Any suggestions for a safe paint stripper? I just got a used rocker panel and tried to paint it black, Whatever paint was used is not compatible with my paint. Want to strip it down to bare plastic but never tried this on a Fiero part. Don't want to ruin my rocker panel.
I tried the search function and all I found was others asking this same question but no answers so before you attack me, I did try.

Chemical strippers are not recommended for Fiero parts. Sanding is the only way.

No strippers will work? So I just wasted my money buying this rocker. Can't use it the wrong color. Guess I am screwed. Another Fiero for the trash pile.

quote Originally posted by reverend: No strippers will work? So I just wasted my money buying this rocker. Can't use it the wrong color. Guess I am screwed. Another Fiero for the trash pile.

you could sand it and paint it

An other question on stripping paint. What about stripping paint off of the bumpers? I assume that because they are flexible, you want the minimum amount of paint on them.
Jim

My original; post said I tried to paint it and the paints were not compatible. It has to be removed to the bare plastic. I tried sanding and the paint just gums up the sandpaper immediately. I have been told that I should not be so lazy and just sand it. That person is not here and can not see what condition this panel is in. I guess I am too stupid to own a Fiero.
Bye.

you could try corvette stripper....

Also, most any paint stripper is usable, as long as you babysit it. Corvette stripper is designed sepcifically for fiberglass, but MAY damage the gelcoat. The only issue I see with that is you will need to pile on the sanding and feather edging if you damage the gelcoat.

If your having sanding issues, its not the paints fault... there are MANY variations of sandpaper you could use... of the top of my head there are 4 different combination you could use with any 1 grit of sandpaper....

If you have loading issues, then try a open coat silica carbide sandpaper... you can use very low grit paper for paint removal, 80 is about the highest recommended grit for pure stripping. It wouldnt be uncommon to use 40-60 grit for high build paint or other severely screwed up coatings.

[This message has been edited by darkhorizon (edited 10-09-2008).]

Corvette stripper will only work on fiberglass, (the roof/1/4s/hood. the rest is Plastic & the remover will melt it ! You can sand the gummy paint off the rocker by WET SANDING IT ! a hose with water and some 220 wet/dry paper ( the black stuff) . OR, wet some paper towels with laquer thinner & wipe down the panel, that'll tack up the paint, take another towel with thinner & wipe down the panel again. each time it will take a little more paint off. be patient, you CAN remove ALL the paint this way, BUT, don't try to drown the rocker with laquer thinner. a little at a time !, or wet sand it off.

quote Originally posted by reverend: My original; post said I tried to paint it and the paints were not compatible. It has to be removed to the bare plastic. I tried sanding and the paint just gums up the sandpaper immediately. I have been told that I should not be so lazy and just sand it. That person is not here and can not see what condition this panel is in. I guess I am too stupid to own a Fiero. Bye.

I don't think this is a stupid question at all. The key questions that I have are what grit and what type of sandpaper did you try. If it gums up from the original paint, you are either using too much pressure which is creating heat. That heat is causing the paper to gum up.....or the grit is really fine and with the excessive pressure, it is gumming up. If you wetsand the part before paint, you can sand fairly quick since the water helps keep the paper clean and also helps it cut the paint.....just be sure to use the proper sandpaper for wetsanding. The grits are from 120 all the way to 2000 in the wetsanding variety. I have never remover all of the paint on my car down to bare plastic. I use a lacquer based paint and it works fine over the existing paint. Paint strippers will melt the plastic bumpers and damage the plastic parts. A mild stripper can be used on the hood, decklid, and carefully on the roof since it is SMC material and not plastic.

Do what IMSA GT said. Also remember you only need to take it down to the factory paint or primer, not all the way to bare plastic.

When I bought my second hand stage II side scoop kit they were spray bombed with many coats of dupli-color laquer. Knowing I had to remove it for the two stage paint to adhere properly I inquired about a safe paint remover at my local marine store and they sold me this.

It's much milder than conventional paint removers. You use it with wax paper and it removed one layer at a time. I stopped once I got down to the primer and then sanded the rest off. I've seen now ill effects now going on 3 years since I pained the kit with the base coat/clear coat. Just be sure to follow the directions and wash it well after using.
Marc

Buy the spray can of "Bumper Stripper" available at any autobody supply. I think SEM makes it. BUT: you still have to be careful not to let it sit on the bare plastic.
Also wet sanding you should be able to sand off just about any kind of paint. Start with 180 grit, finish with 400. If you sand/strip it all the way to the plastic it's best to primer it with PPG epoxy primer.
HTH...

DONT use any kind of stripper on plastic or urathane parts. All it takes is a speck of it going into a pinhole or crack to forever ruin the panel. I WONT touch a corvette that anyone has used stripper on for any reason. I ALWAYs sand or media blast it off...no exceptions. Guy used 'Corvette' stripper on the hood of his C4. After several repaints with stripper seeping out for months, he had to buy a new hood (around $2000). I dont care what the label says its for... dont do it. Stripper is good for metal cars under some circumstances though.

Find a friend with a commercial grade hot water pressure washer. The super-hot water (near steam temps) will usually remove poorly applied paint without harming the plastic.

Will try to explain a little better. The paint needs to be removed to bare plastic or primer. Any sanding causes the paint to act like it is a gel and just clogs the sandpaper. I use 3M wet or dry professional paper. I even tried a scotchbrite pad, it clogged within a few inches. Right now I am removing it with a single edge razor blade. A rocker panel is going to take a long time and a lot of blades. It is like the paint will not dry or it is a two part paint without the catalyst. Any suggestions? The rocker is off the car and laying on sawhorses in my yard. So I can clean it thoroughly after I am finished. I would be afraid to use any of my pressure washers on this panel. They could cut right thru that plastic. It is pretty soft material.

