Paint remover for plastic parts

[hunt2elk]

On my 69 Charger I am starting the repair and repaint of the front grill. Somewhere along the line a previous owner took a can of black spray paint to the entire front side of the grill. I have sanded the easily accessible areas but have no good way to get in all the nooks and crannies. Does anyone have a recommendation for a chemical stripper that will not harm the plastic and also not get into the pores and cause my new paint not to adhere?

 

[71airgrabberRR]

Easy off Oven Cleaner Works.............

Try Easy Off oven cleaner. Get the blue can it will work better. Spray it on and let it set for about 15 minutes. It will foam up a little. While it is still wet, take a tooth brush and gently scrub the plastic. Most of the paint will come off this way pretty easy. In the hard to get corners, use a tooth pick to gently scrape the paint away. It may take several applications. This will work very good if the paint is an enamel.

I found out this trick by building plastic models and botching a few paint jobs.

Try it........... You'll like it .............

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Also, FYI this may turn black plastic a shade of dark gray. It doesn't always, but if it does I wouldn't worry too much because you will be re-spraying it anyhow.

 

[Photon440]

I once painted my instrument panel, and recently wanted to strip it. I soaked it in brake fluid for a few hours. The paint curled up and came off with a toothbrush, although the original chrome finish stayed. Lots of hot soapy water and it was clean and ready to go.

 

[hunt2elk]

I once painted my instrument panel, and recently wanted to strip it. I soaked it in brake fluid for a few hours. The paint curled up and came off with a toothbrush, although the original chrome finish stayed. Lots of hot soapy water and it was clean and ready to go.

I've heard of others using brake fluid, but they said to not use it on plastic because the fluid is somewhat absorbed into the plastic and will cause adhesion problems for new paint. Not sure if this is true or not, but with these Charger grills being so valuable I'm not sure I want to chance it.

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Try Easy Off oven cleaner. Get the blue can it will work better. Spray it on and let it set for about 15 minutes. It will foam up a little. While it is still wet, take a tooth brush and gently scrub the plastic. Most of the paint will come off this way pretty easy. In the hard to get corners, use a tooth pick to gently scrape the paint away. It may take several applications. This will work very good if the paint is an enamel.

I found out this trick by building plastic models and botching a few paint jobs.

Try it........... You'll like it .............

- - - Updated - - -

Also, FYI this may turn black plastic a shade of dark gray. It doesn't always, but if it does I wouldn't worry too much because you will be re-spraying it anyhow.

Sounds interesting. I wouldn't think there would be any petroleum products in oven cleaner.

 

[eric383]

It's the caustic chemicals in the easy off that make it remove paint. I have used brake fluid to remove paint and as long as you do a good job of washing it when you are done and prep it properly you will be good to go.

 

[71airgrabberRR]

Oven cleaner

I understand your concern with the grill since they are getting hard to obtain. Try the oven cleaner in a small inconspicuous spot and see how you like it.

I would be more concerned about damaging the plastic and affecting paint adhesion using brake fluid.....

I have used the oven cleaner to prep plastic dash parts on my last Challenger restoration. It works just fine as long as the paint your removing is an enamel based paint.

After the plastic is stripped of paint, clean it again using a plastic prep cleaner. Then spray on an adhesion promoter like "bully dog" brand. Follow the instructions with the adhesion promoter and then spray the grill.

You will not be disappointed.

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I have to restore the plastic grill on my 71 RR. If you like I can show the steps with pictures on my restoration thread. I wouldn't recommend it if it didn't work for me. Our cars are too valuable.

 

[flypaper]

they sell a paint stripper that is specific for corvettes
that will not harm plastic.
you can get it at any autobody supply place.