Paint removal from turn signal lense?

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jedrattle

jedrattle

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I have a ‘64 Valiant that had a cheap paint job at some point (along with a gallon or two of bondo). The idiots painted right over the from turn signal lenses. I’ve read easy off oven cleaner will work but I’m scared it might hurt the plastic. I’ve tried brake cleaner and acetone with very little results.
Any ideas?
 
I used Easy Off on a 71 grill once. Did not phase the plastic whatsoever. Spray a little on an inconspicuous spot for a test.
 
I've used rubbing compound and polished over spray off lenses before, it works good and makes the lenses look new again, but if yours have a lot of paint you may have to use something different.
 
A low speed buffing wheel with jeweler's rouge, and lots of patience will have them looking like new.
 
Easy-Off will not harm most plastics. You might still need to buff them up later, as it sometimes takes the plastic's gloss away with the paint.
 
A friend taught me a trick for removing paint or chrome from plastic car models. On chrome pieces that you want to remove the chrome from the plastic, put it in a Tupperware container, cover with Windex and seal it up for a day or two. Chrome will come right off without hurting the plastic. For paint, I spray it with Easy Off and seal it in a Tupperware container overnight. Next day it comes off clean like you used paint stripper.

Caution though,... That is on polystyrene car models, not the red or amber polycarbonate commonly used on parking and tail light lenses. If you have any broken lens around, I'd try it on them before trying it on your real parts.
 
Turn signals and tail lights are typically polycarbonate or acrylic, but they could be ABS, too.
 
I should have put this in my first post. This is after trying with a fine scotch brite pad and a few chemicals.



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I’m afraid I was going to scratch them up tryin to sand/scrub them. I think I’ll try easy off followed by polishing.
 
jedrattle said:
I thought about that after reading Frnsteens post. I'm going to try that first
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I stripped all my bezels with Easy off. worked great, forgot to show(or even take a picture) a rear backup lens that had been painted for my 66 also which cleaned up nice.
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66Dvert said:
I stripped all my bezels with Easy off. worked great, forgot to show(or even take a picture) a rear backup lens that had been painted for my 66 also which cleaned up nice.
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Wow! What a difference! I tried brake fluid with no luck. I tried to buy some new lenses but I was a day late, as usual. So now I’ll try the easy off
 
jedrattle said:
Wow! What a difference! I tried brake fluid with no luck. I tried to buy some new lenses but I was a day late, as usual. So now I’ll try the easy off
Click to expand...



don't get the blue top one, It doesn't work. Only the original yellow top easy off will work. Off brands won't work unless they contain the lye. I've used Draino crystals in a solution(removes anodizing too!) but ya gotta be careful on that since it can damage plastic or eat the aluminium if left in too long.
 
You might Try goof off or goo gone. I have used them with some success to remove paint, but I don’t know if they will attack plastic.
 
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