Ive stripped FACTORY applied paint at the coin op self serve car washes. It wont hurt any parts. I find a spot thats bad, like big chips or peeling, put the nozzel 2 inches away and go for it. I usually get it off in like 3 inch wide strips 4 feet long. I did a 4 year old Taurus from end to end in 30 minutes, cost me like $15. All i had to do after was sand a few places that didnt come off and go over the whole thing lightly with 360 wet (since it was already wet anyway)

Sounds like they might have got the mixture wrong and it never dried. Ive also used the razor blade method, just shaving down the panel. It really sounds to me if you cant get it with wet sanding (that usually keeps the paper from clogging up), look up someone who does media blasting. Soda, shells, etc can be used to take everydrop of paint off. Soda wont hurt rubber or glass parts. A gummy, unhardened paint is the worst thing to deal with.

I tried wetsanding the way i have always done it. I have plastic tubing that hooks to my garden hose. The tubing has suction cups every foot and holes every 4 inches. I attach the tube to the part and turn on the water so i have an even flow over the part. I keep the sandpaper in a water filled bucket to keep it moist at all times. A one foot section of this rocker panel clogged 3 full sheets of sandpaper.

I would do the power wash and see how that works. I asked my auto body teacher, and he suggested that you use a heavy aircraft stripper, and apply it very gently, and be careful not to let it sit more than 30 seconds if you were extremely worried about contamination.

Roger,
How did you spend $2000 on a vette hood? I sold a C4 recently for a little over $3500.... it had a hood on it!

OEM price on the hood at the time was $1700. Their prices are out of sight. I recently got OEM body side moldings for a C5 (4 pieces) that were over $200. There only an inch wide and just simple plastic.

aircraft remover spray has a sweet taste to it. and im still alive. so it must be safe. regaurdless what the can says.

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1987 Fiero GT built by my brother, merlot566jka, 3500 LX9 from 06 Malibu, WOT-TECH.com 1280 grind stage 3 cam, LS6 valve springs, 1227730 ECM conversion, Darrel Morse solid aluminum cradle mounts, Truleo headers modified to fit the 3500, 36# inectors, 70mm 4.3 throttle body adapted to 3500 intake, ported heads, upper and lower intakes, lightly polished, tcemotorsports.com crank trigger wheel, CenterForce dual friction clutch, Flowtech Afterburner muffler, 2.5" piping, cat deleted, EGR deleted, SinisterPerformance tuning, C6 Corvette exhaust tips. projected to be 35 MPG with a guesstimate of 250 hp at the motor

LOL. Just dont let it get on you bare skin for long, it will feel like its on fire. Dont even let me tell you NOT to get even a spec to splash up in your eye. I can tell you both from experience, ouch.

Safety glasses much?

Not as much as I should probably. If your stripping something like an air cleaner, your thinking why bother with gloves and goggles for this little thing. Ive never worn hearing plugs, or bothered with a mask to do sanding, filling or primering either. I think Im one of a rare few thats retired after 45 years in the same body shop business that wasnt forced to due to illnesses like enfesema, lung cancer, etc. I dont even have to wear glasses and take no kind of meds...even aspirin.

Has anyone had problems with Bumper stripper ?

who needs safety gear? limbs n such grow back. right?...............right?..............uh oh....

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1987 Fiero GT built by my brother, merlot566jka, 3500 LX9 from 06 Malibu, WOT-TECH.com 1280 grind stage 3 cam, LS6 valve springs, 1227730 ECM conversion, Darrel Morse solid aluminum cradle mounts, Truleo headers modified to fit the 3500, 36# inectors, 70mm 4.3 throttle body adapted to 3500 intake, ported heads, upper and lower intakes, lightly polished, tcemotorsports.com crank trigger wheel, CenterForce dual friction clutch, Flowtech Afterburner muffler, 2.5" piping, cat deleted, EGR deleted, SinisterPerformance tuning, C6 Corvette exhaust tips. projected to be 35 MPG with a guesstimate of 250 hp at the motor

I got some PeelAway stripper. It says right on the can that it is safe for plastics and fiberglass. It removed all the paint down to factory primer in a short time. I did the panel in one foot sections. And took my time. I have now thoroughly rinsed the entire panel and used Prep-All to remove any debris left over. Did a wet sand with 400 grit 3M wet/dry on a rubber block. Another use of Prep All to remove dust then sanded with 1000 grit on a block. It is now in primer and drying on top of the saw horses. Hope to have it painted black by the end of the day and installed this week.
Thanks to those who gave me some ideas here. I would give a few of you ratings but I can not rate anyone yet.

When I painted mine to get the paint off the rocker panals I sprayed it down with aircraft striper and once the paint started to peel up and the stuff would bubble I hit it immediatly with a power washer. I used just enough to get the paint to lift up then went at it with a power washer and sand paper.

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quote Originally posted by reverend: I got some PeelAway stripper. It says right on the can that it is safe for plastics and fiberglass. It removed all the paint down to factory primer in a short time. I did the panel in one foot sections. And took my time. I have now thoroughly rinsed the entire panel and used Prep-All to remove any debris left over. Did a wet sand with 400 grit 3M wet/dry on a rubber block. Another use of Prep All to remove dust then sanded with 1000 grit on a block. It is now in primer and drying on top of the saw horses. Hope to have it painted black by the end of the day and installed this week. Thanks to those who gave me some ideas here. I would give a few of you ratings but I can not rate anyone yet.

Cool. I'm glad that worked for you. I'll have to keep that stripper in mind. It is rare that a stripper actually is safe for plastics.

[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 10-12-2008).]

Idear here... pressure wash that paint off. The last owner accidentally did that to the rocker panels on my Fiero.