Stripping paint.

[Ivan]

Is there any chemical that will strip the paint off these old plastics and not harm the plastic its self? If not, I have years of sanding to do.....

[tooldood]

I think there is... refer to this post

[SilvrT]

Ivan... when I redid my '87 I used an orbital sander with 40 grit paper to take it down to bare plastic...worked pretty good but ya gotta be careful around edges and tabs, etc. Plus, there's always those small nooks and cranny's that require some hand sanding.

 

After that, I applied some heavy coats of high build primer, sanding with 180 grit inbetween to smooth out the roughness from the 40 grit.

[Ivan]

My wife bought me a palm sander from Craftsman for my birthday. It runs something like 10K RPM.

 

40 grit on that thing would disintegrate the fairing in seconds. I tried using some 120, and it works ok, but makes my hand hurt and ache in about three minutes. It is way more than what a DA sander driven by air is. Heavy too. Probably great for sanding wood projects like tables and such though.

 

Since the chili I cook has home roasted herbs for the seasonings and chipotle peppers, and I believe that food should be flavorful and not painful , I guess I'll have to sand.....

 

I am using Rustoleum metallic blue. So far I have just had to knock off the oxidization which isn't bad. My latest piece of plastic is maroon though. The paint is so nice on it it is tough (in a sad way) to strip it. But I don't want a half colored bike.

[bongobobny]

They do make paint designed specifically for painting plastic. That's what I am going to use to paint the '85 project bike with. TRhey also make a primer specifically designed for plastic which you can paint regular paint on top of if there is a specific color you are locked in to.

 

Funny thing is that the color scheme I'm going with is 2 tone blue (Navy and medium) with silver accent! We want pictures of yours, or at least I do to see what it looks like. Before, during and after is way cool...

[wild hair 39]

i've been using lacquer thinner,steel wool,on my 93,did a test seames to work good getting paint off to much thinner it will ech the plastic,paint,comes off real quick

[Ivan]

Lacquer thinner. Hmmm. I tried mineral spirits, but not lacquer thinner. I am guessing the original factory paint was lacquer then?

[wild hair 39]

lacquer thinner will take most all paint off

 

 

 

 

Lacquer thinner. Hmmm. I tried mineral spirits, but not lacquer thinner. I am guessing the original factory paint was lacquer then?

[SilvrT]

I tried using paint stripper but I found it would eat into the plastic... laquer thinner will do the same. I still prefer the sanding method...it's just a lot of work.

[Condor]

Try DOT 3 brake fluid!!!

[Hagmaster]

Abrasive blasting works great, they have medias that will not hurt the plastic.

[gscbertrand]

Why do you want to strip the paint off? If it is not cracked open then just use some 600 grit wet sand paper and put your new paint on top of the factory paint. Usually the factory paint is a good base for the new paint to grab onto. Don't use the brake fluid. If the original paint is faded and has no cracks sanding will work just fine.

[Oldseadog]

I painted just the gas door. I scuffed the paint and used Duplicolor spray can. It lifted the paint so much I had to go down to bare plastic to get it covered properly. I found when it lifted I could use a razor scraper and light sanding to get the paint off. Not sure if you want to go this route, but I'm glad I started on a small piece first.

[Ivan]

Why do you want to strip the paint off? If it is not cracked open then just use some 600 grit wet sand paper and put your new paint on top of the factory paint. Usually the factory paint is a good base for the new paint to grab onto. Don't use the brake fluid. If the original paint is faded and has no cracks sanding will work just fine.

 

 

After painting the side panels yesterday, and not sanding them down to bare plastic, I think it worked ok. I was worried that the paint would bubble like Oldseadog had happen. Fortunately it didn't. I am so happy. It is going to take a lot of blue to cover the maroon color though. hehe

[Rottdoglover]

Try DOT 3 brake fluid!!!

Yes brake fluid WILL remove paint. But don't expect to EVER get new paint to stick.

[capn eddie]

just painted my 87 last month at inlaws body shop, all we did is remove pinstriping with razor blades then sanded parts with air sander (320 grit) then hand sand all the hard to get to spots. Then we sprayed primer, sand some more , spray color (mine was the fastes color- black) then the clear coat , let dry and buff. Just think if you have a 1st gen you only have to paint 21 pieces. Took two of us 3 weeks start to finished

[SilvrT]

just painted my 87 last month at inlaws body shop' date=' all we did is remove pinstriping with razor blades then sanded parts with air sander (320 grit) then hand sand all the hard to get to spots. Then we sprayed primer, sand some more , spray color (mine was the fastes color- black) then the clear coat , let dry and buff. Just think if you have a 1st gen you only have to paint 21 pieces. Took two of us 3 weeks start to finished[/quote']

 

 

ok, so where are the pics?? or did I mess them?

[timgray]

That's the key, you need the RIGHT primer and sealer to seal the factory paint and make a good base for the new paint. anything in a rattle can is most likely going to react bad with the stock paint. you need a 2 part urethane sealer/primer to seal in the old paint then you an put what you want on top.

 

And no, you will not find it in a rattle can.

[SilvrT]

That's the key, you need the RIGHT primer and sealer to seal the factory paint and make a good base for the new paint. anything in a rattle can is most likely going to react bad with the stock paint. you need a 2 part urethane sealer/primer to seal in the old paint then you an put what you want on top.

 

And no, you will not find it in a rattle can.

 

Sorry tim, I disagree. High quality primer surfacers and primer sealers "in rattle cans" are readilly available it numerous automotive parts supply places as well as autobody supply places. The ones you find at places like WalMart, etc are generally not the same and probably won't work. The key is to purchase the RIGHT kind of primer.

[timgray]

I tried several of those high end ones from finishmaster stores, they all caused the stock paint to pucker and lift One was $24.95 for a single rattle can. the ONLY one that worked was a two part with a catalyst that did not react and I had to spray with a gun. The lacquer paint on the Venture 1st gen is very picky. I sanded through the clear and paint to get rid of the pinstripes. the interface where the primer and paint was reacted with EVERYTHING I tried except for the two part stuff. There is something they used under the paint on the 1st gen parts that reacts badly with everything.

 

I fought with that all winter. Just getting the bike reassembled after my winter repaint.

[SilvrT]

I tried several of those high end ones from finishmaster stores, they all caused the stock paint to pucker and lift One was $24.95 for a single rattle can. the ONLY one that worked was a two part with a catalyst that did not react and I had to spray with a gun. The lacquer paint on the Venture 1st gen is very picky. I sanded through the clear and paint to get rid of the pinstripes. the interface where the primer and paint was reacted with EVERYTHING I tried except for the two part stuff. There is something they used under the paint on the 1st gen parts that reacts badly with everything.

 

I fought with that all winter. Just getting the bike reassembled after my winter repaint.

 

Bummer! well, I know what you're talking about; however, once I found the RIGHT primer (at $13 a can) ... it worked. It's made by SEM. The trick I found is not to lay the first or second coat on too heavy and to let it dry thoroughly. Having said that, the method you used is really the right method and solution but, my point simply is that it can be done with "rattle can" primers.

 

Unfortunately, many folks don't have access to proper spray equipment.