Removing paint from plastic

[Guest]

Does anyone know of a safe and effective way to remove paint from sidecovers & tailpieces?

[Anonymous]

It depends on your definition for safe, do you mean safe for the plastic, safe for the person applying, or both?

If you mean safe for plastic then a few months back I stripped my headlight with methyl ethyl ketone (MEK - unlabelled container but very sure it was MEK) and got good results. Didn't affect the plastic in any way but do not breathe it in or have sustained skin contact. It is rather potent stuff. However I had the opportunity to repeat the exercise recently with a different surround and got different results. The paint was a lot more stubborn I think because the surround had been repainted by someone else and I have no idea what with. I do know that they didn't strip it back to plastic before repainting.

Your results may vary.

Cheers,
Anthony

[Anonymous]

The side covers on my 81 850 are colored plastic with a colored decal for the two tone, To paint an other color , I took a hair dryer & removed the decal, & got the primer from my auto paint jobber for the plastic to be repainted , I think it was bumper primer for plastic so the paint will stick with out peeling, so far so good

[humhead]

Thank for the replies. I have a set of 850 sidecovers that were the victim of a very poor repaint. The paint is cracked and chalky & looks hideous! Any dea where I can get MEK? I have goggles mask & gloves.

Terry

[Dark Jedi]

Have you looked into plastic safe Orange strippers?

they require a little elbow grease, but do work. A nice stiff bristled brush helps a lot. goggles and gloves are your best friend....

[AOD]

scuff the paint, and paint over the plastic...it should bond well.

~Adam

[humhead]

Thanks for the tip about citri strip. I got a can today. I worked well on the fender. Now I'll try a sidecover. The paint Had to be removed. It's so bad, nothing short of complete stripping would work.

Terry

[Evil Hobbit]

scuff the paint, and paint over the plastic...it should bond well.

~Adam

This would be my method, however the clear coat has come off over the pin striping which leaves "trenches" in the clear coat. So for uniformity I must strip, the paint I mean. I thought about getting the power hand sander out but I can really cause some damage with that thing.

[bgmart450]

I used a superfine grit wet sand paper and did it by hand in a bucket of water and in a dripping faucet. My wife tried a solvent and pretty much scarred her pieces. Patience pays off.

[Dark Jedi]

Thanks for the tip about citri strip. I got a can today. I worked well on the fender. Now I'll try a sidecover. The paint Had to be removed. It's so bad, nothing short of complete stripping would work.

Terry

Worked great for mine. I agree, sometimes they gotta be stripped. Mne had no less than 3 layers of paint, all poorly applied. They look nice now, except that I dropped a ratchet on one and cracked it.

[80gs1000e]

I used a superfine grit wet sand paper and did it by hand in a bucket of water and in a dripping faucet. My wife tried a solvent and pretty much scarred her pieces. Patience pays off.

What he said. Chemicals and plastic usually do not like each other. A bucket of water, a rubber sanding block and some water approved sandpaper will do it proper. I've done 4 sets of side covers this way. Using 100 to 1000 gradually. MAN! Its a lot of hard work and sweat but in the end it'll look awesome once you get all of the paint off and smooth it down before priming and painting. Plus, one of your arms will be a lot bigger after you're done. Good luck! -D

[bgmart450]

I used a superfine grit wet sand paper and did it by hand in a bucket of water and in a dripping faucet. My wife tried a solvent and pretty much scarred her pieces. Patience pays off.

What he said. Chemicals and plastic usually do not like each other. A bucket of water, a rubber sanding block and some water approved sandpaper will do it proper. I've done 4 sets of side covers this way. Using 100 to 1000 gradually. MAN! Its a lot of hard work and sweat but in the end it'll look awesome once you get all of the paint off and smooth it down before priming and painting. Plus, one of your arms will be a lot bigger after you're done. Good luck! -D

Do it with your left arm instead and you could even them out haha...