Topic: Paint Questions

[mgautreau]

Does anyone know of a good paint stripper that can be used on the side covers without melting them?

Also, is there a way to tell the original paint color from the VIN or any other way?

Thanks,

Mike

[Caaveman82]

Here is what I did for my side cover. I got a rag and soaked it in paint REDUCER, not thinner. It's a little more expensive but what it is used for is just changing the consistancy of the paint so it's not so thick. You let that soak over the top of the side cover and that should break it up. Take another rag and wipe what you can off. From there do it one more time then pretty much sand the rest off. It will take some time but it will be worth it because you will have a nice smooth even finish on it.

I don't know about the second part to your question but I think they have the origional paint codes in the FAQ some where. Just pick one you like?

[ColinMc]

The problem is, if it's been basecoat clearcoated with a good clear sometime over the years that method won't always work...but chances are it's been done with rattlecans or cheap single stage...so if that's the case it's an excellent method of taking off a layer at a time.

Thinner can work too, but will be much more messy.

edit: I've had good and bad luck with Bulldog plastic parts stripper by Klean Strip. It's worked wonders on some stuff and made a mess of other types of plastic. I'm not sure what the stock side covers are made out of...what kind of plastic that is.

[Caaveman82]

Even with a good base coat the reducer will at the least make it easier to sand off.

[Tower]

The side cover in the attached photo has been painted several times.  What you are looking at is Black rattle can on top of Gold on top of the original Red Candy on top of the original Silver Basecoat.

To get the rattle can off, I softened with a swift application of stripper (apply with paper towel then quickly rinse off) then scraped with very sharp 1/2" wide wood chisel (scrape at almost 90o to the surface). 

The Black layer paint comes off in very thin curls.  The Gold underneath comes off in even thinner curls that crumble easily - almost a powder.  In places where the lower Gold paint layer was not sanded properly, the paint comes off in chips as the chisel is scraped along, exposing the bright red original coat - especially in the tight corners. 

Once the Gold coat is thin enough so that I can see the red underneath, I'll use a 120 grit paper - you can see what that looks like on the aircleaner side of the cover, as the silver basecoat is exposed.

Even with the scraping technique, the inside corners are still difficult to sand properly.

I estimate 3 hours of scraping followed by 3 hours of sanding prior to applying the first undercoat.

[WFO]

SEM 39913 bumper stripper any paint supplyer should carry it, i used this on a vintage ty 250 fender to remove all the years of paint and crud and it worked perfect.

[Tower]

All the Black is gone and all the gold layer paint is gone.  I can now be sure that whatever paint I apply will have a solid base to stick to.