make the punishment worthwhile
and start with 360 grit and work my way up..
Its either that and bin this lot of plastics and find some more on ebay..
The sad fact is though that I had two GS1000s original fairings in the deal
so now they are covered in this crap.. I work at Volvo trucks and the paintshop guys say there is a sealer I can use to then spray over with two pack,,

Simon