jensenracing77

What is the best way to remove paint from the red inner fenders? In the past I used paint thinner but it is not working. I am thinking about trying brake fluid. I just don't want to use anything that will hurt the inner fenders. This set is in great condition and are off of the W-30 i am restoring.

I was also thinking about wet sanding them with 1000 and then after it is gone going to 2000. I will likely have to wet sand them anyway after the paint is gone.

bccan

SEM makes an aerosol bumper stripper that might do the trick without damage. Obviously try an unobtrusive spot to test it if you try it.

tomsw31

I have used compressed air through a fine nozzle which works well if the paint is thick. If it is more like overspray 0000 steel wool takes it off without making a deep scratches.

Sampson

Hey Eric, check out this thread from Costpen. He used B12 and steel wool looks real good in the pics. I have been using oven cleaner on other items with overspray but not sure how this would effect the plastic.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...owballing.html

joe_padavano

I have exactly this problem. I have a red inner that someone painted black (yes, these parts were used for crash repair on run of the mill Cutlii back in the day). I found a paint stripper that didn't attach the plastic (test on a small section) and used that. Steel wool will scratch the plastic. Use a plastic or wooden scraper to loosen the paint after applying the stripper.

70Post

Whatever you do DO NOT use anything abrasive if possible and if you have the patience....wetsand paper, steel wool, etc. These are plastic....sandpaper, steel wool, etc are all harder than the soft polypropylene plastic these are made of. No guesses needed to know who wins in that contest.

Sure, maybe you end up painting them....who knows? But you might want to at least do everything possible to preserve the underlying original finish in case they turn out the be real nice once you get the paint removed. Wetsand, etc and you will either dull the finish or remove plastic material from the surface. Now you either have to buff the plastic which will make it too shiny VS. the original or paint it. A decent and clean looking set of originals, even with some defects, is a better option than having to paint them IMO.

It can be extremely time consuming but to me, it's worth avoiding anything abrasive at least until you come across some defect(s) that make you say..."forget it, these aren't going to look right and I'm going to have to paint them no matter what".

I've done red wells here that had black plastic mixed in with the red...factory stuff and testimony to the way these were made (not overly concerned with everything being PERFECT). I assume they were installed on the car as is without being painted to hide the factory "defect".

jensenracing77

I have restored sets of old ATC Honda 3 wheeler fenders. To do it right you have to wet sand them or you will never get them to there original look. I was thinking about doing the same thing with these. To do it right i will have 20+ hours in each one. On the ATC fenders i started with 400 in the real bad spots and moved to 800, 1000 and then 2000. you have to use a polish after done but they look new after i am done.

I do want to get the paint off without having to sand because after you start you have to do the entire thing. That is the other problem, I don't know how bright these were when new and could get to shiny like you say.

This is what i am starting with. The bottom side is almost completly covered in black.

gaerte04

I used this personally and it worked amazing. Kleen strip, Arcraft paint remover for plastic. It can be purchased at Orielys or Autozone. I used it on a Oai air cleaner that had been painted and it removed the paint and did not harm the plastic or soften it one bit. Obviously I would try a small spot before stripping the whole thing but i will bet u will not find anything better.

Allan R

Eric, have you considered something as simple as oven cleaner? I've used it to clean paint off plastic and it works decently. Just need to have patience to let it work. Did my air dam last year and the overspray came right off after about a 3 hour 'soak'.

Kevin W

Eric,

I just finished restoring my 68 red inner fender wells, they had paint on the top and undercoating on the bottoms. I used citristrip paste and 0000 steel wool to remove the paint, worked great. I been using citristrip for a few years now, to re-do my duck decoys. Its non toxic and works great but it’s still too hot for 67 plastic dash. Of coarse, do a test spot first.

On the undercoating, heat gun and plastic putty knife and lots of patience. Beer is also helpful.

I’m working on a badly faded black fender well, so far the results are great. It’s a 60/40 linseed oil/ mineral oil mix. The fender well is sitting out in the rain, so far it remains nice a shinny, I plan to create a post with pic’s after I’m done with my experiment.

72notchback

I think you will probably end up wet sanding them if you want the best possible look. It does take awhile but looks top notch when done. I did one of mine, but haven't done the other one if that tells you anything.

