Removing spray paint from plastics

[emmie357]

I have ytm200 with a full set of blue plastics, except the prior owner spray painted the tank shroud black. I was going to wet sand them, but I see the original stickers are still on, just painted over.

Does anyone know of a good paint stripper/remover that is safe for plastics and hopefully decals too?
I'd love to salvage them if possible... otherwise I guess I'll sand them.

[jeswinehart]

Brake fluid softens regular spray paint to where it will wash off with a wash cloth Ken. Kinda varys how long you hafta let it stay on there for easy removal.
Come to think of it, I have had better luck with oven cleaner (be sure to where gloves either way).

john

[GunsShooting]

I've used oven cleaner before too, to remove a hand-painted company name from the side of a truck. It did the job but softened the factory paint underneath. It may mess with the sticker glue also, so use a little, wash it off, and repeat until you have gotten rid of the paint. Gloves, glasses, and a well-ventilated area are a must!!

[Poco Loco]

Heres a tip from a painter. If you put a saturated towel of lacquer thinner or acetone over the parts,keep the towel wet . It takes about 5-10 minutes. This will wrinkle up the paint. Then get the towel wet again and wipe the paint off. The stickers will most likely not survive.

[kb0nly]

I agree with those suggestions, it will take the paint off but the decals probably won't survive, but there is reproductions to fix that. I have had good luck with an acetone soaked rag for taking paint off of fenders. I had one where they spray painted the rack without removing it and the fenders had a lot of overspray on them. I just used a rag soaked with acetone layed on the fender, loosened it right up and wiped off after a soak. Didn't hurt the fenders any.

[emmie357]

Some good ideas, I tried a little non-acetone nail polish remover the wife had... rubbed it on with a paper towel, didn't work. Same result with mineral spirits. Was afraid to try anything stronger. I have brake fluid and should have some over cleaner laying around... If no luck I'll pick up some acetone and try the method described.

I'll let you know what the results are.

[kb0nly]

Rubbing it on won't work for sure. Needs a good soak and wait. Reason for the rag is the acetone will quickly evaporate if just poured on. The rag keeps it in contact with the paint

[emmie357]

I finally got around to this, had picked up some "Goo Gone Paint Clean Up" while at wally-world.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Goo-Gone-Paint-Clean-Up-14-oz-Trigger/23810330

Decided to try that first... it goes on thick, it's kind of like a jelly.
Let it sit while I worked on some other stuff, rubbed it a little and paint started lifting.
I took a plastic bristled brush to it and a layer of paint came right off.

Repeated 2-3 more times, gave a final once over with a green cleaning pad and there is no more paint (or stickers).

$5 for a bottle, used most of it on just a gas tank cover. I would recommend it for ease of use, but it's a bit pricey for a big project.
Also, I left it on for quite a while and it did not hurt the plastic.