Removing original paint from sidecovers etc.

[Himble]

In the not too distant future, I'll be wanting to get a new paint job. The current livery is original but rather faded, so I plan to have the same OEM colour replicated.
My question relates to the plastics i.e. side covers and tail section. What is the best method of removing the original paint from these ABS(?) plastics? Anyone else done this?
TIA

[gsrick]

In the not too distant future, I'll be wanting to get a new paint job. The current livery is original but rather faded, so I plan to have the same OEM colour replicated.
My question relates to the plastics i.e. side covers and tail section. What is the best method of removing the original paint from these ABS(?) plastics? Anyone else done this?
TIA

If the paint is still intact and not flaking, why would you need to remove it? Any minor imperfections can be smoothed out with a light skin of filler and the rest lightly scuffed for good paint adhesion. I can see if it has been painted multiple times of your not sure what type of paint is on there, but even then it can be sprayed with a sealer first, then painted with whatever type of paint you choose.

[chuck hahn]

Rick. I have tried the scuff and cover and have had reactions between the old VS new..kinda spider webbed all over the place. After sanding down to raw plastic it didn't react. Im no painting expert, but to me it seems the extra effort to sand them clean is far better than redoing it again after being md as heck seeing the paint curdled up.
I use 120 and my RO electric sander and finish with some 400. Prime and paint.

[jdion81]

I just cleaned mine and sent them to a body shop to be painted. My issue ('82 GS850GL) with the side covers is that the two tone color from the factory was by way of a vinyl decal. I can't imagine that paint would stick to that. Like Chuck, I used the radom orbital with 220 grit, cleaned the adhesive residue with alcohol then hand sanded with 400. STAY AWAY from cleaning with acetone on the side covers.

My covers had large cracks in them, before paint prep I ground out the cracks into a v shape trough on both sides of the cover then brushed the crack with acetone. This 'welded' the abs plastic together. I then filled with Permatex Plastic weld. Any finish work was done with bondo finishing glaze after the initial sanding. I then pre-primed them with Duplicolor high build primer.

[gsrick]

Rick. I have tried the scuff and cover and have had reactions between the old VS new..kinda spider webbed all over the place. After sanding down to raw plastic it didn't react. Im no painting expert, but to me it seems the extra effort to sand them clean is far better than redoing it again after being md as heck seeing the paint curdled up.
I use 120 and my RO electric sander and finish with some 400. Prime and paint.

If the paint is still intact and not flaking, why would you need to remove it? Any minor imperfections can be smoothed out with a light skin of filler and the rest lightly scuffed for good paint adhesion. I can see if it has been painted multiple times of your not sure what type of paint is on there, but even then it can be sprayed with a sealer first, then painted with whatever type of paint you choose.

You need to spray a sealer on it before repainting it. It separates the two type of paints so they can't react to one another.

[chuck hahn]

I know that Rick..even tried Epoxy primers and it didn't stop everything. The only sure fire remedy is to sand it to bare base and do it. Been there done that an its a waste of time any other way from my persepctive anyway.

[Redman]

I........................ What is the best method of removing the original paint from these ABS(?) plastics? Anyone else done this?....

Remove original paint from sidecovers?
original paint? sidecovers?

THose are not painted, originally. That is the color of the plastic.

Oh, the pin stripping. THose are decals....... havent tried to remove any myself.


(PS: this section of for THE project. THe "appearance" section would be good for such a posting.)

[gsrick]

Not wanting to argue, but you wont find any body shop that will strip everything it paints down to the base surface. Too time consuming and impractical. Some project that need extensive body work maybe, but for general practice a sealer is applied. At least that is what I was taught at a community collage where I took the class to work on my pick up back in the early 90's. I'm sure one of our painters will chime in soon.

I know that Rick..even tried Epoxy primers and it didn't stop everything. The only sure fire remedy is to sand it to bare base and do it. Been there done that an its a waste of time any other way from my persepctive anyway.

[chuck hahn]

Im not arguing. Im stating my own experience and what I did about it that resolved all issues.

[Nessism]

I repainted some Kawasaki EX500 fairing panels one time and got crazing. Used epoxy primer over the old paint on that project but didn't strip the panel. After reading further on the subject the recommendation was to dust on the initial paint layers very light and dry and allow plenty of flash-off time between coats. It was a slow process but using this method I was able to get the paint down without issues.

That said, given my druthers I'd rather strip the panel since it's guaranteed to work. That's what I wound up doing for my KZ750 and everything turned out well. Used a DA w/150 grit paper (or something close to that.) Followed with 220 and then shot a couple three layers of epoxy on top, followed by blocking that back. Some people don't like using epoxy like that but I find it works fine.

[salty_monk]

I've had paint reactions before & definitely had them from rushing to get stuff done (putting too much paint on with not enough time in between). I am strictly a rattle can amateur though.... (although my results with them are reasonable). I've never used a sealer. On my GS1000 I used 2000 Grit to sand them back & then cutting polish to get them back to a shine & restore the plastic colour

[Himble]

Thanks for all the responses, and apologies for posting in the wrong section...not too sure how that happened?
I'll contact an Admin and see if I can get this thread moved to "Appearance".

EDIT: Found I can do it myself! Moved!!

[nvr2old]

I'm in the "sand it down to bare plastic" camp. It's only a pair of side covers, and it solves every "what if" scenario as far as negative reactions. An orbital sander makes short work out of it. If you have to do it by hand start with something that cuts quickly, like 180, prime, sand with 400, good to go.

[NavyDad]

When I stripped the plastic parts on my XS1100 I used lacquer thinner and a clean terry cloth rag. I kept the rag wet with thinner and just rubbed until the paint starting coming off. It took some time and a good bit of rubbing, but the covers were clean, smooth, and ready for paint. Get good gloves and work in a well ventilated area.

[Motojoe2492]

Something I plan on trying in the future is fixing my original clear coat (I like the color but want to be able to change it from time to time) and lay on a thick-ass layer of white plasti-dip. That can be painted over with just about anything and still be able to peel up.

I will be able to experiment with whatever plasti colors I want, then when I want a classy automotive coating I can.

"Damn, I miss that old blue! The color it was when I rode it to the hospital as my wife was in labor..."
"HEY! I can peel all this junk off and revel in it's beauty!!"

Hahaha anyone want to argue some negatives to this? Bring it on, I like the idea lol