a buddy of mine's got a problem

[Trebor]

he's trying to remove enamal paint thats starting to peel from urathene plastic, and he's going to repaint it.

it's for a car part, and the plastic cannot be damaged. not even a little bit

 

[piet]

he's trying to remove enamal paint thats starting to peel from urathene plastic, and he's going to repaint it.

it's for a car part, and the plastic cannot be damaged. not even a little bit

Mhh... ...try to pull it of with some verry sticky tape

 

[Airframes]

There is a somewhat radical way to possibly do it Rob, but I'd try it out on a hidden or unimportant area first. Very lightly paint on some brake fluid and leave it until the paint starts to bubble. When the paint is then seen to begin lifting, peel it away, and rub off any remainder with a cloth, wearing disposable gloves to avoid skin irritation etc. Dry off all the remaining brake fluid, then submerge the part in a strong solution of water and detergent (dish washing liquid soap). Wash the part thoroughly afterwards and, if required, polish it with a soft cloth.
Some paint strippers will do the job, but they may attack thinner areas of the material, or give it a slightly coarse, dull surface. Most, if not all of this can be restored using a plastic primer, available in aerosols from car parts and accessory outlets.
If the stripping doesn't work, then a very light rub down with fine grit paper, followed by successive coats of the above primer, to build up a smooth, even surface, should work. I can't guarantee success, but I used to do this fairly often on my rally car years ago, and it worked quite well.

 

[GrauGeist]

Those urethane bumpers can be very unforgiving, so be careful. Sometimes, sanding with a lighter grit paper will do the trick, but it's very time consuming, and you have to make sure to use a fine enough grain so it doesn't "score" the urethane.

There are special paint removers for those type of parts, and when repainting, be sure to use Urethane specific primer

 

[Trebor]

he says he wants it to peel off. not sand

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Trebor, we use paint stripper at the shop for parts like that. As long as you don't walk off and forget about the project your usually safe. Follow the instructions on the can as far as how long to let it do it's job and the plastic should remain unscathed. You can find the stripper at Napa of any other auto parts store. Hope this helps.

 

[GrauGeist]

Hey Aaron, isn't there a water-based stripper that doesn't effect PU or plastics, but only softens enamels?

I remember seeing it somewhere, perhaps for older Corvette restorations ('73 onwards)

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

We've just been using Aircraft Stripper that you can get at any Napa store. The stuff use to be a lot more potent than it is now and the aerosol can version works better than the one gallon brush on. The less you disturb the brush on the better it works.

 

[Trebor]

he was told to never use aircraft stripper, tho

 

[GrauGeist]

he was told to never use aircraft stripper, tho

A/C stripper can be too harsh if you're not used to using it, so that's good advice, actually.