Removing paint from painted all clear tails

[bcjammerx]

I bought some all clear tails off ebay which the previous owner had painted a thin coat red strip over the tail light section.

These have diffusers built in and I have the proper colored bulbs for the tail/brake and turn signals, and I need to remove this paint.

I believe they used "transparent candy apple red" spray paint by Testors.

I have some ideas on how to get the paint off but would like some advice from folks with more paint experience.

*my ideas
goo be gone
acetone (or other paint thinner)
elbow grease w/soap and water
*extreme idea---> 2000 grit sand paper (and wet sand)

[Dark_Accord]

wet sand + buff n polish

[Bent]

not acetone,
any toluene based solvent will turn your plastic milky.

[AstroVannin]

wet sand + buff n polish

I think that should work perfect... Then they will look new again.

[JoshM]

These have diffusers built in and I have the proper colored bulbs for the tail/brake and turn signals, and I need to remove this paint.

To be legal, you'll need some sort of red reflector on the rear end of your CB.


But, like Dark_Accord said, sand with high grit sand paper then buff/polish.

[lummieCB7]

Spray easy off oven spray on them and seal them in a plastic garbage bag for about 20 minutes. Afterwards all the paint will wipe off with a towel. If there's any remaining paint left repeat the process again. I've done this many times and works well.

[TypeG]

if it were me, i'd buff it off with plastic polish. that way you do two things, remove the paint, and make the plastic look new again. later.

[bcjammerx]

thanks for the replies, I forgot about the red reflector...that'll be an issue.

I used a green scrub pad and got the paint off with just water, but of course that gave the plastic a hazy look.


Damn my cell phone takes better pics than I thought it would
went from this


to this...




I'll bust out the buffer and plastic polish later on...I'll post some pics.

[Joshy]

they look great! i just did the same thing with a set i bought a little while ago. i used 1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper and wetsanding. the corners and crevices (like the key ring) were a pain in the butt!

still trying to decide if i want to repaint the brake lights red or not. i know i'll get pulled over around here for keeping them all clear.

so you just used an abrasive pad, eh? guess the previous owner didn't use any sort of clear coating.

[bcjammerx]

You can see how much more "cloudy" they are if you compare the the reverse light section. It is shiny and glossy, the part I scrubbed is clouded over It's not as noticable with my cell phone...I mean it really isn't much, I could leave it but I want them pefectly clear.

But I'm pretty sure with some time buffing with my plastic polish it'll come out nice.

I actually practiced with a calculator cover, got it almost mirror finish, still had deeper scratches, but it was SMOOTH, so I'm pretty sure I can get this crystal clear.

Thanks again for the advice...I'll post more pics as I get the work done.