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I have a customer that wants me to restore a bug shield from an older truck they are fixing up. The bug shield from the truck is no longer made so they want to keep the original.
It is lettered with a combination of paint and vinyl. What would be the best way to remove the One Shot paint? I'm thinking Easy Off would eat into the plastic.
My only thought so far is to sand it off, then wet sand the whole shield, bringing it up to 2000 grit, then polishing with a compound. I already told the customer we would not be able to achieve the shiny look of it's original state.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5403 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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My mind wanders. And that's not a good thing, 'cause it's too small to be out there alone. Posts: 3129 | From: Tooele, UT | Registered: Mar 2005
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i would talk to someone who does soda blasting ( on my list of things to try) it will take paint off lots of things,they blast trucks without masking windows or chrome
-------------------- Pete Payne Willowlake Design/Canadian Signcrafters Bayfield, ON
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i've used isopropyl alcohol but you might want to test an area. I tend to soak a rag and lay it flat and cover it with plastic (to keep the solvent on the surface), give it 20 minutes and see has it softened, then use a squeegy to remove.
-------------------- Miles Cullinane, Cork, Ireland.
From the sometimes sunny south of Ireland, Posts: 913 | From: Cork, Ireland | Registered: Jul 1999
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methyl hydrate works too, a little less agressive to plastic than izerpurple, but test first anyway. If it's a really dark tint could you talk him into letting you wet sand it flat, then covering with dark vinyl, or how 'bout wet sanding the paint off, re-lettering and then a coat of clear to bring back the shine and clarity?
-------------------- Pete Payne Willowlake Design/Canadian Signcrafters Bayfield, ON
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get some gripflex t2004 thinner and wipe it down with that, won't hurt the plastic.
I've used an automotive urethane clearcoat on frosted headlight assemblies and brought them back to life. Be sure to scuff with a scotchbrite pad and use a light coat of adhesion promoter.
-------------------- Bill Reusch Reusch Sign Company 3258 80th. ave. Knapp, Wis. 54749 715-665-2647 Posts: 83 | From: Knapp, Wisconsin | Registered: Aug 2007
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I would not use oven cleaner on plastic. I think your best bets are with brake fluid or alcohol. I'd soak a paper towel with alcohol and lay it in place and cover it with saran wrap to slow the evaporation. Wait ten minutes and scrape it with your fingernail. Then try it again. Might take three tries.
There are many scratch remover/plastic polishing agents available. Rapid Roger makes one that he used to send out in his sample pack. Thank you for that Roger.
[ November 20, 2007, 09:17 AM: Message edited by: Rick Sacks ]
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6737 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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i have wet sanded plastic, pan faces, and acrylic and then buffed it back out. worked fine. no chemicals were necessary. everything turned out fine.
I hope your getting your moneys worth on a bugshield
-------------------- You ever notice how easily accessible people are when they are requiring your services but once they get invoice you can't reach them anymore
As much time and labor as it would take to get close, I've never seen a bug deflector with OS paints ever come back to new looking, and believe me, I've tried a TON of ways.
Oven cleaner is a definite no no...softens the surface and leaves a haze everywhere. Hit it with a rag and watch it stick. Wet sanding OS paints is an almost futile effort...most likely the old stuff isn't hardened and just loads up the sandpaper, takes forever and you'll still have to deal with the sun fading of the plastic after. A coat of clear works on opaque surfaces, but since the deflector allows light through, it never really goes away.
Not trying to be a gloomy gus about this project, but sometimes a customer's idea of sentimentality can clash with the reality that not everything can be salvaged. It may be what they want, but may never be quite the same as the original.
Best of luck... Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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