Paint Stripper On Plastic Grill Inserts

[biante1948]

On my XY ute , the previous owner has painted the plastic grill inserts black (the Black is flaking and peeling off ) and I would like to have them Silver ,as I think they were released Silver on Standard XY's.

Can anyone tell me if there is a paint stripper or some other product that I can use on the Plastic inserts of the grill that won't melt or damage the plastic itself.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[GRPIII]

there is a plastic paint stripper, comes in an aerosol.

[Martin Thomas]

Try oven cleaner then wrap it up in a plastic bag if you can't get the specific aerosol stuff.

[singer]

Try oven cleaner then wrap it up in a plastic bag if you can't get the specific aerosol stuff.

Thats basically caustic soda, Fine on Metals as a quick p/s but to much exposure to a plastic will leave you with a pile of melted plastic

[malscar]

The other one is brake fluid. Just don't use it on resin.

[Martin Thomas]

Thats basically caustic soda, Fine on Metals as a quick p/s but to much exposure to a plastic will leave you with a pile of melted plastic

I did a Tander commodore this way and the plastic grill, skirts, flares and door handles handeled it with no problems. I imagine a grill would be of better quality plastic but definitely try it on a spot first.

[sleepy]

a glass beadblaster set at a fairly low pressure would rip it off ok with no damage to the grill.. even a small sandblaster on a compressor would do the trick just keep the pressure down ....ive glass beadblasted (dry and wet) more engine parts than i care to think about and any plastic bits left on rocker covers etc came away clean and unharmed larger plastic objects would be ok as long as the pressure was turned down or it may break while holding it...

[FPR FAN]

On my XY ute , the previous owner has painted the plastic grill inserts black (the Black is flaking and peeling off ) and I would like to have them Silver ,as I think they were released Silver on Standard XY's.

Can anyone tell me if there is a paint stripper or some other product that I can use on the Plastic inserts of the grill that won't melt or damage the plastic itself.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi biante1948. I have done this many times with XW & XY Grills. The best way that I have found to get the old paint off them without any damage, is to put the whole insert in a diluted mix of Caustic Soda. I have a drum that I cut in half (looks like a trough) and I fill it with the Caustic Soda solution. It takes 1 - 3 days for the paint to come off. It all depends on how many coats of paint are on it and how well it has taken. I pull them out twice a day and gently scrub them with a small brush, to help loosen the paint.

Once all the paint is removed, I wash the grill thoroughly and let it dry. Then I give it a light sand and apply an undercoat that is suitable for plastic surfaces. I hope that this helps.

Regards
John

[biante1948]

Thanks for the info fellows. Much appreciated.