The one i did looks about as good as you could possibly imagine.

Dave

70Post

I'll take the opposite side after seeing the pics....the color in those looks EXCELLENT. I'd do whatever it takes to remove the paint and not touch them with anything abrasive. The coloring on these things varied quite a bit in terms of how red they were IMO....those look very nice.

Sure, it takes plenty of time....so does everything else on a restoration. Shortcut it and you'll have shortcut results.

442mark

I used a graffiti removal pump spray liquid I bought at Home De Pot for my red wells that were rattle-canned black on the tops & undersides, (product said safe for plastics but I tested in a small corner of one fender well before soaking them entirely-no damage or discoloring). After spraying them down I let them sit for about and hour in the shade, then went at them with my pressure washer hooked up to the utility tub so I could blast with warm (not hot) water and it worked great! I re-soaked a few areas with the graffiti remover that were heavily painted & that I missed in the first go-round. Mine is a 3400 psi unit so I turned the pressure down to about half and used my widest nozzle so as to not damage the plastic from to much pressure. It also took off most of the tar splatter that had accumulated on the undersides over the years. I think the warm water really helped. Total time spent was about 2 hours. Also, I did it on grass so there would be no scratching from them sliding around while blasting them. A large rubber mat would work too. Plus it's so much more fun when the water that redirects at you is warm... not freezing!

Another option, in the case of hard to remove catalyzed auto body paint, may be to have them soda blasted at a delicate pressure?? Just a thought.

Mark

Boldsmobile

I tried the SEM on my Hurst Olds grilles that the previous owner painted entirely black. I put a little on tab and it attacked the plastic.

jensenracing77

I think i am going to try a can of this and see how it does. I have an extra red inner fender that is painted black. I think it is a junk one from sun rot but will be perfect to test it out on.

rroth01

Easy Off Oven Cleaner wont bother ABS plastic.Cover it with some clear plastic and let it sit.Power Wash afterwords.

hookem horns

x2 on oven cleaner since the inners are off the car. It's the cheapo stuff, basically spray on lye.

jensenracing77

I have tested some differant stuff on my extra painted inner fender. I tried oven cleaner first. It worked in the spot i tried it on but left it VERY dark from the mix of paint and oven cleaner. Now i can not get the dark mix out of the plastic. Looks like it would work good on a black inner but not red. I tried super clean but nothing... The best thing i tried so far is a sponge with hot water on it, Leave it in one spot till the plastic is a little warm then scrape it with a plastic scraper. I have stopped and going to try hooking the pressure washer to my hot water heater and see if it will work like that. i will use a wide spray nozzle like 442mark said. Maybe it will be warmer out this weekend and i can try it.

gaerte04

Eric, did you get a chance to try out that Kleen strip yet. I was wondering if you was able to find it and if it worked for you as well as it did for me. Different paint might not work as well. Just wondering.

jensenracing77

I can't find it local. Advance Auto tried to look it up and couldn't find it available to them. I called a place in Terre Haute that has it. It will be a while till i can get there. I will try the pressure washer first. The bottom side is much worse so i may have to use it there.

TK-65

I soak all my plastic parts in Simple Green and hot water. Even old model kits that have been painted for years, the Simple Green and water will take the paint off.

gaerte04

Yah I have a hard time finding it too. Its worth trying. I tried a lot of the things these guys are suggesting and had no luck at all, tried brake fluid, simple green and oven cleaner and it did not even phase it and I happened to see that stripper at the store so I thought I would try it out Paint stripper guys, let's keep it clean Any way I put that Kleen strip on and it worked within seconds.

Anubis

Not suprising. The grills were molded out of ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Stryene). ABS, Polycarbonate, PC/ABS etc are engineering resins but not considered chemically resistant plastics. Olefin materials like Polypropylene and Polyethylene offer much better chemical resistance and are often used as containers for solvents. Here is a chart which may help you.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...f0hqvQ3ab1w51A

shatrab

I have the same project (have to get thenblack off the red inner fenders), and found that Acetone and very good paper towels work well) with elbow grease. I am not finished, but did some test areas and it worked well.

shatrab

2nd pic